Phobia of underwater tunnels?

[Mdcastle]

My sister has a phobia about underwater tunnels, and I'm not that keen about them myself... This is relevant since we're going to the Tidewater area and it's somewhat hard to avoid them. Ever heard of this before or is she the the only one. I still plan to see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel since that's the only reasonable way to get from Norfolk to Chinconteague Island, as well as a marquee roadgeek attraction, but I'll be glad once I'm through the tunnels.

Of course I've been through the Big Dig, and with the allegations of shoddy workmanship that was probably more dangerous than anything in Norfolk...

[1995hoo]

The only time I've felt a fear in an underwater tunnel was in slow traffic in the Battery Tunnel when enough water was coming through the ceiling that it seemed like it was raining.

BTW, I recall seeing your general plan for your loop trip, and it prompts me to remind you that unless you go out of your way you'll go through at least a third underwater tunnel when you take either the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel or the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge-Tunnel. Those can be avoided, though it would take you out of your way to do so. Depending on the level of your sister's phobia, and the amount of time you have, the ferry from Jamestown to Scotland might be a scenic detour to avoid those.

I doubt that sort of phobia is too unusual. It's pretty common for people to be afraid of bridges (to the point where some bridge operators have provided an escort over the years to drive your vehicle over the bridge if you're too scared to do it), so I have to think if that sort of fear exists, a fear of underwater tunnels must as well.

[huskeroadgeek]

I can't say I've ever thought of underwater tunnels any different than land tunnels. I've only been through 3 underwater tunnels(the Lincoln Tunnel in NYC, the Ft. McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore and the tunnel on I-10 in Mobile) but I don't recall feeling any different about them than tunnels through mountains, which I'm more familiar with.

[kphoger]

Some people have a phobia of tunnels, but many people simply have a rational fear of cave-ins.

[Mdcastle]

I am in fact planning to take the Jamestownr Ferry. Once I fly in tomorrow I'm spending that night in the area before hitting the road. My hotel is in Suffolk so it's not going to be too far out of the way to take either the Ferry or the James River bridge.

[1995hoo]

I am in fact planning to take the Jamestownr Ferry. Once I fly in tomorrow I'm spending that night in the area before hitting the road. My hotel is in Suffolk so it's not going to be too far out of the way to take either the Ferry or the James River bridge.

Have fun. BTW, IF your travel takes you through Colonial Williamsburg, use caution at the intersection between the historic area and the William & Mary campus (five-way intersection of Richmond Road, Jamestown Road, Boundary Street, and DOG Street). It's controlled by yield signs and stop signs and the students all know it as "Confusion Corner" because people who don't drive through it regularly have a lot of near-misses. I used to go through there frequently when my brother was a student there, but it's been awhile and so I can't remember the rules anymore (whereas I used to be quite aggressive in seizing the right-of-way there). I mention this because depending on your point of origin, travel through the CW area might strike you as one of the more direct routes to the ferry because Jamestown Road takes you directly to it. Depending on your interests you might prefer to take the Colonial Parkway to Jamestown instead.

[Takumi]

I definitely recommend the Colonial Parkway as well. The western third (between Jamestown and Williamsburg) parallels the James River and the eastern third (Cheatham Annex/VA 199 to Yorktown) provides great views of the York River. There's also an underground tunnel going under Colonial Williamsburg.

On topic, the first few times I went in the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel I was pretty paranoid of a sudden failure, but I was about 9 years old at the time. Now when I go through the tunnels I feel fine, although I usually take the shorter Downtown Tunnel on I-264.

[cpzilliacus]

My sister has a phobia about underwater tunnels, and I'm not that keen about them myself... This is relevant since we're going to the Tidewater area and it's somewhat hard to avoid them. Ever heard of this before or is she the the only one. I still plan to see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel since that's the only reasonable way to get from Norfolk to Chinconteague Island, as well as a marquee roadgeek attraction, but I'll be glad once I'm through the tunnels.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) tunnels are (relatively) short (especially when compared to the overall length of the crossing), from south to north you go through the Thimble Shoal Channel Tunnel and then the Chesapeake Channel Tunnel - then you reach the only (slightly) high overwater part of the facility - the North Channel bridges, after which you arrive on Fisherman Island (still considered part of the CBBT), and then finally onto the mainland of Northampton County, Va. 

Each of the tunnels is about 1 mile long, portal-to-portal.

I suggest it's a good idea to adhere to the posted speed limit when crossing - the CBBT has its own dedicated police force, and they do issue summonses to speeders (since they don't have all that much else to do).

[Duke87]

I actually like driving through tunnels. As with bridges, they are a point of particular interest from an infrastructure perspective.

[florida]

Don't really have a phobia of underwater tunnels, as I've gone through the Holland and Brooklyn Battery Tunnels, but the CBBT looks wicked...even though I want to cross it one day. I just have an irrational fear of being surrounded by water on a tiny spit of land with nothing else in sight. (But I won't be doing the BART tunnel to the East Bay anytime soon...that's a whole different story.)

[bugo]

I've only been through one underwater tunnel (the George Wallace Tunnel in Mobile, Alabama) and it was well lit and the tiles were white so it wasn't scary at all.  I did, however, get a little nervous when I got about halfway through the Liberty Tubes in Pittsburgh.  The tunnels are long, and along with the low speed limit it seemed like it took forever to drive through them.

[Chris]

Norway probably isn't the best place to be if you're afraid of underwater tunnels. They have many very deep underwater tunnels. The deepest one is 942 feet below sea level.

Norwegian Wikipedia has a list:
http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undersj%C3%B8iske_veitunneler_i_Norge

[cpzilliacus]

Norway probably isn't the best place to be if you're afraid of underwater tunnels. They have many very deep underwater tunnels. The deepest one is 942 feet below sea level.

Norwegian Wikipedia has a list:
http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undersj%C3%B8iske_veitunneler_i_Norge

Though that Wikipedia article is in Norwegian.

Beyond underwater tunnels, Norway is also home to the longest highway tunnel in the world (though not an underwater crossing), the Lærdal Tunnel, which is over 15 miles (!) long.