Lincoln Tunnel
The
Lincoln Tunnel is a 1.5 mile-long (2.4 km)
tunnel under the
Hudson River, connecting
Weehawken,
New Jersey and the
borough of
Manhattan in
New York City.
The tunnel was designed by
Ole Singstad and construction began on the first tube in 1934. The tunnel opened to traffic in 1937, charging $0.50 per passenger car. The costs of tunnel construction were about $80 million.
Omero C. Catan, a salesman from Manhattan, drove the first car through the tunnel, after waiting in line for 30 hours.
The original design called for two tubes. The second was added in 1945. A third tube was proposed by the Port Authority, but initially opposed by the City of New York, which was trying to get the Port Authority to help pay for the road improvements that the City would need to handle the additional traffic. A compromise was worked out, and the third tunnel was finally finished in May 1957.
The three tubes carry six traffic lanes in total. During the morning rush hour one traffic lane called the
XBL is used exclusively by
buses. The New Jersey approach roadway, locally known as
the Helix, or "the Corkscrew", spirals in a full circle before arriving at the toll booths in front of the tunnel portals.
The Lincoln Tunnel carries about 120,000 vehicles per day, making it one of the busiest vehicular tunnels in the world. The
XBL is by far the busiest and most productive
bus lane in the
United States. The lane operates weekday mornings between 6:15 and 10:00 a.m., accommodating approximately 1,700
buses and 62,000
commuters.
Shortly after noon on
September 8,
1953, two armed men, Peter Simon and John Metcalf, attempted to rob a home in
South Orange, New Jersey. The men were driven off by the residents, one of whom reported the license plate on their car to the police, who put out an alert. A patrolman, Nicholas Falabella, noticed the car just as it passed the toll booth and ordered the driver to stop the vehicle. The driver, instead, sped off into the tunnel, firing at the police. A Port Authority policeman, Donald Lackmun, was hit in the leg. The police commandeered a delivery truck and gave chase, exchanging gun fire with the renegade car while weaving in and out of traffic. In all 28 shots were fired, ten by the gunmen and 18 by the police. The vehicle came to a stop about three fourths of the way through the tunnel. One of the men, Peter Simon, was hit in the head.
The tunnel was targeted by
Islamic terrorists to be destroyed in the summer of 1993 in the
New York City landmark bomb plot, but the plan was foiled.
With the cancellation of the
Mid-Manhattan Expressway, intended to carry
Interstate 495 through New York City to the
Queens Midtown Tunnel and onto the
Long Island Expressway, the
NYDOT and
NJDOT demoted the Lincoln Tunnel, Queens-Midtown Tunnel, and the freeway link to
NJ 3 as state routes. Some signs still list the tunnels as I-495 and the
Federal Highway Administration still considers the crossings as interstate. In New Jersey, the freeway was officially demoted to
NJ 495 and very few signs still read "I-495". Some people still insist that
34th Street links the disjointed segements of I-495.
*Two Seized in 28-Shot Battle With Police in Lincoln Tube,
New York Times Sep 9, 1953.
*
Port Authority of New York & New Jersey*
Lincoln Tunnel from NYCRoads.com*
XBL Exclusive Bus Lane Enhancement Study
