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Entering this tunnel is another venture that is, for me, off limits. The sheer terror of the prospect of being trapped inside the mountain is enough to thwart any imuplses caused by intrigue. Breaking through the metal sarcophagus that encases the tunnel represents a significant barrier to access, but not one that others haven’t overcome; There are photographic accounts of the interior from the time the eastern shore of the Wanaque River, across from the tunnel, was still guarded in 1976, to as recent as 2017. The author of the latter was thoughtful enough to arm himself with a radiation detector, which he reported to be “squealing” at certain points. The photos from each venture recall the blurred boundaries of a manufactured cavescape, sometimes bound by ribbed iron sheets, and a natural passageway more reminiscent of a lava tube.

Above: Exterior and interior of Cladding Tunnel, 1976. Photos by Terri Kennedy

Opposite: “A Dark Journey into the Netherworld: The DuPont Cladding Tunnel” by Justin Gurbisz, in Weird NJ magazine, issue #48, Spring/Summer 2017.