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Vernon Tunnel,
Bridge No. 1617
• Tunnel Road under former railroad embankment
• Vernon
• Stone arch
• Length: 110'
• Built 1849
The Vernon Tunnel is another rare engineering structure from Connecticut's first generation of 
railroad construction. Like other railroads of the period, the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill
Railroad had to accommodate numerous pre-existing rural roads when putting through their line.
While most roads simply crossed the tracks at grade, at least initially, tunnels such as this were
needed when the railroad, in order to maintain a near-constant elevation for its line, constructed a
high embankment. Massive ashlar masonry such as that of the Vernon Tunnel was typical of these
early railroad structures. The tunnel has outlived the rail line, which was abandoned in the late
1970s.
