Hello! Nashville tunnels?

[nashscan]

Hey guys! I'm pleased to have run up on these boards. I love Nashville, born and raised here.(Crieve Hall) I'm 25.

I have a question about storm sewer systems in Nashville. I remember from my childhood a rather large sewer system entrance in River Plantation in Bellvue in Section I near the intersection of Sawyer Brown Rd. and Hw 70. Does anyone know where it goes or if there are any larger drain/storm systems in the city?

Preston Holland

[Onyte9]

I'm not vey sure about that one but I know there are a long storm drains that run all under the city. There is one we used to walk through when I was a kid that runs under McCabe golf course that is a few miles long. That thing was pitch black and we would walk through it with no flash light holding a stick on the wall to feel our way through it. It was pretty wild. But anywho yeah they are everywhere.

[smeagolsfree]

Welcome to the Planet nashscan.

[crabbj]

Welcome to the Planet nashscan.

I don't know about any major drain tunnels in and around the city, but I do remember while at Belmont there was a fascination about all the underground tunnels starting around the student life center, going all the way to the mansion. The legend is always that these were tunnels for the slaves to cart items or crops back and forth to the mansion. And then the legend became more mythical when it was suggested that it later got walled up because it was a slave tomb. Then some people say it was simply part of the irrigation tunnels leading from the tower, which I choose to believe. For some reason they blocked off access to the tunnels, but on special occasions they remove the grate near the student center to the opening, a creepy steep decline of old bedrock steps. It's closed off but you can walk down and see the opening a little. They say there are other entrances all over the campus, but I never got to find out for myself. Would be kinda fun to look into that.

[Lexy]

There is a tunnel, and the doorman of poetry may be able to shed some light on this, leading form the Renaissance Hotel to the GEC. I think that is common knowledge with urbanites like ourselves though.

[ATLBrain]

Vandy has a vast network of tunnels for the steam trunklines running all under the campus. I've been through a small section around the old hospital. They're amazingly clean and very warm.

[Kheldane]

I would love to have a forum meet for the purpose of exploring tunnel systems at vandy, belmont, and where ever else. I went looking for the convention-center/ GEC tunnel a while back and found nothing. I also heard there was a tunnel from the Hilton to the GEC - probably a myth though.

When I lived downtown at Riverfront apt.s there was a MAJOR storm-drain/sewer line running under that complex right next to the river. Whenever a thunderstorm would break out over east nashville the storm drains would carry water under the river and into this tunnel on the downtown side. The rapid increase in pressure would cause the man-hole cover to "blow it's top" and go flying off. They eventually had to bolt it down but it would still put on an amazing show. It was loud as hell too, and there was high-pressue water vapor spraying stinky air out with each gush of air. The "eruptions" came in waves about one second apart. One time a city sewer-worker explained all this to me when they were trying to figure out what was causing it. He said the sewer tunnel at that point was 7-feet in diameter, and the shaft was 70-feet deep. Of course, this is not explorable like the tunnels mentioned above, but I thought it was interesting.

[nashvol85]

Vandy has a vast network of tunnels for the steam trunklines running all under the campus. I've been through a small section around the old hospital. They're amazingly clean and very warm.

Yeah, this summer when I was helping move offices at Vandy I got to wander through some of these.

You can walk between all of the medical center buildings via tunnels or skybridges.

[dragonfly]

I would love to have a forum meet for the purpose of exploring tunnel systems at vandy, belmont, and where ever else. I went looking for the convention-center/ GEC tunnel a while back and found nothing. I also heard there was a tunnel from the Hilton to the GEC - probably a myth though.

When I lived downtown at Riverfront apt.s there was a MAJOR storm-drain/sewer line running under that complex right next to the river. Whenever a thunderstorm would break out over east nashville the storm drains would carry water under the river and into this tunnel on the downtown side. The rapid increase in pressure would cause the man-hole cover to "blow it's top" and go flying off. They eventually had to bolt it down but it would still put on an amazing show. It was loud as hell too, and there was high-pressue water vapor spraying stinky air out with each gush of air. The "eruptions" came in waves about one second apart. One time a city sewer-worker explained all this to me when they were trying to figure out what was causing it. He said the sewer tunnel at that point was 7-feet in diameter, and the shaft was 70-feet deep. Of course, this is not explorable like the tunnels mentioned above, but I thought it was interesting.

Would like to invite Nashvillians to Houston, home of probably the best tunnel system in the South, and an under-appreciated wonder. Our downtown tunnel system has 7 miles linked, including many skywalks that are linked to it. You can go from almost any large building to any other, and buy most anything along the way, and stay dry. The five theaters/performance facilities all have adjacent access. Here is a link to a site maintained by the Tunnel Lady:

www.discoverhoustontours.com/Welcome%20to%20the%20Downtown%20Houston%20Tunnel%20System%20020722.htm

Here is a map of the system:

www.houstondowntown.com/ImagesFiles/Map-TunnelMapinAcrobat/Map%20-%20Tunnel%20Map%20in%20Acrobat.PDF

This is the only place conceivable to me that cries out for a Segway -- no curbs or steps. (Bikes are prohibited.) All of the city's gigantic underground parking system is seamlessly linked in. This multilevel parking system is mostly under the theater district, library, city hall, park and plaza spaces, and streets crisscrossing these areas. Notice from the map how Harris County has a separate tunnel system not to be laughed at either, which is not linked to the downtown system. The tunnel systems and parking facilities sustained heavy damage from the floods of Allison in 2001.

There are maybe half dozen office towers not on the system, and a couple of hotels and residential towers not on it. Also excluded are 1 hospital, a couple of churches, and the 2 sports complexes.

[crabbj]

That sounds neat! Must not be much or any bedrock at all there in Houston huh? It would take forever to blast through all the rock to have a system like that here. I didn't know Vandy was connected like that.