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Tunnel - Lincoln Tunnel Plans for the Lincoln Tunnel were first publicized in 1930, when the Port Authority proposed a $62 million, twin-tube tunnel under the Hudson River between West 38th Street, New York City, and Weehawken, New Jersey. The proposal also included a land tunnel addition from the toll plaza west through Bergen Hill, ending at Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen. The Hudson River tunnel was to be constructed in conjunction with an East River tunnel between East 38th Street, New York and Long Island City, Queens.
In 1933, Robert Moses was appointed chairman of the New York State Emergency Public Works under Governor Lehman. Moses was able to obtain funds for the Port Authority to construct the tunnel after negotiations with the federally run Reconstruction Finance Corporation in Washington. Ole Singstad, was hired to oversee construction of the tunnel under the Port Authority chief engineer Othman Ammann. While one crew worked from the Manhattan side, another progressed from the Weehawken side. The first hole through occurred on August 3, 1935, when a hydraulic engineer from the New Jersey crew was pushed by his feet through an opening to meet the New York crew. The first tube of the Lincoln Tunnel was opened on December 22, 1937, at an estimated cost of $75 million. Unlike the Holland Tunnel, the original Lincoln Tunnel was a singular tube that allowed only one lane of traffic in each direction. In its first year of operation, a 1.8 million vehicles used the new tunnel less than predicted. (MJ)
 Lincoln Tunnel entrance, Weehawkin, New Jersey. The original, oldest tube is in the center. Photograph courtesy Raymond C. Martin, Jr.; taken August 2000.  Looking out of the oldest, center tube of the Lincoln Tunnel toward Weehawken, New Jersey. Photograph courtesy Raymond C. Martin, Jr.; taken August 2000.  Lincoln Tunnel entrance, Midtown Manhattan, New York. Photograph courtesy Raymond C. Martin, Jr.; taken August 2000. It did not take long for traffic use of the tunnel to increase. A second tube was opened north of the original tube in 1945, after years of war-related setbacks. This allowed for two lanes of eastbound and westbound traffic. Nonetheless, traffic continued to accelerate after World War II, prompting deliberation of a new twin-tube tunnel between 14th Street in Manhattan and Hoboken, New Jersey. Instead, the Port Authority decided in 1951 to construct a third tube of the Lincoln Tunnel. This project, which included approach roads in Manhattan and Weehawken, and a peripheral parking area, was completed in 1957 at a cost of $85 million.
According to the Port Authority, the Lincoln Tunnel bears approximately 120,000 vehicles per day (AADT), making it the busiest vehicular tunnel in the world. The Port Authority currently is engaged in $50 million in improvement projects at both the Eastbound and Westbound entrances. At the New Jersey portal in Weehawken, construction is in progress to reconstruct the toll plaza. In Manhattan, the agency is rebuilding ramps connecting to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. These projects are slated for completion in late 2004. (MJ) http://www.njfreeways.com/NJNJ-495LTPictures.html http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/lincoln/ http://www.paynj.gov/tbt/ltframe.HTM |
