Gov. Robert P. Casey officially opened the new southbound Lehigh Tunnel on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike yesterday afternoon, labeling it “an investment in the future.”

Casey served as the keynote speaker for the program and then rode in the back seat of a spotless 1909 Peerless convertible driven by Dr. Stanley Cope of Palmerton as the car snapped the red, white and blue ribbon held by two Lehighton Area High School students.

The new 4,380-foot tube runs parallel to the original box-shaped opening which was constructed in the mid-1950s and is aimed at alleviating severe backlogs of traffic on the turnpike. Groundbreaking for the new tunnel took place on Valentine’s Day, 1989.