THE CLYDE TUNNEL.
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The Clyde Tunnel is a popular route with commuters.
Of the two tunnels built under the River Clyde only one of them is still operational.
The Harbour Tunnel, built in the 19th century, was closed in 1980 but the Clyde Tunnel remains popular.
Like its predecessor, it was built at a time when it was unthinkable to consider a bridge further down than the Jamaica Street Bridge because of shipping.
Plans were drawn up after the Second World War, and the government gave it the go-ahead in 1948 but financial difficulties delayed the start of work until 1957.
The route links Govan south of the river with Whiteinch in the north.
Work on the tunnel was slow due to hard rock and soft silt 20ft below the river bed.
In the period before tunnel boring machines became available, it was built using a shield with workers operating in compressed air. Staff had to go through decompression when they finished working, just like divers. They were allowed to finish their work early so that they could get through decompression, get showered and finish their shift at the appointed time.
Ofcourse there were some who found a loophole.
Bob McKinnon discloses; "I have heard from people who worked in the tunnel at the time that on occasion workers would sneak out through the airlock without decompressing and get home early. If they were suffering slightly from the bend the symptoms would be rather like those of a drunk. The people of Govan were advised that if there was somebody lying in the gutter to have a look at them because they might not actually be drunk!"
The tunnel has two tubes, for northbound and southbound traffic, each wide enough for two lanes. A smaller tunnel was built underneath for pedestrians. The west tunnel (for northbound traffic) opened first.
The length of each tunnel from start to finish is 762 metres (2,500 feet) although the width of the river at the tunnel is 123 metres (400 feet).
The twin tunnels are built in cast iron to an internal diameter of nine metres (29 feet) and each has a roadway of seven metres (22 feet) wide,
The tunnel was completed at a cost of £10 million and was opened by the Queen on July 3rd, 1963.
It had been estimated 9000 vehicles would use it daily, but that number is now 60,000.
Tunnel Master Bob McKinnon and his dedicated staff of 14 look after the vital river crossing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Towing out broken down vehicles, cleaning the tunnel, clearing the drains, monitoring the ventilation systems and carrying out much of the electrical and safety maintenance.
An exhibition was held within the pedestrian section of the tunnel recently.
'Steven Skynka's Tunnel' is a monument to the sixties concrete-jungle architecture.
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Take me back to the INDEX page please.
Skynka and his team have created a sound and light installation that illuminates the retro-futuristic interior of that most underused of exhibition spaces, the walkway beneath the traffic tunnels.
Anyone who has wandered through the half mile dank, graffiti-strewn, concrete pedestrian and cycle route may need some encouragement to enter it again.
It is certainly worth the effort.
For a wander into its mouth opens up a hardly recognisable world.
The white walls are newly painted and the lights are filtered in various bright colours, and 128 individual speakers create a moving sound-scape that allows a minimum of 16 different sounds to travel through the echo-heavy space.
The sounds are samples taken from everyday Glasgow life - women chatting in the Horseshoe Bar, bingo callers and newspaper vendors.
They are mixed together by anyone who cares to log on to the internet site and download the controlling software.
It's a first in the artworld and if your friends know when you're entering the Tunnel, they can create an aural experience that terrifies, soothes or confuses, depeding on their intentions.
It may sound complicated but it is simple in practice.
This is one of the most misguided of constructions, reworked as a provocative piece of experienced-based art.
Something ugly is transformed into something beautiful, elevated beyond the wildest dreams of its creators.
With all the graffiti painstakingly removed and recorded for a forthcoming book and projected in a miniature tunnel within the tunnel, its a creation that celebrates 30 years of Glasgow life.
Take me back
