Hudson River tunnels provide links between Manhattan Island and New Jersey. Manhattan, the heart of New York City, is separated from New Jersey on the west by the broad Hudson River. The tunnels run under the Hudson.
As late as the year 1900, Manhattan was not connected with New Jersey by either bridge or tunnel. A few bridges crossed the narrow Harlem River on the north, connecting Manhattan with the Bronx. Brooklyn Bridge, across the East River, connected the lower end of Manhattan with Long Island. But the thousands of New Jersey people who worked in Manhattan had to cross the Hudson River every day by ferryboat. This was the same method that the Dutch had used nearly 300 years before when they bought Manhattan Island from the Indians. Today, seven tunnels under the Hudson River connect Manhattan with New Jersey. The tunnels are used for rail, automobile, truck, and bus traffic. In 2009, construction began on the Mass Transit Tunnel—an eighth route under the Hudson.
The PATH tunnels
are rapid transit tunnels. Two uptown tunnels run between Morton Street in Manhattan and Jersey City, New Jersey. Each is about 5,650 feet (1,750 meters) long. Two downtown tunnels, each about 5,280 feet (1,609 meters) long, extend between the World Trade Center in Manhattan and Jersey City. These tunnels were closed after the Manhattan station was destroyed in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers after a terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001. They reopened on Nov. 23, 2003. The name PATH stands for the _P_ort _A_uthority _T_rans-_H_udson Corporation, which operates the tunnels. PATH is a subsidiary of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The uptown tunnels are the oldest of the Hudson River tunnels. The first attempt to dig one of them was made in 1874, but the work was stopped before it was finished. In 1902, a lawyer named William G. McAdoo raised money to complete the tunnel and to build a second one so two-way traffic could run under the river. McAdoo represented the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Company. The uptown tunnels were opened to traffic in 1908. McAdoo also raised money to build the downtown tunnels, which opened in 1909.
Amtrak’s Hudson River Tunnel,
which opened in 1910, connects Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan with Newark, New Jersey. It is used by passenger trains traveling between New York and the South and West. It has two tubes and is 13,400 feet (4,100 meters) long. Amtrak operates the tunnel.
The Holland Tunnel
provides a direct link from Canal Street in Manhattan to Jersey City. It has two tubes more than 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) long, with two traffic lanes in each for automobiles, trucks, and buses. The tunnel, which is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was opened to traffic in 1927. The method and principles used in the design and construction of the tunnel still form the basis for building vehicular tunnels throughout the world.
The Lincoln Tunnel,
also used by motor vehicles, provides a link between 38th Street in midtown Manhattan and Weehawken, New Jersey. The tunnel, operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is the only three-tube underwater vehicular tunnel in the world. Two of its tubes are over 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) long, and the third is about 7,500 feet (2,290 meters) long.
Each tube has two lanes for vehicular traffic. The center tube, used for eastbound, westbound, or two-way traffic as conditions require, opened in 1937. The north tube, for westbound traffic, opened in 1945. The south tube, used for eastbound traffic, opened in 1957.
