when was the big walker mountain tunnel built
Big Walker Mountain Tunnel The 4,229-foot (1,288Â m) tunnel was first opened in 1972 after five years of construction labor. It carried a price tag of $50 million, which at the time was the most expensive single project undertaken on Virginia's interstate system.[1] The opening of the tunnel reduced the travel time from Wytheville to Bland County by 30 minutes.[2]
Expedition Everest The train departs the station to the right and climbs a small lift leading to a short drop, then circles around to the 118-foot (36 m) lift hill, carrying the riders into the 199 1⁄2-foot-high (60.8 m) mountain. It is the tallest attraction at Walt Disney World, beating The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror by 6 inches. Disney keeps it just under 200 feet because law requires structures 200 feet or taller to have a blinking red light as a beacon for low-flying planes, which Disney feels would take parkgoers out of the experience. On the way up it passes through a ransacked temple with murals of the yeti, warning the riders that the mountain is his territory. At the top of the mountain the train curves around the main peak and goes through a cave. When it emerges, it draws to a halt in front of track that has been torn apart, presumably by the yeti. The train itself is held in place by a series of rubber tires while an automatic switch rotates the piece of track directly behind the train. The train then rolls backwards along a new route that spirals down through the mountain, coming to a halt in a large cave, where riders see the yeti's shadow on the wall as he tears up more track. This effect distracts riders from noticing another automatic track switch rotates in front of them. As the shadow moves away, the train rolls forward out of the mountain and down the main 80-foot (24 m) drop. It enters a 250° turn and speeds back up through another cave in the mountain, where the roars of the yeti are heard once more. The train exits from the rear of the mountain and enters a large helix before being lifted back into the mountain a final time. The train drops through a cave, where the yeti is reaching down toward it. On reaching the bottom of this drop, riders return to the unloading dock and depart into a gift shop. One ride takes about 2 minutes and 50 seconds.[8][11][12][13]