Kirkirei tunnel - uVisitRussia

Kirkirei tunnel

There are two tunnels built close to each other: tunnel № 18, the oldest and shortest one which keeps signs of rock collapses and a new tunnel № 18-bis which is longer than the first one and is located further from the shore.

The last tunnel was built in 1911 together with the stone water bed for Kirkirey spring. Originally the builders wanted to get around the vertical cliff on Kirkirey cape but because of the threat of landsliding, it was decided to build a tunnel on the narrow part of the cape. During the construction of the tunnel, collapses occurred frequently and some cracks appeared which could result in new damages. When the construction of the tunnel was almost finished, a strong earthquake occurred which brought a lot of damage. All efforts made by builders were useless. After the earthquake engineers decided to build another tunnel. The new tunnel is 636 meters long. On the western side of the new tunnel was Kirkirey spring. To move its flow a dam had to be constructed at the height of 66 meters from the Baikal water level. The plate on the tunnel's portal indicates that it was the place where two parts of Transsiberian railway were connected.