Lincoln Tunnel
Description
The Lincoln Tunnel is a 1.5-mile long tunnel under the Hudson River, from Weehawken, New Jersey to the borough of Manhattan. The project was funded by the New Deal’s Public Works Administration and the design was by Ole Singstad. Construction began in March 1934 and the tunnel opened to traffic on December 22, 1937, charging $0.50 per passenger car. The cost of construction was $85,000,000. The original design called for two tubes. Work on the second was halted in 1938 but resumed in 1941. Due to war material shortages of metal, completion was delayed for two years. It opened on February 1, 1945 at a cost of $80 million. A third tunnel was added in 1957.
The Lincoln Tunnel is one of a triad of tunnels built by the New Deal to provide better traffic access to Manhattan from New Jersey, Queens (Queens-Midtown Tunnel) and Brooklyn (Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel).
“The Lincoln Tunnel, formerly identified as the Mid-Town Hudson Tunnel, is the second under-water highway between New York and New Jersey. This tunnel, in conjunction with a proposed vehicular underpass in Manhattan Island and with the Queens Mid-Town Vehicular Tunnel now under construction under the East River, will afford a continuous highway link between the highway system of New Jersey and the highway system of Long Island. Construction of the first operating unit began under Project 228 (N. Y.) under which docket approximately $47,000,000 was expended on the tunnel, the New Jersey plaza and approaches, and appurtenant structures and equipment.
The completion of the tunnel was carried out under Project N. Y. 1629 and supplemented by work done under contracts negotiated by the owner not under P.W.A. supervision. This completion involves an estimated expenditure of $14,378,100 under the P.W.A. program and an expenditure of $12,304,550 under other supervision. Another $12,354,000 in contracts presently deferred were contemplated in the original estimated cost of the project.
The distance between tunnel portals is 8,215 feet and the total length of the entire project is 25,000 feet (4.87 miles). The roadway in the tube is 21 1/2 feet wide and its maximum depth below mean high water is 91 feet 3 1/2 inches.
The work under Project N. Y. 1629 included the purchase of land for, and the construction of, the New York plaza and approaches to the tube, the completion of the tube itself, equipment, the construction of additional buildings, and highway extensions. The entire project as originally planned involved an estimated expenditure of $83,235,550.”
(Short and Brown)
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“Hudson Midtown Tunnel – setting a form for the walls of this tunnel. This work is being done by PWA.”
Hudson Midtown Tunnel
"Hudson Midtown Tunnel - setting a form for the walls of this tunnel. This work is being done by PWA."
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Hudson Midtown Tunnel verso
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“Workmen building walls in the Lincoln Tunnel New York-New Jersey – work being done by PWA.”
Lincoln Tunnel under construction
"Workmen building walls in the Lincoln Tunnel New York-New Jersey - work being done by PWA."
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Lincoln Tunnel under construction verso
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“The railroad track in the Lincoln Midtown Tunnel was taken up before the surface was laid for automobile traffic. Work done by PWA.”
railroad track in the Lincoln Midtown Tunnel
"The railroad track in the Lincoln Midtown Tunnel was taken up before the surface was laid for automobile traffic. Work done by PWA."
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“The Midtown Hudson Tunnel comes up for air on the New Jersey side. PWA financed the project.”
The New Jersey side of the Midtown Hudson Tunnel
"The Midtown Hudson Tunnel comes up for air on the New Jersey side. PWA financed the project."
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Lincoln Tunnel, NJ Entrance
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Lincoln Tunnel ventilation towers
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Lincoln Tunnel ventilation towers
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Lincoln Tunnel Under Construction
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Lincoln Tunnel Construction
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Lincoln Tunnel under Construction
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Lincoln Tunnel Welders
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Lincoln Tunnel Welders
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Lincoln Tunnel Interior
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Lincoln Tunnel Railroad Track
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Lincoln Tunnel, Dyer Avenue Approach
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Lincoln Tunnel Compression Tower
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Lincoln Tunnel, Air Intake Tower
Project Details
| Federal Cost | Local Cost | Total Cost | Project #'s |
|---|---|---|---|
| 83235550 |
Source notes
C.W. Short and R. Stanley-Brown. "Public Buildings: A Survey of Architecture of Projects Constructed by Federal and Other Governmental Bodies Between the Years 1933 and 1939 with the Assistance of the Public Works Administration." (1939). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Tunnel
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