Abandoned Tunnel Buried Under I 75, St. Bernard, Ohio, Built in 1913

First off I would like to thank Kay Heller Phillips with the St. Bernard-Ludlow Grove Historical Society. Without her help and research, this video never would have happened.

There’s a piece of history in St. Bernard that most people have never seen. Although thousands of people come with 15 feet of this unusual historic site everyday! It’s a pedestrian tunnel just underneath I-75!

Back in the early 1900s the rail lines running north and south along the eastern edge of St. Bernard effectively cutoff workers who were employed by the industries along Spring Grove Avenue just blocks away. To get to their jobs, the workers had to walk across the railroad tracks which was extremely dangerous. In 1902 the railroad companies were compelled to create a subway or tunnel under the tracks to give these workers safer access walking to their jobs. However the tunnel wasn’t built until 1913 as embossed on the concrete header on the east side of the tunnel.

The tunnel was known as the “Beech Street Undercrossing” as it connected Beech Street on both sides of the tunnel.

When I-75 was built in the late 1950s another pedestrian tunnel had to be built under the interstate almost 200 feet long that lined up with the tunnel under the railroad tracks, although there was about 25 feet of open air space between the two tunnels.

Notice that the tunnel under the railroad had a flat roof while the tunnel under I-75 had a rounded roof. Also the the tunnel under the tracks sat a bit lower than the tunnel under I-75 so a staircase with 8 concrete steps was built between the 2 tunnels.

I did speak to one man who told me he tried to drive his MG through the tunnel but got stuck and it had to be pulled out with a tow truck. Channel 9 News in Cincinnat got wind of the story and reported it on their newscast later that evening with Al Schottlekotte.

Both tunnels were sealed shut sometime int the 1980s or 1990s. I wasn’t able to find an exact year but if you know, leave a comment below.

Many years after the tunnels were closed, construction was being done on I-75 over the tunnels when the construction crews broke through the roof of the tunnel. That portion of the tunnel was filled in and construction resumed on the interstate.

Thousands of people drive over this tunnel everyday and most have no idea it’s down there. Did you???

GPS Coordinates: 39º10’16.2″N 84º30’04.3″W