The I-89 Tunnel System
Located southeast of Paradise City in the Western Wastes, the Interstate 89 tunnel provides the most direct route between the Paradise City trade hub and the smaller settlements east of the Jagged Peaks, running in a generally east-west direction. Before the Great War sent the world into chaos, the I-89 Mega Tunnel was a fifty mile tunnel, the longest and largest in the world at the time of its construction, consisting of eight traffic lanes and a massive support system that would provide emergency shelter and services should a severe accident occur. During peak usage, this tunnel saw perhaps a hundred thousand or more vehicles a day.
Every mile within the tunnel was a small emergency services and safety station, where traffic officers would monitor the flow of traffic and assist should minor accidents occur. These stations also served as the entrances to the emergency tunnels that ran parallel to the main tunnel, along the full length, on either side, and exiting at both ends. These tunnels, in the event of a catastrophic emergency (such as a massive pile up resulting in a severe fire event) would allow travelers to safely escape the tunnel, and provided temporary emergency shelter and supplies.
There were multiple ‘police boxes’ in the tunnel, one on either side of the road, placed every five miles along the tunnel. These served as the stations for Tunnel Traffic Corps to remain on duty and deploy in the event of speeders or other violators, with their main base of operations being at the center of the tunnel in the area known as the Fuel n’ Fun Zone. These were connected via additional tunnels out of sight of normal traffic flow, and typically had half a dozen patrol cars each, with a dozen officers on duty at any given time. Thanks to the impressive camera monitoring system built within the tunnel, their job was usually an easy one.
After the Great War
After the Great War, the tunnel was generally impassable for several years. When the bombs started falling, the massive traffic flow turned into a chaotic mess as blast waves from the magically-infused nuclear bombs rolled through the tunnel at both ends, causing massive pileups of vehicles, which, due to intense heat from the blasts and the subsequent fires that filled the tunnel, would fuse together into an impassable quagmire of burnt steel. The support systems within the tunnel failed almost immediately as they were overwhelmed, and those lucky enough to have survived deeper into the tunnel became panicked in the mass confusion, fighting wildly to escape through the emergency tunnels, which were likewise compromised by the blasts and flooded with radioactive fire and suffering multiple collapses throughout their lengths.
Only once thing started to settle down and a new kind of society began to take shape did anyone attempt to navigate through the tunnel system. Most who tried were never seen again, resulting in most trade caravans and travelers taking the much longer route leading them through the Jagged Peaks, turning what had once been an hour’s drive into a week-long journey. It was after Paradise City was officially formed that a concerted effort was made to reopen the tunnel for travel; by this time the worst of the radiation had faded to manageable levels, and new groups had formed to deal with the mutants and abominations that had grown common within the wastes.
The newly reformed Tunnel Traffic Corps, a group of former soldiers, mercenaries, wasteland survivalists, engineers, and resourceful independents, with the support of the various factions controlling Paradise City, were tasked with blazing a trail through the tunnel. Taking several months and costing dozens, if not hundreds, of lives, the TTC were nonetheless successful in cutting a path through the wreckage and collapses within the tunnel, creating the first traversable, if not entirely safe, route through the I-89 tunnel since before the war. From then on, or at least, as funding and raiders from the wastes would allow, the TTC would strive to keep the route open and as free of mutants as possible.
With the tunnel route opened, trade caravans can generally expect a two-day journey to and from Paradise City, though it can take longer depending on the nature of the caravan, whether they’ll need to maneuver by another group traveling in the opposite direction, and general mutant activity. Hiring on additional guards is always recommended, and freelance mercenaries are always able to find work at either end of the tunnel.
The Fuel n’ Fun Zone
Located in the very center of the I-89 Tunnel is a former tourist trap known as the Fuel n’ Fun Zone, built within a massive natural cavern. This location once offered fuel, food, a place to rest, medical services, and even a small amusement park to entertain travelers. For a time, it was one of the most visited places in the country. There was even another smaller cavern system beneath the park, known as the Firefly Caverns, which had unusual crystalline formations that glowed faintly all on their own, winking in and out like fireflies.
This area is generally considered to be about as safe as anywhere else in the tunnel, with most surviving buildings having been pilfered and looted already, though some treasures may still be found if one is brave enough. Though mutant creatures still show up here from time to time, coming from somewhere beneath the area, the most pressing danger are the Parkers, a group of cannibals who have claimed the amusement park for themselves. They tend to keep to themselves, and won’t usually attack larger groups, but will eagerly go after individuals or smaller parties that venture too close to their domain. There have been stories about them keeping their victims alive as long as possible, cutting off bits and pieces at a time, and storing their mutilated victims in makeshift cages attached to the Ferris wheel at the rear of the park. Some rumors even persist that they maintain their numbers through strange magic, converting those victims they deem worthy into new family members, should they survive.
The Fuel n’ Fun Zone makes up the first level of the I-89 megadungeon, and will be detailed in the next article in this series.
Keep your eyes open for the next entry, and thanks for reading!
Till next time, stay safe out there! Over and out!