For now, all of this is in the rails-to-trails project phase as reported on the Mid-Atlantic Rails-to-Trails Conservancy website, meaning that one day, I can walk/bike from Afton through the tunnel to Waynesboro and on up to connect with the Shenandoah National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway or the Appalachian Trail.

My husband and I hiked back to the truck, then drove over Rockfish Gap to the western side and parked along Route 250, where we met a small group of UVA students also in search of the tunnel. They led us up the backside of the mountain along a wooded trail through patches of snow and briars, up atop the former rail bed, then down into a steep gulch that narrowed to the cut block-faced western entrance of the Blue Ridge Tunnel, an egg-shaped Gothic arch. At the opening to the shimmering, brick-lined interior, water drips and forms a nest of ice stalagmites, adding a touch of drama to this cavernous vault, a much more theatrical space than the eastern opening. The tunnel’s vast interior acts like a cave, making it much warmer than the portals and providing a cozy home for bats. When renovation is complete, visitors will be able to walk almost a mile through this tunnel void of daylight, just like Stonewall Jackson did in 1862 as he played cat and mouse with the Union during the Valley Campaign.

It will take serious funds to make this rail-to-trail conversion possible. Nelson County obtained the tunnel from CSX in 2001 and last year submitted a project request asking U.S. Representative Tom Perriello to seek $4.36 million earmarked for the Tunnel Project from the House Appropriations Committee for fiscal year 2010. He did so last April. Unfortunately, the proposal was denied, but Congressman Perriello’s office says that the County can make a request again this year.

I hope they’re successful, because this effort could afford a big tourist boon for Nelson as well as Augusta and Albemarle counties. What took eight years to complete by hand in the 19th century, however, may take twice as long to renovate in the 21st.

Standing inside the western entrance, one gawks in amazement at Crozet’s genius. Using his calculations, workers tunneled from opposite sides of the mountain by hand, using picks, drills and chisels and blasting with black powder (no dynamite invented yet). Setbacks included encroaching water, cholera, slides, feuds and accidents, but on Christmas Day in 1856, more than six years after breaking ground, workers broke through from opposite sides. The holes were said to have been less than an inch apart. This tunnel was in use until 1944, when a larger adjacent tunnel was completed to accommodate taller freight cars.