The European mole is well researched. The two common varieties that we trap here in the States (Scalopus aquaticus and Parascalops breweri) are similar enough to the European that we probably can draw similar conclusions on the behaviors mentioned in this thread. With that, a couple of points:
1. In Britain, there is documentation that moles will tunnel under roadways. I’ve seen plenty of mounds on opposite sides of a sidewalk (indicating a linking tunnel under the sidewalk), but never on opposite sides of a road. I highly doubt that a mole can sideways displace the dirt under a road, so they would have to pull it back out and create mounds on either side of a road. In the absence of ever seeing these mounds, my conclusion is that a mole crosses a road above ground rather than under. There’s gotta be a joke there, “Why did the mole cross the road?”
This raises the question of why the European mole does tunnel under the their roads. I don’t have any grand answers, but it may be a combination of things such as the width of their roads, displacement characteristics of their soil, etc.
2. Excavation research on mole tunnels suggests a normal maximum depth of around 150-cm, or roughly 5-feet deep. This does not quite match up with the suggestion that a mole was digging as deep as the deep end of a swimming pool. I’m curious, warrior, how did you determine the depth of the tunneling you saw?
3. EatenByLimestone, I took your comment about “its always night underground” as tongue-in-cheek. It did remind me that many species of moles have distinct timeframes of activity each day (when they are active). The first run is before sun up and into the early sunrise, a second is before/after high noon, and a later period that is after dark. All three appear to be triggered at some level by solar cues.
In any case, the points within this thread raise some interesting thoughts about mole behaviors and capabilities.