(Editor’s note: First of two parts)
Hamilton County Judge Seth M. Walker decided early in his administration to improve access to Chattanooga for residents living east and west of the city. The Stringer’s Ridge Tunnel, providing an easier route of travel for residents of the valley and Signal Mountain, incurred delays but opened with great ceremony and acclaim in March 1910. Simultaneously, construction began on a tunnel through “Mission Ridge” that would bring Brainerd closer to Chattanooga for business, health care and sense of community. However, the Missionary Ridge project would take significantly longer and frequently frustrate county leaders.
In April 1910, the Chattanooga News reported that Judge Walker’s road projects were progressing well. “The public roads of this county are in better condition now than they ever were … . The opening of the tunnel through Stringer’s Ridge has given the public a better route to the Walden’s Ridge portion of the county … . The work on the Missionary Ridge tunnel is progressing well. When it is completed, people living east of this ridge will have a much better route to and from Chattanooga. We should support the county authorities … .”
Newspaper accounts reminded the judge and the Quarterly Court of consistent delays in drilling and completion of the tunnel. Less than six months after the Stringer’s Ridge dedication, newspaper headlines seemed to spell doom: “Hole in the Hill Promises to Remain Simply a Hole — Work on Mission Ridge Tunnel at Standstill over Business Differences. MUD CRUMBLES, TUMBLES, AND THINGS ARE IN A MESS. No ‘Outcome’ promised soon.” Work had ceased on the tunnel as the “baffled contractors” searched for a solution and attempted to negotiate with the county for additional funds.
County Engineer W.L. Dodds and the contractor, H.F. McFarland, came to a standoff, refusing to meet further. “In the meantime, the people who have been looking forward for so long to the completion of the tunnel … will have to resign themselves again to patience and waiting.”