Mile: 155.2, 11-Aug-98
The North (downstream) entrance to the Paw Paw tunnel. Rather than follow the Potomac along a 6-mile bend, the engineers decided to tunnel through the side of a mountain. Construction was begun in 1836, and was scheduled to be completed in 1838. The work proved to be much harder than anticipated, and the tunnel was not completed until 1850. The tunnel is 3,118 feet long, and is in very good shape.