10 US Tunnels That SCARE Drivers The Most! (Here's Why)

A bridge puts the fear in front of you. You can see it coming. A tunnel puts the fear around you. The moment you go in, the sky is gone, the horizon is gone, and the only way out is the other end. These are the ten scariest tunnels in the United States — and what has already happened inside them: The Lincoln Tunnel, New York — The most congested tunnel in the country. Fifty-four thousand vehicles a day through eighty-year-old concrete. In 2012, twenty-eight people were injured in three separate crashes within five hours. In 2023, a car caught fire and trapped drivers in the smoke. The Port Authority has not released the full inspection results. The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, Virginia — No escape walkways in either tube. Twenty crashes a month. Ninety breakdowns. In 2016, two cars caught fire three-quarters of the way through. Eighty drivers walked out through the smoke because there was nowhere else to go. The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, Alaska — Two and a half miles. One lane. Cars and trains share the same tube. Built in 1943 for minus forty degrees and hundred-and-fifty-mile-per-hour winds. The only road to Whittier. A professional truck driver described his first crossing as white-knuckling it with absolutely no bailout position. The Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel, Colorado — The highest vehicular tunnel in the United States at eleven thousand feet. The tunnel itself has never had a fatality. In April 2026, seventy-five vehicles piled up just east of the exit as drivers emerged into snow that had been building while they were inside. The Wind River Canyon Tunnels, Wyoming — Three tunnels bored through solid rock with a curve in each one. You cannot see through. Oncoming traffic appears around the bend without warning. Professional drivers describe them as not looking like they fit a cow wagon. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, Virginia — Twelve-foot lanes beneath the bay. One hundred feet of water overhead. Naval vessels crossing above you. A professional truck driver described it as completely claustrophobic with absolutely no bailout position. The Holland Tunnel, New York — Ninety-eight years old. Nine-foot lanes. In 1979, a truckload of flammable chemicals caught fire inside. The explosion opened a hole in the tunnel floor. Divers worked from below to patch it before the Hudson River could enter. The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel — What No Escape Walkway Actually Means — It is the primary hurricane evacuation route for Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake. Twenty crashes a month. No walkways. If something goes wrong during an evacuation, the storm is behind you and the tunnel is ahead and there is no other road. The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel — What Shared-Lane Actually Means — The only public vehicular tunnel in America where cars share a lane with active railroad service. One lane. Two and a half miles. A mountain above you. The only road to a town of two hundred and fifty people. There is no other way in or out. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel — What Twelve Feet Beneath The Bay Actually Means — Twelve-foot lanes. One hundred feet of water above. A mile and a third with no exit. The bay does not know you are there. The engineering does. One hundred million vehicles have made that crossing since 1964. Most of them made it through without incident. Bridges put the fear in front of you. Tunnels put it around you. By the time you feel it, you are already inside. The only way through is forward.