Meet the Brunkeberg Ridge Tunnel. Stockholm has a ridge running through it, thanks to ice age shenanigans. As the city grew up on either side of it, crossing it was a pain, especially in the age of power by horses. Then this genius entrepreneur talked the powers that be into letting him build a tunnel through it. Naturally the damn thing took a lot longer to build and cost way more than anyone expected. When it finally opened in 1886, nobody wanted to pay the toll required to use it. The builder couldn’t recoup his costs and went bankrupt. The city took it over and it’s still in use today, 139 years later.Check out the above link for a cool description of the tunnel’s construction, which involves the ingenious use of ice.
We happened upon the tunnel and walked it this week. It’s weirdly fun, popular with bikers and walkers, another tool in a contemporary city that supports non-car infrastructure.
Doesn’t it make you want to travel to the past and tell the guy who dreamed it up that time was his project’s friend?
Susan Palmer's Exquisite Now 