Global InformationFigueroa Street Tunnels information
 Looking northeast through the third and fourth tunnels | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Elysian Park, Los Angeles |
| Coordinates | 34°04′23″N 118°14′02″W / 34.07306°N 118.23389°W |
| Route | Northbound lanes of  SR 110 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1931 |
| Operator | Caltrans |
| Technical | |
| Length | 755, 461, 130, and 405 ft (230, 141, 40, and 123 m, respectively) |
| Tunnel clearance | 28.3 ft (8.6 m) |
| Width | 46.5 feet (14 m) |
| Route map | |
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The Figueroa Street Tunnels are a set of four four-lane tunnels that carry northbound traffic on State Route 110 (the Arroyo Seco Parkway) through Elysian Park in Los Angeles, California, United States. From south to north, the four tunnels measure 755, 461, 130, and 405 feet (230, 141, 40, and 123 m) in length, 46.5 feet (14 m) in width, and 28.3 ft (8.6 m) in height.[1]
The north three tunnels opened in 1931 as a bypass to a section of North Broadway; the southernmost (and longest) opened in 1935, connecting to Figueroa Street downtown. In 1943, the Figueroa Street Viaduct was built to the north of the tunnels. This dedicated the tunnels to 4 lanes of eastward traffic, and the viaduct to 4 lanes of westward traffic. Several connections have been added to the street, most notably in 1940 to the Arroyo Seco Parkway and in 1953 to the Four Level Interchange.
The tunnels were designed by engineer Merrill Butler, who was responsible for many iconic Los Angeles River bridges - notably the Sixth Street Viaduct and the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge. The tunnels featured Art Deco patterns, ornamental street lamps, reflective tiling (similar to the 2nd Street Tunnel), and above all eight openings, a stylized Seal of Los Angeles.[2]
Traffic through the tunnels is heavy at almost all times of day. At the north end of the tunnels is an interchange with Interstate 5 (Golden State Freeway), in which the leftmost lane makes a hard turn onto the offramp. There are also sharp exit and entrance ramps, on the right lane, at Solano Avenue after the first tunnel. Since the tunnels' incorporation into Arroyo Seco Parkway (now SR 110), Figueroa Street has been discontinuous. It merges into SR 110 at Alpine Street in Chinatown, south of the tunnels, and splits in Highland Park, north of the Figueroa Street Viaduct over the Los Angeles River.
- ^ Historic American Engineering Record, Arroyo Seco Parkway (PDF), page 28
- ^ Masters, Nathan (2014-07-14). "Before the 110 Freeway, Figueroa Street Ran Through These Tunnels". KCET. Retrieved 2020-11-02.