The sleepy town of Whittier, Alaska, is so remote that its 265 residents must return home before 11 p.m. to avoid being shut out. There are only two ways to reach the town tucked away on the west side of the Prince William Sound: by boat or by driving through a one-way tunnel that runs directly beneath a glacier. The tunnel closes at 11 p.m., so anyone looking to get into town after that time will have to wait. until morning. Whittier enforces a strict curfew and closes the tunnel every night using a timekeeping system. The span is the longest combined vehicle-railroad tunnel in North America and runs for 2½ miles. It takes approximately 6 minutes to travel through the tunnel if a driver is adheres to the 25mph speed limit. Since the tunnel is a one-way road, each time slot is scheduled for 15 minutes, beginning at 5:30 a.m. in the summer and 7 a.m. in the winter. Oversized vehicles are even more limited, as they are only allowed to travel the tunnel from Monday to Thursday. Another limitation is that cars and the Alaska Railroad Corporation share the tunnel, requiring them to take turns. Train track switches are used to direct trains away from the tunnel when it’s open to highway traffic. That means if a train is delayed, the cars just have to wait. The process to get through the tunnel is intricately planned. Once a car pays the $13 toll, vehicles are lined up in precise order: buses, trucks, cars, and then vehicles towing trailers. Whittier is 50 miles from Anchorage, which is short by Alaskan standards.
