The Lincoln Tunnel is a 2.4 km long tunnel under the Hudson River, which consists of three tubes of vehicles. It connects Weehawken, New Jersey, on the west bank of the Hudson River, with Midtown Manhattan in New York City on the east bank. An important travel corridor in the New York metropolitan area, designed by Norwegian-born civil engineer Ole Singstad and named after US President Abraham Lincoln.
The Lincoln Tunnel was originally proposed in the late 1920s and early 1930s as the Midtown Hudson Tunnel . Lincoln Tunnel pipelines were built gradually between 1934 and 1957, which were delayed for various reasons. The central tube, initially deprived of sufficient funds due to the Great Depression, began construction in 1934 and opened in 1937. The northern tube, which began construction in 1936, was delayed due to material shortages related to World War II and opened in 1945. Although the initial plan for the Lincoln Tunnel called two tubes, the third tube to the south of the tunnel was planned in 1950 due to high demand for traffic in the other two tubes. Due to a dispute over the tunnel approach, the construction on the third tube did not begin until 1954, and the third tube opened in 1957. The Lincoln tunnel underwent a series of gradual improvements over the next few decades, including changes to the security and highway methods.
The Lincoln Tunnel is one of two tunnel cars built under the Hudson River; the other is the Dutch Tunnel between Jersey City, New Jersey, and Lower Manhattan. The Lincoln Tunnel is also one of six tolling crossings in the New York area owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Toll at every intersection is only collected eastward. In 2016, both directions of the tunnel carry a combined 112,995 crossings of vehicles every day. The tunnel is part of New Jersey Route 495 on the western side of the river, and the New York Route 495 in the east of the river, although the last appointment is not signed, and its use is inconsistent in official documents.
Video Lincoln Tunnel
Description
Three tubes, operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (formerly the Port of the New York Authority), consist of six lanes of traffic in total and carry a combined total of nearly 113,000 vehicles per day by 2016. By 2017, there are 19,039,210 tolls collected eastward. Although central tubes typically provide one travel path in each direction, the two travel paths in the center tube of the tunnel can be reversed and can be configured for traffic jam requests if required. The north and south tubes each carry traffic to the west and east exclusively. Usually, only motor traffic uses tunnels, but every year, some bike and race tours run past special settings.
Although the three portals side by side in New Jersey, the northern tube portal is one block west of the two-tube portal in New York City. Portal east of the northern tube near Eleventh Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets, while center and south tubes appear side by side on Tenth Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets. As a result, all three tunnels have different lengths. The longest tube is a 8,216-foot (2.504 meter) central tube, which runs parallel to the south-south (south) 8,6-foot (2,440 meters) tube. The northern tube has a length of 7,482 feet (2,281 meters), and this difference arises because its portal location in Manhattan is located in the westernmost block of the other two tunnel portals.
New Jersey Approach
The main approach road on the New Jersey side is New Jersey Route 495 (NJ 495), a state highway operating in the east-west direction in an open cut through Union City. The New Jersey approach road, locally known as "Helix" and previously called "Corkscrew", turned into three-quarters of a circle before arriving at the toll booth in front of the tunnel portal. This is because of the steep cliffs of King's Bluff in Union City, which is located just above the tunnel portal. The helix road goes down over 4,000 feet (1,200 m).
NJ 495 approached Helix from the west, across John F. Kennedy Boulevard East. To the east of the JFK Boulevard East overpass, the NJ 495 highway curved southward and began to decline. At this point, the west has a northbound path that deviates to two streets: north of JFK Boulevard East, and Avenue Park north. Both directions of NJ 495 continue south to the stone shelf and then to the viaduct, which descends before turning west and then northward. Meanwhile the west curve, helix across JFK Boulevard East again, this time in the east to west direction. As the viaduct turns north, Park Avenue begins to follow the viaduct along its western side. The two directions are split, and the road from the central tube to Park Avenue south rises between two traffic directions. The road from north Avenue Avenue to the tunnel to the east extends outward (east) from the bridge over the bridge, while the road from the western tunnel to the south Avenue Avenue dips into a short tunnel under the road. The road itself climbs King's Bluff in a relatively straight line from south to north.
As Park Avenue continues to climb the ledge, the bridge over descends to the ground, where there is a toll booth for traffic to the east. There are no tolls for traffic to the west. On the north of the highway, the highway is divided into a portal for three tubes, which are decorated with stones. The tube then curved to the east and crossed under the Hudson River. This toll has 13 expressways.
By 2015, the Port Authority considers Helix to have a working lifespan of ten years. Alternative replacements include a tunnel under Palisades directly to the Lincoln Tunnel portal. In June 2018, the New Jersey Transportation Department, which maintains NJ 495, announced that it will renovate the Helix structure for more than two years. According to the US Highway User Alliance, Helix is ​​considered one of the most crowded corridors on the east coast of the United States: by 2018, drivers spend a cumulative 3.4 million hours per year sitting in traffic at Helix.
An administration building is also located on the New Jersey side. The administration building is located along Boulevard East, which runs along the east side of the toll plaza.
Manhattan Approach
The traffic coming out of the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan usually uses Dyer Avenue or the Lincoln Tunnel Expressway. Dyer Avenue runs between the Ninth and Tenth Roads and is in three segments: 30th-31st Streets, 34th-36th Streets, and 40th-42nd Streets. The Lincoln Tunnel Expressway, a two-way highway passing below the road surface, connects the southernmost part of Dyer Avenue to the Lincoln Tunnel. The main entrance to the Lincoln tunnel is Galvin Avenue, as well as the Lincoln Tunnel Expressway and two southern parts of Dyer Avenue. Galvin Avenue runs between the Tenth and Eleventh Road and carries traffic south from 42nd to 40th Streets.
The southernmost tube, which carries traffic eastwards to New York, appears in the northeast of the intersection of 38th Street and Tenth Avenue. This leads directly to both feet north and south of Dyer Avenue. The northern legs lead to 40 to 42 Streets and carry only traffic to the north, while the south foot leads to 36th to 34th Streets and carries both traffic directions between these streets. On 36th Street, the exit from south of Dyer Avenue leads to the Lincoln Tunnel Expressway, which continues down 31st Street (for western traffic) and 30th Street (for traffic to the east). The surface of Dyer Avenue continues down 35th Street, where western traffic can turn right, and then onto 34th Street, where traffic can turn left or right for traffic east and west, respectively.
The central tube, which is reversible, rises to ground level just south-east of 39th Street and Tenth Avenue, parallel to the southernmost tube. Tube tubes directly to the South Lincoln Tunnel Expressway, while the exit leads to both feet of Dyer Avenue. A road from the highway to the north also leads to the central tube.
The northern tube, bringing traffic westward to New Jersey, is fed from four ramps. The first climb comes from the junction of 30th Street and Dyer Avenue, and leads to the Lincoln Tunnel Expressway to the north. This road carries traffic from both Tentth Avenue to the north and South Ninth Avenue. The second line deviates from the east 33rd Street and fuses directly to the northern expressway. The third road leads from the Dyer Avenue segment that runs between 34th Street and 36th Street. This incline only carries traffic from 34th West Road, but also contains an interchange with 35th Road westbound and both directions 36th Street. The third road then merges with the highway, which goes down a short tunnel to 10th Avenue and 40th Street. At this point, the surface of the highway and there is an option to exit on the left, west 39th Street. It is marked as the last exit in New York. The fourth road joins highway traffic at this point, carrying traffic from the intersection of 40th Street and Galvin Avenue. The eastbound traffic on 40th Street is forced to enter this road, while traffic to the west at 40th Street and the southbound traffic on Galvin Avenue has the option of getting on the road or continuing on 40th Street. After the fourth road merged with the highway to the west, the road swooped into the northern tube east of Eleventh Avenue.
Exclusive bus line
During the morning rush hour, a lane of traffic in the center of the tube, Lincoln Tunnel Exclusive Bus Lane (XBL), is only used by buses. It is fed by the New Jersey Turnpike at ExitsÃ, 16E and 17, and New Jersey Route 3.
XBL is by far the most busy and most productive bus line in the United States. The line operates early in the morning from 6 am to 10 am, accommodating about 1,700 buses and 62,000 commuters, most of which proceed to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The riders on the bus use XBL higher than the NJ Transit to NJ Transit commuter rail. Over 100 bus operators use the Exclusive Bus Lane. The New Jersey Transit operates fifty-seven interstate bus routes through the Lincoln Tunnel, as well as many remote and regional companies.
The XBL was first proposed in 1964, when research was conducted to address feasibility such as bus lanes during peak periods of working mornings. XBL was approved experimentally in September 1970, because the bus from New Jersey will be stuck in a heavy congestion inside the tunnel. The bus line was held in December of the same year, exclusively carrying the bus during the morning rush hour. Due to the success of the bus lanes, it was made permanent after the trial for a year ended.
Maps Lincoln Tunnel
History
Planning
The idea for a three-tube tunnel of vehicles under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to West Side of Manhattan, New York, was first proposed by Darwin R. James in 1923. The Manhattan entrance can be built at any point between 23rd and 42nd Streets, while the New Jersey entrance will be located just across the river either in Hoboken or Weehawken. According to the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, the James company has enough resources to begin construction. The first trans-Hudson tunnel, the Holland Tunnel that connects downstream Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lower Manhattan, was under construction at the time. After the opening of the Dutch Tunnel in 1927 it was popular among motorists, leading to a proposal for the Weehawken-Manhattan tunnel in early 1928.
The Weehawken-Manhattan tunnel, along with the Triborough Tunnel linking the East Side of Manhattan to the New York City area of ​​Queens, will help facilitate traffic to and from Midtown Manhattan. It was proposed that two tunnels would eventually form a direct route from New Jersey to the east of Long Island through Manhattan and Queens. Others suggested linking New Jersey and Queens directly through one continuous tunnel. By the end of 1928, both New York and New Jersey had elected new governors Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York and Morgan F. Larson of New Jersey, and both supported the construction of a new transport network. General George R. Dyer, chairman of the New York Bridge and Tunnel Commission, and Theodore Boettger, chairman of the Interstate Bridge and Tunnel Commission of New Jersey jointly signed a letter to the governors of each state. After the Manhattan-Queens tunnel was officially recommended by the New York City Council Estimate in June 1929, the respective heads of state bridges and tunnels each reaffirmed their proposal to expand the Manhattan-Queens tunnel to New Jersey.
The New York State Legislature considered two proposals for the Weehawken-Manhattan tunnel in January 1930. Although both would link Weehawken to 38th Street in Manhattan, a proposal asked the Port Authority to build and operate the tunnel, while others would require operations by the "Joint Tunnel Committee ", consisting of bridges and tunnel commissions from both states. Later that month, the New Jersey State Legislature created a committee that, among other things, will negotiate with New York officials about the Weehawken-Manhattan tunnel plan. In February, New Jersey Governor Larson and New York Lieutenant Governor Herbert H. Lehman agreed to send bills to their respective state legislatures, which would authorize tunnel development.
Although both countries have agreed to build the Weehawken-Manhattan tunnel, there is disagreement about who will finance and build the tunnel. The Port Authority and the tunnel commission both wanted to build the tunnel, but the Port Authority believed the tunnel would cost $ 95.5 million while the two-way tunnel commission thought the tunnel would only be $ 66.9 million. Ole Singstad, chief engineer for the state's second tunnel commission, believes the distance between two existing Hudson River vehicle crossings, the Dutch Tunnel and George Washington Bridge, is large enough that the Weehawken-Manhattan tunnel will carry 10 million vehicles in its first year.. Instead, the Port Authority believes that the tunnel will only carry 7 million vehicles in the first year. Other funding issues came after Wall Street Crash in 1929, which caused some potential funding sources to run out.
Disagreements of jurisdictions restrain financing for tunnels, but only briefly. In April 1930, the two state tunnel commissions agreed to join the Port of New York Authority. The combined agency, the Reorganized Port Authority, will build and operate the Weehawken-Manhattan tunnel. Six members of the Port Authority's board are appointed by New Jersey Governor Larson as part of this merger. The agency will be chaired by chairman John F. Galvin and deputy chairman Frank C. Ferguson.
In June 1930, the Port Authority announced that the tunnel would be called "Midtown Hudson Tunnel". In the same month, the agency began to study the traffic patterns around the proposed tunnel portal. In December of the same year, officials from both countries were discussing the initial plan for the tunnel. At that time, it is expected to begin construction next year with the opening of 1938, and is projected to cost $ 95 million, with both countries paying part of the tunnel fee. In January 1931, the Port Authority decided that the construction of the Midtown Hudson tunnel was feasible. It was recommended that the tunnels be built immediately so that the canister began to carry traffic in 1937. The $ 95 million cost was proposed to be offset by 12.5 million vehicles that would use the tunnel in the first year. The initial plan included a "mixing plaza", where traffic to and from Midtown Hudson and Queens-Midtown Tunnels would enter the tunnel, get out into local traffic, or continue through other tunnels.
Early construction was delayed due to the Great Depression, a result of the stock market crash of 1929. The Port Authority was unable to market enough of the bonds at the 4 1 / 4 % that has been decided. The Port Authority is applied to the Federal Reconstruction Finance Agency (RFC) for funds, but the RFC wants the Port Authority to market these bonds at the 5% level, which the Port Authority feels is too high. The Port Authority wants to be able to market bonds at 1 / 2 % level, and so it will wait until such rates it's worth it. Despite the lack of funds for the Midtown Hudson Tunnel itself, the Port Authority was buying real estate in the tunnel, and in April 1932, had bought a lot of real estate in the tunnel's future path. In February 1933, Herbert Lehman, now Governor of New York, announced that his Emergency Public Works Commission would seek a $ 75 million loan for the Midtown Hudson Tunnel from the RFC. In March, after nearly a year of negotiations, the RFC announced a temporary agreement to market these bonds at 1 / 2 % rate. The Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (then Public Works Administration, or PWA) advanced the Midtown Hudson Tunnel project to $ 37.5 million in loans that August. The Port Authority receives the loan, with a view to start construction within two months. The loan will be paid at a relatively low interest rate of 4%, although Galvin states that this loan will only be enough to pay for one of the two planned tubes. At that time, the final property in the right-of-the-road tunnel has not been purchased.
Plans for the New Jersey approach were put forward in September 1933. At first, this approach would curve southward to Bergenline Avenue in Union City, and in the upcoming phase, the approach would be extended across The Palisades to North Bergen. On the Manhattan side, the tube approach will rise to the ground around 39th Street east of Tenth Avenue. Between the Ninth and the Tenth Streets, the approach will then be split in two directions with one road leading south to 34th Street and the other heading north to 42nd Street. The US Department of War held a hearing on the proposed tunnel, where it received only two complaints, both of which were shipping lanes concerned about the Port Authority's intention to use a "blanket" to cover the tube. The blanket is located 40 feet (12 m) below the mean of the water level, approximately equal to the depth of the shipping company's vessel. The War Department gave permission for the construction of the Midtown Hudson Tunnel in October 1933, noting that the top of the new tunnel would be at least 60 feet (18 m) below the average water level, which would allow the Hudson River to be dredged to a lower depth if necessary. Initial drilling was drilled at the bottom of the river basin so that builders could determine the geology of the tunnel route.
First tube
Initial progress
In November 1933, the Port Authority announced that they had selected chief engineers for the Midtown Hudson Tunnel. These officials include O. H. Ammann as Chief Engineer; Ole Singstad, former chief engineer of New York and the New Jersey Tunnel Commission, as Chief Tunnel Consulting Engineer; Ralph Smillie, chief engineer of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, as Design Engineer; Robert Ridgway and James Forgie as tunnel consultants; Charles S. Gleim as Construction Engineer; and Port Authority Commissioner Alexander J. Shamberg as head of the division that will oversee the construction. The former chairman of the Port Authority, John Galvin, will be retained as a consultant. The construction work itself will be overseen by George Breck Montgomery, who has served in the same position for the construction of the Dutch Tunnel.
The tube will extend 6,000 feet (1,800 m) from the New Jersey side ventilation shaft to the New York side construction shaft, but the total length between the portals will be 8,218 feet (2,505 m). It is scheduled to have a 31 foot (9.4 m) diameter carrying a 21-foot-wide (6.4 m) road, with cast iron and outer layer steel and inner layers of concrete. The contract will also include the construction of ventilation holes on each side, as well as an additional 60 foot (18 m) tunnel on the New Jersey side. The tube will get tired of using the shield-tunnel method, and the shield will run from both sides at the same time. The shield on the New York side will pass through a caisson, which allows air pressure in the tunnel to be maintained while the tube is bored. The powering work will start on the New York side first because the construction axle is already sinking west of Eleventh Avenue, while the New Jersey shaft will sink later. Thirty-two ventilation buildings will be built, 15 of which will draw air into the tunnel, and 17 will remove air from the tunnel. The Port Authority received five offers for the construction of the Midtown Hudson Tunnel.
Construction began on the first tube, now the center of the three tubes, on May 18, 1934, with ceremonies on both sides. Officials from the federal, state and municipal levels are present at a ceremony on the New York side, where New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia and New Jersey Governor A. Harry Moore use picks to unearth the first mounds of a shit ceremony. The 700-ton cubic caisson for the New York side dumped into place and sank to the bottom of the river in July. Although caisson has been produced near Kearny, New Jersey, it takes two days to drift to Manhattan because the caisson is so large. Also in July, the problem arose when Weehawken City refused to let the Port Authority conduct a blast for the New Jersey ventilation shaft for more than 12 hours a day. The Port Authority warned that this could delay development. Another disagreement involves hiring unskilled workers to work on the Midtown Hudson Tunnel construction project. Skilled union workers, worried about their particular work being given to unskilled laborers, are threatened with a brief attack on "unfair labor practices", as author Angus Gillespie writes in his Crossing Under the Hudson. After twenty days, officials ensure that skilled work will be provided only to skilled workers, and work is continued.
Meanwhile, the Port Authority has still not obtained and cleared all the land on the Midtown Hudson Tunnel approach. Construction approach on the New York side requires the demolition of 91 buildings, especially tenements, between the Ninth and Tenth Road from 34th to 42nd Street. These buildings, located around Hell's Kitchen, are seen as already dilapidated, or close to such conditions. The unloading process was accidentally helped by a fire that burned one of the buildings condemned in October 1934. The offer for the New York approach opened in June 1935, at which time the demolition of 91 buildings was going on well. On the New Jersey side, there is disagreement about how to build the approach, because Weehawken has been built on a sharp ledge called King's Bluff. In July 1935, after discussing 75 proposals for two and a half years, the Weehawken city council voted to approve a distinctive "loop" approach. At the western end of the Midtown Hudson Tunnel in New Jersey, the tube will curve southward and then end up at the portal, where there will be a toll plaza. A road will deviate to the east, then quickly turn north and then west while climbing the ledge. This circle will lead from Hudson Boulevard East under King's Bluff to Pleasant Avenue at the top.
Sandhogs, a special construction worker, began digging the Midtown Hudson Tunnel from both ends, making tubes of 32 feet and 8,000 feet in diameter between ventilation holes. It's generally easier to dig from the New Jersey side, which is mostly muddy sludge, than from the New York side, which contains tons of rocks. Compressed air is used to prevent river water from tunnel flooding, and temporary bulkheads are built several meters through the construction axis, where air is pumped. The tunnel shield continues to dig through the bulkhead, inside the pressurized chamber. An airlock is provided to prevent workers from undergoing sudden depressurization. Each sandhog works two shifts 3 hours per day, interspersed with three-hour breaks. After one part of the hole is completed, the sandhog collects the 14 metal curved sections into rings 31 feet in diameter and weighs 20 tons. During the construction process, 145,000 cubic meters (111,000 m 3 ) of sediment and earth and 28,000 cubic meters (21,000 m 3 ) of rocky soil were evacuated, and 2,370 metal rings were installed. Reporter LH Robbins wrote a descriptive account of construction work, comparing a tunnel shield with "Steel Hercules", calling the sandhog "strong-oxen, rough-clad", and describing the tunnel itself as being "a bit from the Tartarus region".
The Midtown Hudson Tunnel vehicle tube is being dug from both ends, but the team on the New Jersey side works faster because the soil there is softer. As a result, most of the work has been done by a team working from the New Jersey side, and both ends of the tube were finally connected to caisson on the New York side. The work of the tunnel poses a danger: three workers were killed in the shooting incident during the first year of construction, and the dynamite crash in April 1935 killed three more sandhogs. The sandhogs were dug with an average of 25 feet (7.6 m) per day, and in May 1935, workers from the New Jersey side had dug past the state border. In June, half of the tunnels have been excavated. For a week that month, the sandhogs dug a 250-foot tunnel, which the Port Authority said was the world record for tunneling excavations. Two parts of the tube were connected in a ceremony in August 1935, four months ahead of schedule.
Midtown Hudson Tunnel's financing method was revised at the end of 1935. Initially, the Port Authority had advertised $ 34.3 million in 4 percent-rated bonds, with the first issuance of the first bonds due in 1975. In November, the PWA announced that it would change loan of $ 37.5 million to $ 4.78 million after the Port Authority has sold PWA $ 22.3 million in bonds. The remainder of the balance, approximately $ 10.4 million, will be raised privately, and the Port Authority will collect $ 32.7 million in bonds at the time the grant is awarded. The following month, the Port Authority won $ 16.5 million in bonds with interest rate 3 3 / 4 %. The PWA forwarded the grant to the Port Authority in January 1936.
In December 1935, the Port Authority advertised a bid for the Weehawken entrance plaza. The plaza consists of a loop approach; garage for building maintenance; a customs; a 145-foot (44 m) high-speed steel, brick, and sandstone building above the tunnel; part of the tube connecting the plaza to the existing underwater segment; and space for the second tunnel portal to the north of the first portal. At this time, the Midtown Hudson Tunnel project is a third completed. Part of the tube connected to the entrance plaza was traversed in September of the same year. New Jersey community groups claim that they need to collect $ 9 million in bond funds, since the proposed entrance plaza construction at Weehawken will bring the project cost to $ 46.5 million. This fee will consist of $ 42 million raised in bonds plus a $ 4.78 million PWA grant. In November, Port Authority officials authorized the agency to seek additional $ 9 million from the PWA.
Simultaneously, work began on retrofitting tunnels for vehicle use, so that it could operate by the time 1939 the New York World Fair began. Retrofit consists of mounting ceiling panels with exhaust pipes; roads with airways; and straight retaining walls with ceramic tiles, metal police booths, and catwalks for emergency maintenance and use. Workers installed 800,000 glass tiles, each 6 inches (15 cm) square, along the tube ceiling, consisting of what the New York Times called "the largest glass ceiling in the world". After an unexpected gasoline leak from a gas station near the Midtown Hudson Tunnel, the workers installed a fireproof copper lining in the tunnel. In October, most of the tube retrofit work was done, and the Midtown Hudson Tunnel was scheduled to open in the fall of 1937, several months ahead of schedule. The only major part of the unfinished tunnel is the approach on both sides, but it also runs fast, because the New York approach plaza has been dug up.
Nearly finished
In April 1937, the Midtown Hudson Tunnel was 75% complete, and its opening is projected for next year. Since the tunnel could be likened to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel on the other side of Manhattan, the Port Authority decided to rename the project that month. According to Gillespie, the Midtown Hudson Tunnel was renamed after US President Abraham Lincoln because the Port Authority believed that the tunnel was "parallel to the importance of the George Washington Bridge", named after the first US President. Some other names have been considered and rejected. At the same time, the two approaches under construction on the New York side are named after the chairman of the Port Authority who has become an important figure in the construction of the Lincoln Tunnel. Galvin Avenue, which will connect the tunnel north to 42nd Street, is named after John F. Galvin. Dyer Avenue, which will head south to 34th Street, is named after General George R. Dyer, who died at the time. A contract for the Weehawken approach, the first part of the future "express highway" to the tunnel (now New Jersey Route 495), was granted in July 1937.
In October of the same year, the first tube of the Lincoln Tunnel was nearing completion, and an inspection ceremony was held for New York and New Jersey politicians. The opening of the tube was pushed forward several weeks from the spring of 1938 to the end of 1937. It is estimated that the construction of the Lincoln Tunnel has directly employed 2,800 workers at its peak, worked 6.3 million hours combined, and that workers in 40 states have worked for a combined 15 million hours to produce materials for the construction business.
Opening and early years
The first tube was officially dedicated on December 21, 1937. The opening ceremony was accompanied by a military parade on the New Jersey side, as well as blasting a series of aerial bombs launched from military ships. It was also marked by a separate speech from New York City Mayor La Guardia and governors of New York and New Jersey. The first vehicle started passing the tube at 4:00 am the next day. Sculptor Julio Kilenyi created a memorial for the opening ceremony of the tunnel, having created a similar medal for the opening of the Dutch Tunnel and George Washington Bridge.
The newly opened tube carries traffic in both directions. Passenger cars traveling in either direction are charged 50 cents for a single trip, just like in the Dutch Tunnel, George Washington Bridge, and three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey. If passenger car drivers travel to or from Staten Island on the same journey, they pay 75 cents. Different toll fares are applied to tractor-trailers, who pay $ 2, and motorcycles, who pay 25 cents. Pedestrians, animals, and cyclists are prohibited from using tunnels. Due to the limited capacity of the new tubes, large trucks are temporarily banned, and a minimum speed limit of 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) is charged until the second tube can be completed. Two electric-petrol crane trucks, dubbed as the largest of its kind, are shipped to the Lincoln Tunnel if the vehicle is damaged. Two hundred staff were hired to oversee the daily tunnel operation, working in the administration building on the New Jersey side. Two telephone systems are also installed in the tunnel, one to communicate with workers in the administration building and the other to contact emergency services.
The tube is used by 3,700 vehicles in its first 12 hours of opening, and by 7,661 vehicles within the first 24 hours. The Port Authority designed a slogan to encourage motorists to use the tunnel, advertised it as "Jump to Times Square" and set up road signs for it.
The number of daily traffic decreased with the first month of opening of the tube, as the opening ceremony coincided with the holiday holiday season at the end of December 1937. In any case, the Lincoln Tunnel had brought in less than 10,000 vehicles daily during the December holiday season, compared to the 40,000 daily Holland Tunnel , because the Holland Tunnel contains two 2-lane tubes. The Port Authority markets a new tunnel with the slogan "Do not Mark Time, Time, Use the Lincoln Tunnel", selected from a set of proposals for employees of the Port Authority 3,500. The Lincoln Tunnel saw 1,790,640 vehicles during its first year of operation, but that was not yet profitable: even after all toll revenues were recorded, the Port Authority had spent a net $ 953,857 to operate the tunnel. By 1940, the tunnel was carrying 4,000,000 vehicles annually, and by 1942, that number had risen to 4,500,000. The initial estimate of 1944 mentions the number of vehicles that year at 5.5 million, due to increased traffic during the war.
At the time of opening of the tube, six intercity bus companies submitted plans to run 250 combined buses per day through the tunnel. Earlier, a bus from Weehawken had to drive to the ferry to access Manhattan, but in July 1938, the Interstate Trade Commission authorized the bus company to use the tunnel. Buses pay $ 1 per direction. In March 1939, there were 600 buses per day using the Lincoln Tunnel, running on twelve routes operated by five companies. That month, three other bus companies were licensed to operate a combined total of 600 buses. After this permission is granted, the New York City government opposes further authorization for bus companies, as they will cause congestion on the streets of Manhattan. In December 1940, it was announced that a new bus terminal would be built on the Manhattan side of the Lincoln Tunnel, between Eighth Avenue, 41st Street, Ninth Avenue, and 42nd Street. Manhattan Borough President Stanley M. Isaacs proposed the construction of a short tunnel between the Lincoln Tunnel and the new terminal. The city approved the construction of a new terminal and connecting tunnels in January 1941. The plan for the bus terminal was delayed due to World War II, which used resources devoted to most projects not directly involved in the war effort.
Second tube construction
In November 1936, when construction on the first tube began to recede, the Port Authority's commissioners met to discuss the feasibility of adding a second tube, which lies to the north and parallel to the first tube. Although the original design in 1933 had requested two tubes, the PWA fund only covered the cost of the first tube. It is estimated that if the second tube is immediately constructed, the cost of the tube will be cheaper as workers and machinery are already in place. The commissioners agreed to build a second tube, which is expected to cost an additional $ 33 million, bringing the total project cost to about $ 80 million. The following month, the Port Authority sold $ 10 million in bonds at 3% interest. In August 1937, PWA spent $ 29.1 million in funds for the second tube, which consisted of a $ 26 million loan and a $ 3.1 million grant. By the time the first tube opened in December 1937, the cost of construction had increased to $ 85 million. At that time, the second tube set was completed in 1940.
The contract for the second tube was released in February 1937, at a cost of $ 8.7 million. In July, the steel caisson, similar to the first tube, sank to the Manhattan side at the western end of 39th Street. The following month, three plots of land in New Jersey were obtained to pave the way for the second tube. The second tube project will include the construction of an "express highway" in New Jersey, which will connect to NJ 1 (now part of 1 US) and NJ 3 in western North Bergen. At the opening of the first tube, the express highway ends on the toll square outside the tunnel portal, which leads to Boulevard East and Park Avenue. Bidding for expressways began in January 1938, and a contract for the "helix" road to the express highway was granted in April of that year.
The tedious work on the tube itself took place quickly, and in May 1938, two segments of the second tube were perforated. This is significant because the second tube is only 75 feet (23 m) away from the first tube, and over the past five months, the tedious operation has run while the traffic goes on the adjacent first tube. However, work on the second tube was discontinued in the same month as New Jersey failed to build an adequate approach road to accommodate additional traffic loads. Economic considerations also play an important role in termination of work, since New Jersey Highway Commissioner said that the country lacks money to build this new highway. The tip of the second tube is sealed because it is assumed that there will not be sufficient traffic flow to the first tube to allow the completion of the second tube. The six-lane "loop" road, an approach to the future expressway, opened in October 1938 and extended westward toward Pleasant Avenue, located at the top of the King's Bluff ledge. In June 1939, the Port Authority opened part of the highway from Pleasant Avenue west to NJ 3. The new highway, a divided six-lane road running in open pieces, was designated an east extension of NJ 3.
Work on the second tube continued in April 1941 as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the Port Authority, "Dedication of Port Readiness." The United States Army had regarded the Lincoln Tunnel as an important part of wartime defense, so the Port Authority hastened the plan to complete the pipeline in 1943 for a fee of between $ 9 million and $ 12 million. The new Manhattan portal tube will be placed one block west of the original tube portal, and in August 1941, the Port Authority awarded a contract to build a connecting road from the original tube plaza to the new tube portal. A new street, Galvin Avenue, created from 42nd to 40th Streets, runs between 10th and 11th Streets and brings southbound traffic to the tunnel westward. On the New Jersey side, a contract is awarded for a 3rd western extension of NJ 3 to Little Falls, New Jersey, as well as a partial development of what is now US 46.
Due to wartime material shortages, further construction is delayed for the next two years. Significant progress on the second tube only continued at the end of 1943. In January 1944, work on the new tube was being accelerated because the existing tubes had heavy congestion in both directions during rush hours, as opposed to the situation in mid-1942, at where congestion generally only accumulates toward New York in the morning and New Jersey at night. At this stage, most of the second tube has been completed to the point where traffic can be used in an emergency, and the tube is planned to open in July. However, the work was again delayed, and in November of the same year, the Port Authority announced that a new tube would open in February next.
Operation of two tubes
The second tube opened at noon on February 1, 1945. The new tube was located north of the existing tube. The northern tube is configured to bring traffic westward to New Jersey, while the southern tube is converted from a two-way tunnel to the tunnel to the east to New York. Construction of the two tunnels cost a combined $ 80 million. Unlike for the first tube, there was no official ceremony, though three Port Authority officials drove through the second tube. The first driver to pass the second tube is the brother of the first rider who had passed the original tube in 1937.
After World War II ended in 1945, plans for a new bus terminal on the Manhattan Lincoln Tunnel side were revisited. The new bus terminal, to be built on blocks bordered by 40th Street and 41st Street and 8th and 9th Avenues, was approved in January 1947. The plan was later modified to include a 500-space parking lot on its roof, which would be accessible via a series of ramps from both local roads and the Lincoln Tunnel. The terminal opened in 1950 as the Port Authority's Bus Terminal.
Third tube
Planning and controversy
In 1949, due to increased demand for traffic, New Jersey Governor Alfred E. Driscoll suggested to build a third cross under the Hudson River. He met with the Port Authority's board of commissioners and told them that Holland and Lincoln Tunnels have now reached the full capacity of their 15 million annual vehicles (although the Port Authority noted that Lincoln Tunnel saw only 11.1 million vehicles last year). In the same year, the Port Authority conducted a study of 135,000 riders using the Hudson River crossing. It was found that much traffic in Holland and Lincoln Tunnels could be reduced if another tunnel between New Jersey and Midtown Manhattan was built on the north or south of the Lincoln Tunnel.
In May 1950, the Port Authority commissioner authorized an engineering study for additional tubes to the Lincoln Tunnel. If built, the third tube will be south of the two existing tubes, and it will contain two additional lines at a cost of $ 60 million. The Port Authority also initiated studies on whether local roads near the existing Lincoln Tunnel approach can accommodate traffic from a third tube. In February 1951, the Chairman of the Austin Port Authority J. Tobin announced that traffic across the Hudson River had risen to the point where the construction of a third tube would be required. The following month, the Port Authority's commissioners gave their approval for the initial plan for the third tube, which is expected to cost $ 85 million and be completed in 1957 "total war restrictions". The project will also involve expanding the Dyer Avenue approach, on the Manhattan side, south from 34th Street to 30th Street.
The Port Authority granted approval for the construction process itself in May 1951, although approval from New York City, New York State, and New Jersey officials was still needed. The New York City Planning Commission rejected the initial plan for the third tube project in August 1951 because it felt that the existing tunnel approach did not adequately regulate all traffic from the third tube, but it scheduled a meeting for September, in which the Port Authority could argue in favor of its proposal. The city's development co-ordinator, Robert Moses, also opposed the third tube, and Tobin pointed out that the only major opposition the Port Authority received was from Moses. Manhattan Borough President Robert F. Wagner Jr. is one of the New York City officials who supported the plan. In September, after the Port Authority and Town Planning Commission came together to discuss the plan, the Planning Commission rejected the third tube plan for the second time, calling them "fundamentally lacking". Despite these disputes, the Port Authority released contracts for boring tests in the same month. The dispute continued until the end of the year, and in December, the Port Authority had to cancel a $ 10 million contract for the iron tunnel segment because it refused to approve the tunnel plan. The City wants the Port Authority to build part of the proposed Midway Manhattan on 30th Street from Eighth Avenue to the West Side Elevated Highway near 12th Avenue. This recommendation is very similar to that made five years earlier. However, the Town Planning Commission immediately rejected this proposed solution. In January, when the Lincoln Tunnel dispute dragged on, the Port Authority was willing to build a separate tunnel at a cost of $ 200 million.
The New York City Council of Representatives pushed back the proposed voting in the Lincoln Tunnel from March to May 1952. In June, a compromise had been made, and the city had given its approval to the new tube. Although the Port Authority is no longer obliged to build the mid-highway Manhattan, it does agree to extend 30th Street between 10th Avenue and 12th Avenue, and to provide a ramp ramp between tunnels and the West Side Highway. The New York City Government quickly moved to approve the upgrading of roads on the side of their tunnels. At this point, the Weehawken government, New Jersey, also began raising concerns about road repairs on their side. However, there are no other major hurdles to start development. The first contract for the construction of a third tube, an offer to dig a vent, was granted in August 1952. A groundbreaking ceremony for the third tube, marking the commencement of the official construction on the tube, is held next month on the Manhattan side of the ventilation shaft of the future. Sandhog started digging the tunnel from the end.
Construction
The Port Authority awarded its first material contract for a third tube, a $ 10 million steel tunnel order from Bethlehem Steel, in October 1952. It also expelled 900 families from 70 buildings to make way for a new tube approach. The following month, the agency ordered 1.2 million bolts and washing machines to secure the tunnel segment. The Port Authority plans to finance the construction of a third tube with a consolidated bond offering of $ 500 million, which will be spread among other Port Authority projects as well. The initial $ 35 million bond offering was made in December 1952, and the Port Authority then borrowed $ 20 million to finance the offer. A contract to dig a real hole under a river was given in October 1953.
The Weehawken government still had a negative attitude towards the Lincoln tunnel excavation work, and in June 1953, ordered the police to arrest the workers who brought the equipment to the tunnel, under the pretext that the tunnel had no building permit. In response, the Port Authority obtained a letter from Hudson County, New Jersey, a judge, allowing the tube's work to continue and forcing the Weehawken government to explain its legal reason for blocking the tube construction. A New Jersey politician committee gathered to determine how much the Port Authority had to pay the Weehawken city for land acquisition. Weehawken's representatives and residents want more compensation than the Port Authority is willing to offer. On March 16, 1954, the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered that work on the third tube be discontinued because it was tantamount to a new crossing, rather than an addition to the existing crossings. However, the New Jersey legislature voted to allow the resumption of work in the tunnel, while the New York state legislature finally authorized the Port Authority to construct the canister. Eight days after New Jersey Supreme Court's stop-work order, rebuilding in the tube. Weehawken Township agreed to burden the tunnel at a lower price than initially asked.
A contract to build ventilation on the New York side, above 38th Street east of 12th Avenue, was left in June 1954. That September, the Port Authority opened a contract for tunnel tunnel renovation of the New Jersey side, which had to be rebuilt to accommodate the new tunnel portal, because the existing administrative building is located on the third tube approach path. In the same month, the Port Authority issued plans for an 800-space parking complex on the New Jersey side. This parking lot opened in November 1955, fourteen months later.
Meanwhile, the sandhogs began digging the tunnel from a 55-foot (17 m) hole on the New Jersey side, with plans to connect the hole with a tunnel dug from the New York side at a 95-foot (29 m) point below the Hudson River. The pieces for pressured trenching shields were pulled into the New Jersey construction pit at the end of September 1954, and a complete shield began to dig into New York a month and a half later. In February 1955, the Port Authority awarded a contract to extend the New Jersey side loop approach from six to seven lines, as well as a second contract to expand North Bergen, New Jersey, "freeways" from six to eight lines, and third to new toll plazas at the bottom of the loop approach. At this time, it is projected that a new Hudson River crossing may need to be built north of the Lincoln Tunnel in the 1960s. The boring operation of the New Jersey side had crossed east to the state border in October 1955.
The work on the tube was suspended in January 1956 after water from the Hudson River leaked into the side of the New York tunnel. Almost immediately after the tubes had been pumped dry, the workers broke down for a week, although the tip of the hole was only about 350 feet (110 m) away from the connected one. Construction was disrupted due to air leakage in New York in May, and contractor strikes in June. On June 28, 1956, the two sides finally passed by each governor of each state. At the moment, the last of 2,031 iron rings has been laid. The contractor then starts placing the tiles along the surface of the tube. In November, the tube was almost complete. To accommodate traffic for the new tube, the Port Authority opened the Lincoln Tunnel Expressway south to 30th Street in February 1957.
The third tube opened on May 25, 1957, to the south of the original two tunnels. It costs $ 94 million, 6% less than projected; the tube itself was only $ 44 million, but his approach cost $ 23 million and other expenses reached the remaining $ 27 million. The opening of the third tube makes Lincoln Tunnel the first tunnel in the world with three separate parallel tubes. Unlike the two previous tubes, which have killed a total of 15 workers, no one was killed during the construction of the third tube. At this time, the central tube is converted back into a two-way tube, while the new third tube becomes eastward only. The central tube can be used for direct traffic during peak hours, doubling the capacity in the top direction. A traffic light system is instituted for a central tube to indicate whether a given direction can use one or both lines. A new 18-stadium toll plaza is unveiled on the left side, collecting a toll on the left side (driver) on each lane; this replaces the left-handed 12-stan plaza, which collects the toll from the passenger side, and thus is expected to accelerate traffic. The agency also inaugurated two additional ventilation buildings, which will filter air from the new tube. Due to increased traffic loads, the New York City government released plans to expand nearby roads later that year.
Next year
As traffic increases through the tube, the Port Authority tries various methods to reduce tunnel congestion. In February 1957, they began training "complainants" to see traffic on the Manhattan side tunnel approaching from 35th floor 330 West 42nd Street, which is located nearby. The Port Authority began using two-way radio in mid 1958. In 1966-1967, the Port Authority installed a closed-circuit television system to monitor and control traffic distances in Lincoln and Holland Tunnels. The Port Authority officer watched Lincoln Tunnel traffic from the control center on the New Jersey side. Patrol officers are placed inside each tube to watch for jammed vehicles, and the computer system also monitors the flow of traffic in each tube. In December 1970, the Port Authority tested an exclusive bus line for one year, and it became so popular that the bus line was then made permanent.
In 1971, Ringling Bros. elephants. and Barnum & amp; Bailey Circus walks through the Lincoln Tunnel. The animals were usually carried by train, but the labor strikes stopped all train services to Madison Square Garden. The elephants began walking through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel instead of the Lincoln Tunnel beginning in 1981, and walking elephants stopped altogether when the elephant retired in 2016.
Originally, the northern and central tubes were paved with bricks, while the southern tube contained an asphalt surface. The surface of the brick road began to deteriorate over time, and in 1967-1968, the northern and central tubes were flattened with asphalt. In 1971, Lincoln Tunnel brought 32 million vehicles per year. From the opening of the Lincoln Tunnel to 1970, the Port Authority billed a flat rate of 50 cents in each direction. The cost of the western toll had been removed in 1970, and the toll for drivers headed east doubled to compensate for the loss of tolls heading west.
The Port Authority began reassembling the Lincoln Tunnel's central tube in the early 1980s, in preparation for the renovation of the Dutch Tunnel which is scheduled to begin in 1984. Due to the renovation project, the Holland Tunnel tube will be closed one by one for two and a half years, and the traffic will transferred to Lincoln Tunnel. After the renovation of Holland Tunnel is completed, the north and south tunnels of the Lincoln Tunnel will be reproduced. Each resend is set at $ 10 million. The repair work at the Lincoln Tunnel tube center costs $ 2 million more than is projected, and takes five times during initial estimates, since repavers only occur at night. In 1989, during the rehabilitation and lifting of the northern tubes, the computerized traffic control center was built in the administration building on the New Jersey side, allowing tunnel controllers inside the building to control the flow of traffic from, to, from, and through the Lincoln Tunnel. The computerized system is connected to 73 cameras that record the entire video of three tubes. Cellular services were added to the tube in 1995 as part of a $ 1.2 million project funded by Cellular One telecommunication company.
The major revamp of the central tube began in 1996 at a cost of $ 53 million. These constructions include replacing tiles, wire ducts, sidewalks, doors, and other infrastructure. In the same year, the Port Authority council also chose to renovate the toll road plaza for $ 42 million. After the September 11, 2001, unmarried driver was temporarily barred from passing the Lincoln Tunnel on a weekday morning, due to traffic congestion caused by the collapse of the World Trade Center. This prohibition was partially lifted in April 2002.
Crime and terrorism
On September 8, 1953, two gunmen attempted to rob a house in South Orange, New Jersey, when they were chased by residents, one of whom reported their car license plate number. A patrolman at the Lincoln Tunnel toll road tried to stop the car, but the robbers shot the police, hitting the Port Authority police on foot. Police seized a delivery truck and chased, exchanging 28 shots with a fleeing car while weaving in and out of traffic. The vehicle stopped about three-quarters of the way through the tunnel, when one of the robbers was shot in the head. The delivery truck driver was later honored for his role in pursuing the robber tried, and the patrol officers involved were also respected.
The Lincoln tunnel was used several times more by criminal suspects trying to escape from the police. In 1956, a motorist, whose car was taken by police, stole his own car in Manhattan, then drove through the Lincoln Tunnel and opened fire to chase the police before being stopped at George Washington Bridge. In 1967, two suspected bank robberies traveled through the tunnel when they were closed on both ends by police.
Because of its status as one of several connections between Manhattan and New Jersey, the Lincoln Tunnel is considered one of the most risky terrorist targets in the United States. Other sites such as New Jersey include the Dutch Tunnel and PATH stations on the Exchange Place, both located in Jersey City, as well as the Port of Newark in Elizabeth. In 1995, ten people were convicted of a bombing plan in which a radical Islamist group planned to blow up five or six sites in New York City, including Holland and Lincoln Tunnels and the George Washington Bridge.
Route numbering
Initially, the Lincoln Tunnel will connect to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, on the other side of Manhattan, via the Mid-Manhattan Toll Road. Manhattan Borough President Samuel Levy first proposed the Mid-Manhattan Expressway connector in 1936. An updated plan for the crosstown highway was released in 1944 and featured connections to the proposed Authority Port Authority Terminal. The plan was eventually converted into a crosstown tunnel on 30th Street, and the city approved an initial survey for the crosstown tunnel. The city briefly planned for the southernmost tunnel of the Lincoln Tunnel in 1951 and 1952 because it wanted the Port Authority to build part of the toll road, although this requirement was later canceled. Interstate 495 (I-495) designation was assigned to the New Jersey approach to the tunnel to anticipate the completed Mid-Manhattan Toll Road.
The Mid-Manhattan Expressway project was finally canceled and the I-495 designation was removed from the highway on January 1, 1970. However, the appointment of I-495 in New Jersey remains for some time, as it is anticipated that it will remain part of the Interstate Highway System. Most of the New Jersey I-495 stretches into NJ 495 in 1979. The Westway project, proposed in 1971, calls for building I-478 to connect I-278 in Brooklyn, I-78 in the Dutch Tunnel, and I-495 in the Lincoln Tunnel. The Westway project was officially abandoned in 1985 after a series of lawsuits from environmentalists. The last part of I-495 in New Jersey was disabled the following year, and Lincoln Tunnel was deleted on the Interstate system. In Manhattan, 34th Street and other crosstown roads connect NY/NJ 495 and I-495.
In 2018, part of the tunnel in New Jersey brought NJ 495. It is debatable whether part of the tunnel in New York contains unsigned NY 495. A list of 2016 highway inventories from the New York State Department of Transport (NYSDOT) considers NY 495 to be 1, 09 miles (1.75 km) long, running through the tunnel, from the New Jersey State Line east to the intersection of Dyer Avenue and 34th Street. However, NYSDOT also published two "official descriptions of highway travel routes" in 2004 and 2017, where it did not consider the Lincoln Tunnel in New York to be part of NY 495. According to these documents, the designation of NY 495 applies to parts of Long Island Expressway (I-495) in Queens, and Lincoln Tunnel have no official route designation.
Tolls
On December 6, 2015, cash costs from New Jersey to New York were $ 15 for cars and motorcycles; there are no tolls for passenger vehicles departing from New York to New Jersey. E-ZPass users are charged $ 10.50 for cars and $ 9.50 for motorcycles during off-peak hours, and $ 12.50 for cars and $ 11.50 for motorcycles during peak hours.
Toll collected at a toll booth on the New Jersey side. Initially, tolls are collected in both directions. In August of 1970, the 50-cent Lincoln Tunnel toll, which was charged by the Port Authority since the opening of the 1937 tunnel, was abolished for the driver heading west. At the same time, drivers heading east see their toll doubled to $ 1.00. Toll from eleven New Jersey-New Jersey and Hudson River crossings along the 130-mile stretch (210 km), from Outerbridge Crossing in the south to Rip Van Winkle Bridge to the north, was also converted eastward only at that time. The highway to the west is then removed. In 1981, there were 14 toll roads heading east, compared with 18 lanes in both directions of the plaza in 1955. In 2018, there are 13 lanes at the toll gate.
Electronic tolling was first implemented in Lincoln Tunnel around 1988, when buses were allowed to pay tolls electronically. In 1996, the Port Authority chose to renovate the toll plaza; proposed improvements including changing it to accommodate electronic tolls for all vehicles using E-ZPass. The collection of the E-ZPass toll in Lincoln Tunnel began in October 1997, although the toll is maintained.
Historically, the tolls are:
Also see
- New Jersey Portal
- New York Portal
- New York City Portal
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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