MacArthur Tunnel
West entrance of the MacArthur Tunnel
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Presidio Tunnel |
| Other name(s) | General Douglas MacArthur Tunnel |
| Location | San Francisco, California |
| Coordinates | 37°47′33.7″N 122°28′10.48″W / 37.792694°N 122.4695778°WCoordinates: 37°47′33.7″N 122°28′10.48″W / 37.792694°N 122.4695778°W |
| Route |
 SR 1
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| Crosses | Presidio (San Francisco) |
| Operation | |
| Work begun | October 1938 |
| Constructed | Macco Construction |
| Opened | April 21, 1940 |
| Owner | California Department of Transportation |
| Traffic | automotive |
| Toll | none |
| Vehicles per day | 69,000 (2000) |
| Technical | |
| Length | 1,300 feet (400 m) |
| No. of lanes | 4 |
| Route map | |
| United States San Francisco Central | |
The MacArthur Tunnel, formally known as the General Douglas MacArthur Tunnel, is a highway tunnel in San Francisco, California.
It is located within the Presidio of San Francisco, now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
The tunnel carries California State Route 1 under a large hill and under the Presidio Golf Course. It connects Park Presidio Boulevard (Hwy 1) in the Richmond District to US 101 on the Doyle Drive viaduct, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
When the Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937, the approach for northbound traffic to Marin County was carried solely by Doyle Drive, from the east. Although a second approach from the south, known as the Funston Avenue approach, was included in the initial plans for the bridge, it was not ready in time for the opening; just a year after opening, traffic over the bridge had doubled by 1938, adding urgency to completing the Funston approach. In March 1936, General Paul Malone made clear the Army's position was the Funston approach would include a tunnel or else it would not approve the planned route through the San Francisco Presidio.
General George S. Simonds, the successor to Gen. Malone, indicated tentative approval of plans for a tunnel for the Funston approach in July 1936, but formal approval of the plans and a permit to begin construction were not signed until August 1938 as the plans that had been reviewed – and the accompanying permission to construct on the Presidio – were conceptual up to that point.
The Redwood Empire Association called upon city and Golden Gate Bridge District directors to rename the Funston approach just before it opened in 1940, suggesting possibilities such as "Golden Gate Bridge Parkway," "Golden Gate Bridge-Way," and "Golden Gate Bridge–Redwood Empire-way." The completion of the Funston Avenue approach was celebrated with a two-day gala in April 1940.
The construction contract for the Funston Avenue approach was awarded in September 1938 to Macco Construction company, who had built the approach for southbound traffic over the Waldo Grade. The Macco contract was awarded at their bid of US$593,042 (equivalent to $10,090,100 in 2016) and included the laying of a concrete tunnel 1,300 feet (400 m) long.
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