199-757: Interstate 78 ( I-78 ) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Union Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania , to New York City . In the US state of New York , I-78 extends 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m). The entirety of I-78 consists of the Holland Tunnel , which crosses under the Hudson River from New Jersey and ends at an exit rotary in Lower Manhattan . The tunnel and its approaches are maintained by
398-535: A concurrency or overlap. For example, I‑75 and I‑85 share the same roadway in Atlanta ; this 7.4-mile (11.9 km) section, called the Downtown Connector , is labeled both I‑75 and I‑85. Concurrencies between Interstate and US Highway numbers are also allowed in accordance with AASHTO policy, as long as the length of the concurrency is reasonable. In rare instances, two highway designations sharing
597-526: A dockworkers ' union, which was commissioned to dig the tunnel, and a sandhogs ' union, which claimed that its members were entitled to work on the project because the sandhogs specialized in building tunnels. This disagreement turned into a violent protest and multiday strike in February 1941. The next year, some union sandhog workers were banned from working on the Battery Tunnel project due to
796-477: A $ 30-million (equivalent to $ 500 million in 2023 ) federal grant so construction could start quickly. A toll of $ 0.25 per motorist, collected at the Brooklyn end, would help finance the rest of the tunnel and make it profitable. The tunnel would also halve travel time between southern Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan since, at the time, there was no direct route for traffic between these two areas. This, in turn,
995-692: A 10-lane elevated highway , carrying I-78 over what became SoHo and Little Italy . At Centre Street, near the eastern edge of Little Italy, the highway would have split into two branches that both led to bridges over the East River on Manhattan's east side. The main branch would continue southeast as I-78 to the Williamsburg Bridge, while the other would head south to the Manhattan Bridge as I-478. The Manhattan Bridge Spur would have been located above Chrystie Street . The spur to
1194-651: A 28-year-old brevet lieutenant colonel, accompanied the trip "through darkest America with truck and tank," as he later described it. Some roads in the West were a "succession of dust, ruts, pits, and holes." As the landmark 1916 law expired, new legislation was passed—the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 (Phipps Act). This new road construction initiative once again provided for federal matching funds for road construction and improvement, $ 75 million allocated annually. Moreover, this new legislation for
1393-726: A Brooklyn–Battery Bridge. However, the public opposed the bridge plan, and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) rejected the plan several times out of concern that the bridge would impede shipping access to the Brooklyn Navy Yard . This prompted city officials to reconsider plans for a tunnel. Construction on the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel started on October 28, 1940, but its completion was delayed due to World War II -related material shortages. The tunnel officially opened on May 25, 1950. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel
1592-505: A bridge would be cheaper, faster, and more efficient than building a tunnel. The bridge would consist of a six-lane tandem suspension bridge span with two back-to-back suspension bridges, and it could be built in 27 months, compared to 46 months for a tunnel. One of the other benefits, in Moses's opinion, was that the $ 41-million (equivalent to $ 705 million in 2023 ) bridge would not require any federal money. Isaacs stated that
1791-533: A bridge would cause as much congestion as a tunnel would, so he did not favor the bridge plan. The Tunnel Authority also opposed the Brooklyn–Battery Bridge because a bridge would lower property values. In response, Moses predicted that the Tunnel Authority's Queens–Midtown Tunnel would not be profitable and that the Tunnel Authority should organize its existing affairs before deciding to build
1990-476: A change in the numbering system as a result of a new policy adopted in 1973. Previously, letter-suffixed numbers were used for long spurs off primary routes; for example, western I‑84 was I‑80N, as it went north from I‑80 . The new policy stated, "No new divided numbers (such as I-35W and I-35E , etc.) shall be adopted." The new policy also recommended that existing divided numbers be eliminated as quickly as possible; however, an I-35W and I-35E still exist in
2189-809: A disagreement with their union's parent union. Another issue arose when it was revealed that the Great New York Aquarium at Castle Clinton , at the Battery on the Manhattan side, would need to be demolished to make way for the tunnel. The aquarium considered moving to Coney Island on the southern shore of Brooklyn. To expedite construction of the tunnel, the city closed the Great New York Aquarium and moved its fish to other aquariums in September 1941. Moses advocated for
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#17327723738142388-691: A group of scientists stated that carbon monoxide levels around the tunnel would be dangerously high, and, the next month, several officials succeeded in delaying the expressway plans. Although the Lower Manhattan Expressway caused the most controversy, the first I-78 segment to be canceled was the Bushwick Expressway, which would have linked the Williamsburg Bridge to the Nassau Expressway. The original route would have utilized Broadway , Bushwick Avenue , and
2587-591: A hearing for public opinions on the tunnel proposal, gave its permission to the tunnel plan in September 1938. The Tunnel Authority suggested that federal funding could be used to pay for the tunnel and that private financing could also be provided if it was needed. In June 1938, the city requested a $ 70.9-million (equivalent to $ 1.2 billion in 2023 ) PWA grant for the construction of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel. The next month, La Guardia met with PWA chair Harold L. Ickes and Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) chair Jesse H. Jones to convince them to help fund
2786-644: A lack of money because, although the PWA had given the city an appropriation for the Belt Parkway, the money had been used up. Due to the PWA's refusal to grant a loan for the Battery Tunnel's construction, the project was temporarily put on hold. In January 1939, after the failure to allocate federal funds to the tunnels, Moses (now the chair of the Triborough Bridge Authority ) proposed the Brooklyn–Battery Bridge. He stated that constructing
2985-538: A length of 9,117 feet (2,779 m), it is the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnel in North America. Plans for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel date back to the 1920s. Official plans to build the tunnel were submitted in 1930 but were initially not carried out. The New York City Tunnel Authority, created in 1936, was tasked with constructing the tunnel. After unsuccessful attempts to secure federal funds, New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses proposed
3184-595: A national road grid with the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 . In 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was established, creating the first national road numbering system for cross-country travel. The roads were state-funded and maintained, and there were few national standards for road design. United States Numbered Highways ranged from two-lane country roads to multi-lane freeways. After Dwight D. Eisenhower became president in 1953, his administration developed
3383-557: A new tunnel. Moses was able to garner support for the bridge from influential city and state politicians, including four of five borough presidents, Mayor La Guardia, and US Senator Robert F. Wagner . In early March 1939, the New York City Planning Commission endorsed plans for the Battery Bridge, and a bill for the bridge was moved to a vote in the state legislature. The bill was proposed for
3582-589: A numbering scheme in which primary Interstates are assigned one- or two-digit numbers, and shorter routes which branch off of longer ones are assigned three-digit numbers where the last two digits match the parent route. The Interstate Highway System is partially financed through the Highway Trust Fund , which itself is funded by a combination of a federal fuel tax and transfers from the Treasury's general fund. Though federal legislation initially banned
3781-463: A pair on the Brooklyn side, as well as a seawall . This combined project was 63 percent complete as of a March 2018 MTA report . In 2017–2018, the tiled walls in the Queens–Midtown and Brooklyn–Battery tunnels were replaced due to damage suffered during Hurricane Sandy. The retiled white walls have gold-and-blue stripes, representing the official state colors of New York. Controversy arose over
3980-710: A plan to connect the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel to Long Island 's parkway system via a new Gowanus Parkway and Circumferential Parkway . The planned tunnel was also part of the Regional Plan Association 's proposed parkway system around New York City. The next month, the New York City Tunnel Authority advertised for bids to create test bores for the tunnel. Copies of the plans for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel were submitted to La Guardia's mayoral administration in February 1937. Two tunnels, one in each direction, would connect to
4179-491: A proposal for an interstate highway system, eventually resulting in the enactment of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 . Unlike the earlier United States Numbered Highway System, the interstates were designed to be all freeways, with nationally unified standards for construction and signage. While some older freeways were adopted into the system, most of the routes were completely new. In dense urban areas,
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#17327723738144378-559: A report called Toll Roads and Free Roads , "the first formal description of what became the Interstate Highway System" and, in 1944, the similarly themed Interregional Highways . The Interstate Highway System gained a champion in President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was influenced by his experiences as a young Army officer crossing the country in the 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy that drove in part on
4577-590: A revised plan for the bridge and asked the Department of War to reconsider. Moses and Brooklyn politicians declared that they would not accept anything other than an endorsement of the second plan. However, in July, the War Department also rejected the second plan, since the new plan would also pose a wartime hazard. Advocates for the bridge called the rejection a "setback to business". They also discounted
4776-489: A short section west of Sixth Avenue on an elevated structure. The underground highway would have to pass underneath existing subway lines before rising on elevated ramps to connect with the Manhattan Bridge. There would only be two exits, located at the Manhattan Bridge and at Sixth Avenue; the Williamsburg Bridge spur had been dropped by this point. The plan failed to placate Lower Manhattan residents who had opposed
4975-409: A single digit prefixed to the two-digit number of its parent Interstate Highway. Spur routes deviate from their parent and do not return; these are given an odd first digit. Circumferential and radial loop routes return to the parent, and are given an even first digit. Unlike primary Interstates, three-digit Interstates are signed as either east–west or north–south, depending on the general orientation of
5174-424: A small pipe was passed through from one side to another. The pipe was then removed, and the openings covered up, to prevent drastic changes in pressure at either end of the tube. The tunnels from Manhattan and Brooklyn had connected at a point under Governors Island, with an error of 0.375 inches (0.95 cm), and work continued until there was enough assurances that the tunnels had equal pressure readings. After
5373-801: A speed limit of 45 mph (70 km/h) because it is a parkway that consists of only one lane per side of the highway. On the other hand, Interstates 15, 80, 84, and 215 in Utah have speed limits as high as 70 mph (115 km/h) within the Wasatch Front , Cedar City , and St. George areas, and I-25 in New Mexico within the Santa Fe and Las Vegas areas along with I-20 in Texas along Odessa and Midland and I-29 in North Dakota along
5572-460: A speed limit of 80 mph (130 km/h). Other Interstates in Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming also have the same high speed limits. In some areas, speed limits on Interstates can be significantly lower in areas where they traverse significantly hazardous areas. The maximum speed limit on I-90 is 50 mph (80 km/h) in downtown Cleveland because of two sharp curves with
5771-474: A suggested limit of 35 mph (55 km/h) in a heavily congested area; I-70 through Wheeling, West Virginia , has a maximum speed limit of 45 mph (70 km/h) through the Wheeling Tunnel and most of downtown Wheeling; and I-68 has a maximum speed limit of 40 mph (65 km/h) through Cumberland, Maryland , because of multiple hazards including sharp curves and narrow lanes through
5970-482: A suggestion that La Guardia and Moses refuted. The Department of War ultimately declined to endorse the Brooklyn–Battery Bridge. In May 1939 Robert Woodring, the US Secretary of War , blocked the construction of the bridge due to concerns over the span's potential to become a naval obstruction during a war, since the Brooklyn Navy Yard was located shoreward of the proposed bridge. In response, Moses submitted
6169-661: A third tube would have been constructed. The highway would have cut through the Williamsburg, Bushwick, and East New York neighborhoods of Brooklyn. The 1960s routing would have also bisected Greenpoint; Ridgewood, Queens; and Highland Park and the Cemetery of the Evergreens . The East New York segment was partially constructed from Atlantic Avenue to the Belt Parkway in the early 1940s, when Conduit Boulevard/Avenue
Interstate 78 in New York - Misplaced Pages Continue
6368-428: A tunnel as opposed to a bridge, while Mayor La Guardia invited the president to return for the opening ceremony in four years. Three days later, the city approved a motion to widen Hamilton Avenue from 80 to 300 feet (24 to 91 m) to make way for the Brooklyn tunnel approach, as well as awarded a contract for the tunnel's lining to Bethlehem Steel . The start of actual tunneling was delayed due to dispute between
6567-562: A vote in the City Council, but this was blocked due to concerns that the bridge's connection to the East River Drive would not be able to accommodate future traffic volumes. The American Institute of Architects asked that the city reconsider the bridge, as it would obstruct the dramatic view of the Manhattan skyline , reduce the Battery to minuscule size, and destroy the Great New York Aquarium at Castle Clinton . There
6766-551: A year of the grant being awarded. Since the Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel project would take longer, it and other New York City highway projects were ineligible for PWA funding. In January 1936, the New York State Legislature created the New York City Tunnel Authority to oversee the construction of a tunnel between Midtown Manhattan and Queens . The bill also provided the authority with the power to build
6965-543: Is also commonly believed the Interstate Highway System was built for the sole purpose of evacuating cities in the event of nuclear warfare . While military motivations were present, the primary motivations were civilian. The numbering scheme for the Interstate Highway System was developed in 1957 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The association's present numbering policy dates back to August 10, 1973. Within
7164-681: Is currently the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel and approaches, connecting I-278 in Brooklyn with the Battery in Manhattan . It was once planned to continue north along the unbuilt Westway to I-78 at the Holland Tunnel; however, this project was later canceled. I-278, the only I-78 spur to leave New York, has a western terminus on Linden, New Jersey , and passes northward and eastward through all five boroughs, with its eastern end at
7363-538: Is now Washington Square Village . In April 1962, Wagner commenced the acquisition of property for the Lower Manhattan Expressway. After further issues with relocation arose in August 1962, Wagner delayed final action on the proposal until after that year's November general elections. A report on the relocation process was published on December 3 of that year. The report stated that the 1,972 families could possibly be relocated without much difficulty. Two days later, there
7562-540: Is part of the Interstate Highway System , carrying the entirety of the unsigned Interstate 478 ( I-478 ) since 1971. The tunnel originally carried New York State Route 27A (NY 27A) until 1970. In 2012, the tunnel was officially renamed after former New York Governor Hugh Carey . It is operated by MTA Bridges and Tunnels as one of the MTA's nine tolled crossings. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel consists of two two-lane tubes, one in each direction. They pass underneath
7761-539: Is to have the highway route extend from Tamaulipas , Mexico to Ontario , Canada. The planned I-11 will then bridge the Interstate gap between Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada , and thus form part of the CANAMEX Corridor (along with I-19 , and portions of I-10 and I-15 ) between Sonora , Mexico and Alberta , Canada. Political opposition from residents canceled many freeway projects around
7960-573: The BM1, BM2, BM3, and BM4 between Manhattan and Brooklyn. MTA New York City Transit operates the SIM1, SIM1C, SIM2, SIM3, SIM3C, SIM4, SIM4C, SIM4X, SIM5, SIM6, SIM7, SIM9, SIM10, SIM15, SIM31, SIM32, SIM33, SIM33C, SIM34, and SIM35 routes between Manhattan and Staten Island and the X27, X28, X37, and X38 between Manhattan and Brooklyn. A vehicular tunnel under the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn
8159-546: The Brooklyn Eagle found that 13.86 million vehicles had used the tunnel in its first year; this was lower than Caro's estimate but higher than both the TBTA's initial estimate of 10 million vehicles per year and expert forecasts of eight million annual vehicles. Some road infrastructure projects at both ends of the tunnel were completed shortly after the tunnel opened. The first associated project to be completed
Interstate 78 in New York - Misplaced Pages Continue
8358-477: The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel , Battery Tunnel or Battery Park Tunnel , is a tolled tunnel in New York City that connects Red Hook in Brooklyn with the Battery in Manhattan . The tunnel consists of twin tubes that each carry two traffic lanes under the mouth of the East River . Although it passes just offshore of Governors Island , the tunnel does not provide vehicular access to the island. With
8557-798: The Bruckner Interchange in the Bronx . I-278 was planned to extend northwest to I-78 at Route 24 in Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey . I-678 runs from JFK Airport in Queens north to the Bruckner Interchange. I-878, signed as part of NY 878 , is a short east–west expressway crossing I-678 at JFK Airport, running only within Queens. It was originally planned as part of I-78, connecting to
8756-781: The Bushwick Expressway , I-278, the Williamsburg Bridge , and the Lower Manhattan Expressway . The original I-878 is now the segment of I-278 east of the split with NY 895 ; it connected I-278 with I-78, I-95, and I-678 at the Bruckner Interchange. When the Interstate numbering was finalized in the late 1950s, the Harrisburg – New York City route, I-78, was assigned to several proposed roads in New York City. It would leave
8955-667: The Conduit Boulevard/Avenue corridor. An alternate routing, proposed by the TBTA in the 1960s, would have traveled slightly farther north along Broadway, Flushing Avenue , or Meserole Street and Montrose Avenue, and Wyckoff Avenue, parallel to the Brooklyn–Queens border. This was the right-of-way of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)'s defunct Evergreen Branch . The Bushwick Expressway would then run east along Force Tube Avenue and Conduit Avenue to
9154-474: The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in Texas, and an I-35W and I-35E that run through Minneapolis and Saint Paul , Minnesota, still exist. Additionally, due to Congressional requirements, three sections of I-69 in southern Texas will be divided into I-69W , I-69E , and I-69C (for Central). AASHTO policy allows dual numbering to provide continuity between major control points. This is referred to as
9353-486: The East River , connecting the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan to the neighborhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn . Although the tubes do not pass directly under Governors Island , that island contains a ventilation building for the tunnel. Vehicles taller than 12 feet 1 inch (3.68 m) and wider than 8 feet 6 inches (2.59 m) are prohibited from using the tubes. The tubes stretch 9,117 feet (2,779 m) from portal to portal, making them
9552-552: The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 into law. Under the act, the federal government would pay for 90 percent of the cost of construction of Interstate Highways. Each Interstate Highway was required to be a freeway with at least four lanes and no at-grade crossings. The publication in 1955 of the General Location of National System of Interstate Highways , informally known as the Yellow Book , mapped out what became
9751-630: The Grand Forks area have higher speed limits of 75 mph (120 km/h). As one of the components of the National Highway System , Interstate Highways improve the mobility of military troops to and from airports, seaports, rail terminals, and other military bases. Interstate Highways also connect to other roads that are a part of the Strategic Highway Network , a system of roads identified as critical to
9950-403: The Holland Tunnel onto the Lower Manhattan Expressway , crossing the East River on the Williamsburg Bridge and following the Bushwick Expressway across Brooklyn to near Idlewild Airport (now JFK Airport). There it would follow the Nassau Expressway along the north boundary of the airport and turn north along the Clearview Expressway through Queens , crossing the East River again on
10149-474: The Holland Tunnel , which connects to I-78 in New Jersey. The Holland Tunnel, a National Historic Landmark , was the world's longest underwater vehicular tunnel when it opened in 1927; it consists of two tubes, each of which carries two lanes of traffic in a single direction. The entrance plaza to the westbound tunnel, Freeman Plaza , is a rectangular block, bounded clockwise from the north by Broome , Varick , Watts, and Hudson streets. Four entrances feed into
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#173277237381410348-461: The Interstate Highway System , or the Eisenhower Interstate System , is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States . The system extends throughout the contiguous United States and has routes in Hawaii , Alaska , and Puerto Rico . In the 20th century, the United States Congress began funding roadways through the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 , and started an effort to construct
10547-402: The Lincoln Highway , the first road across America. He recalled that, "The old convoy had started me thinking about good two-lane highways... the wisdom of broader ribbons across our land." Eisenhower also gained an appreciation of the Reichsautobahn system, the first "national" implementation of modern Germany's Autobahn network, as a necessary component of a national defense system while he
10746-732: The Nassau Expressway became I-878 (now signed as NY 878), though it was still shown as I-78 on maps through the late 1970s. I-878 was also assigned to the unbuilt Cross Brooklyn Expressway, for a total of 15.6 miles (25.1 km) between the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and JFK Airport . I-878, the Nassau Expressway, was redesignated as a New York state route by 1991. Robert Moses had planned to build three other expressways through Manhattan, two of which were never constructed as planned. The Mid-Manhattan Expressway would have been an elevated or underground highway running along 30th Street. The Cross Harlem Expressway would have run at ground level at 125th Street . The Trans-Manhattan Expressway ,
10945-460: The New York Public Library does not have any records containing the song, Jane Jacobs's son, Jim, confirmed that Dylan had written it and a copy of the lyrics was found in the Tuli Kupferberg collection of the Fales Library of New York University. The New York section of I-78 only consists of Holland Tunnel and its entrance and exit ramps. There are five eastbound exit ramps, which are numbered sequentially as traffic heads counterclockwise around
11144-407: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). I-78 was planned to take a longer route when the Interstate System within New York City was originally proposed in the late 1950s. The proposed route of I-78 was to head east via the Williamsburg Bridge to John F. Kennedy International Airport and then north over the Throgs Neck Bridge to I-95 in the Bronx . One unbuilt section of I-78,
11343-668: The Throgs Neck Bridge into the Bronx . Finally, I-78 would split into two branches, one heading west along the Cross Bronx Expressway to the Bruckner Interchange and the other heading northwest along the Throgs Neck Expressway to the Bruckner Expressway near the south end of the New England Thruway . I-78 would also intersect with I-478 ( Manhattan Bridge ) in SoHo, Manhattan ; I-278 ( Brooklyn–Queens Expressway ) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn ; I-495 ( Long Island Expressway ) in Fresh Meadows, Queens ; and I-95 (Cross Bronx and Bruckner Expressways), I-678 ( Bronx–Whitestone Bridge ), and I-878 (Bruckner Expressway) in Throggs Neck ,
11542-444: The US Department of Defense . The system has also been used to facilitate evacuations in the face of hurricanes and other natural disasters. An option for maximizing traffic throughput on a highway is to reverse the flow of traffic on one side of a divider so that all lanes become outbound lanes. This procedure, known as contraflow lane reversal , has been employed several times for hurricane evacuations. After public outcry regarding
11741-411: The US Highways , which increase from east to west and north to south). This numbering system usually holds true even if the local direction of the route does not match the compass directions. Numbers divisible by five are intended to be major arteries among the primary routes, carrying traffic long distances. Primary north–south Interstates increase in number from I-5 between Canada and Mexico along
11940-437: The West Coast to I‑95 between Canada and Miami, Florida along the East Coast . Major west–east arterial Interstates increase in number from I-10 between Santa Monica, California , and Jacksonville, Florida , to I-90 between Seattle, Washington , and Boston, Massachusetts , with two exceptions. There are no I-50 and I-60, as routes with those numbers would likely pass through states that currently have US Highways with
12139-406: The West Side Highway and the FDR Drive on the Manhattan side and to Hamilton Avenue on the Brooklyn side. In the future, the West Side Elevated Highway would be extended from the north, connecting to the new tunnel. There would be a ventilation tower at the midpoint on Governors Island because the tunnels would stretch 8,800 feet (2,700 m) between the two portals, and it was thought that
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#173277237381412338-448: The " Westway " project, which would reconstruct the West Side Highway to Interstate Highway standards . Although the project was canceled in 1985, the I-478 designation still exists and is contiguous with the entirety of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel. However, I-478 is not posted on any public signage. Under an agreement with Verizon Wireless , the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel received cellular service in 1995. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel
12537-432: The $ 100-million cost would have been covered by $ 90 million (equivalent to $ 710 million in 2023) from the federal government, $ 10 million (equivalent to $ 78.9 million in 2023) from the state of New York, and $ 220,000 (equivalent to $ 1.74 million in 2023) in city funds. The expressway plan encountered logistical issues even before they had been fully approved. After the Planning Commission had approved
12736-420: The Battery Bridge plan, Moses and La Guardia appealed directly to President Roosevelt to form an independent committee to study the proposal. Moses again revised the plan, adding a ramp to Governors Island so the Army forces could also use the bridge, in a fashion similar to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge 's connection to the Army reservation on Yerba Buena Island in California. However, Roosevelt upheld
12935-469: The Battery Tunnel north to Atlantic Avenue, opened the same day. At the time, the Brooklyn Eagle described the Battery Tunnel as "the nation's largest, most modern underwater vehicular tunnel", which took three minutes to traverse from end to end. The Eagle also estimated that the tunnel cost $ 736 per inch ($ 290/cm) (equivalent to $ 7,394 per inch ($ 2,911/cm) in 2023 ) that was built. With a cost of $ 80 million (equivalent to $ 804 million in 2023 ),
13134-411: The Battery in order to build a seawall , and, as a result of the downsizing of the Battery, an architect was hired to study the redesign of the park. This, in turn, led to a public competition for potential park redesigns. In August 1940, the city filed plans for two drawbridges across the Gowanus Canal as part of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel approach project. The US Army officially approved plans for
13333-538: The Battery, Manhattan, as well as a $ 2.3-million (equivalent to $ 39.7 million in 2023 ) bridge over the Gowanus Canal. The city approved these plans in January 1936. One civic group wanted to plan for future traffic volumes, so it asked the city to conduct further studies of the Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel project. The tunnel was officially renamed the "Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel" in July 1936. In November of that year, Brooklyn Borough President Raymond Ingersoll and New York City Parks commissioner Robert Moses revealed
13532-426: The Bronx. Only two sections of I-78 in Queens and the Bronx were built. When the Throgs Neck Bridge and its approaches opened in early 1961, they were signed as I-78. The lack of expressway names on the signs, as specified by federal standards, caused confusion among drivers who knew the highways by their names. The Clearview Expressway was completed to its present extent in mid-1963, and a short eastbound-only piece of
13731-419: The Brooklyn approach was already underway. The Army had already approved the tunnel but, due to a minor change in the plan, had to hold another hearing, and the Army was expected to uphold the permit. In May, La Guardia signed a preliminary contract to start construction. Moses stated that he wanted to complete the tunnel, a crucial link in the Circumferential Parkway System, as soon as possible. The RFC granted
13930-455: The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was also dubbed the most expensive tunnel in the United States. It was expensive enough that the TBTA had been forced to look around the world for a company that could cover the tunnel's $ 33.5-million (equivalent to $ 337 million in 2023 ) insurance policy. However, the cost was expected to be counterbalanced, in part, through the $ 0.35 tolls and the time savings afforded. Truckers at Bush Terminal , located south of
14129-399: The Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel if funds became available. By this time, the construction cost of the Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel was now projected to be $ 58 million (equivalent to $ 1 billion in 2023 ). Detailed plans for the tunnel were released in May 1936. The project now consisted of a $ 60.3-million (equivalent to $ 1.04 billion in 2023 ) twin-tube bore from Red Hook, Brooklyn, to
14328-502: The Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel in conjunction with a Staten Island–Brooklyn tunnel under the Narrows . The city was set to ask for $ 50 million (equivalent to $ 935 million in 2023 ) in federal funding, but this request was dropped from the final vote. Mayor Fiorello La Guardia set up a public-works authority in February 1935 so the city could apply for loans from the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). This authority
14527-554: The Bushwick Expressway in 1967 in order to reduce traffic into Manhattan and because it would reduce the displacement of residents and businesses. While campaigning for reelection in 1969, Mayor Lindsay canceled plans for the Lower Manhattan and Cross Brooklyn expressways, citing lack of community support. Lindsay declared the Lower Manhattan Expressway to be "dead for all time", and the Board of Estimate officially voted to erase
14726-623: The Bushwick Expressway's route opposed the project because it would necessitate the destruction of residences and businesses in Brooklyn and Queens; the TBTA estimated that nearly 4,000 families would be displaced by the expressway. At the urging of Mayor John Lindsay , the Cross Brooklyn Expressway, which would connect to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and not provide a link in I-78, was substituted for
14925-576: The Congress Hotel in Chicago. In the plan, Mehren proposed a 50,000-mile (80,000 km) system, consisting of five east–west routes and 10 north–south routes. The system would include two percent of all roads and would pass through every state at a cost of $ 25,000 per mile ($ 16,000/km), providing commercial as well as military transport benefits. In 1919, the US Army sent an expedition across
15124-424: The Department of War's decision and declined to create such a committee. In July 1939, after the bridge plan was canceled, the proposal for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was revisited. Around this time, Roosevelt's administration was considering loosening PWA requirements and lowering interest rates so that the Battery Tunnel could qualify for these funds. By November, La Guardia was arranging to obtain financing for
15323-699: The Gowanus Canal bridge in October, just before the tunnel was set to begin construction. The Gowanus bridge's contract was awarded in December 1940. A contract for the Gowanus Parkway approach to the tunnel and bridge was awarded the next month. In mid-1941, planners realized that Hicks Street, on the Brooklyn side, would also need to be widened so that traffic from the north could enter the tunnel, whose Brooklyn portal faced southeast. By May 1942,
15522-461: The Gowanus Parkway was completed between Hicks Street and the Belt Parkway. The parkway also included a bridge over the Gowanus Canal, a fixed span rising 90 feet (27 m) above the waterway before descending to Hicks Street. Construction on an extension of the highway along Hicks Street did not start until 1946. A new plan for the Manhattan approaches was released in mid-1941. This plan, believed to reduce traffic congestion, consisted of extending
15721-515: The Interstate Highway System. Assisting in the planning was Charles Erwin Wilson , who was still head of General Motors when President Eisenhower selected him as Secretary of Defense in January 1953. Some sections of highways that became part of the Interstate Highway System actually began construction earlier. Three states have claimed the title of first Interstate Highway. Missouri claims that
15920-493: The Interstate Highway program. The Interstates of Alaska and Puerto Rico are numbered sequentially in order of funding without regard to the rules on odd and even numbers. They also carry the prefixes A and PR , respectively. However, these highways are signed according to their local designations, not their Interstate Highway numbers. Furthermore, these routes were neither planned according to nor constructed to
16119-555: The Lower Manhattan Expressway in any form; however, the Lindsay administration itself was still conducting studies on a possible underground routing. After considerable disagreement with the Lindsay administration, Moses was removed from his position as the city's arterial-road planner in July 1966. Lindsay also commissioned private consultants to perform a study on the Lower Manhattan Expressway, and, in November 1966, they concluded that
16318-573: The Lower Manhattan Expressway, would have connected the Holland Tunnel to the Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges . Another unbuilt section, the Cross-Brooklyn and Bushwick Expressways, would have extended southeast across Brooklyn , connecting to what is now the Nassau Expressway ( New York State Route 878 or NY 878). A third section would have connected the Nassau Expressway, at the southern edge of Queens near JFK Airport, to
16517-441: The Manhattan side. As of 2016 , the tunnel is used by 54,076 vehicles on an average weekday. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel has a total of four ventilation buildings: two in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn, and one on Governors Island. One of the Manhattan ventilation buildings is granite-faced and designed like a monument due to objections to the building's design during the construction process. The Manhattan ventilation structure
16716-687: The Nassau Expressway opened in 1971. The unbuilt sections of the Lower Manhattan, Bushwick, and Clearview expressways were canceled by the New York state government in March 1971. The route of part of the Clearview Expressway's unbuilt southern section later became the JFK Expressway , which connects JFK Airport with the Nassau Expressway, Conduit Avenue ( NY 27 ), and the Belt Parkway . The 2.5-mile (4.0 km) JFK Expressway
16915-614: The Nassau Expressway. Under this plan, an additional spur would have branched off at approximately Wyckoff and Flushing Avenues and run northwest along Vandervoort Avenue parallel to Newtown Creek . It would have crossed the creek into Long Island City and traveled west along either the Long Island Expressway or the LIRR Montauk Branch in order to connect with the Queens–Midtown Tunnel , for which
17114-526: The RFC. Manhattan Borough President Stanley M. Isaacs objected to the tunnel plan because he thought the proposal would not be able to adequately handle traffic on the Manhattan side. In response, Parks Commissioner Moses asked Isaacs to think of a better idea to deal with the traffic. Ickes later rejected the city's request for PWA funds, saying that there were "tremendous financial and practical obstacles" for any further PWA involvement. These impediments included
17313-965: The Terminal Bridge Corporation petitioned the New York City Board of Estimate for permission to build and operate a tunnel under the East River. In November of that year, the Board of Estimate referred the Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel plan to the New York City Board of Transportation (NYCBOT), who was tasked with surveying the site of the tunnel. At the time, the tunnel would have cost $ 75 million (equivalent to $ 1.09 billion in 2023 ), including land acquisition if it included two three-lane tunnels. The tunnels itself would have cost $ 58 million (equivalent to $ 842 million in 2023 ) if they were three lanes or $ 50 million (equivalent to $ 726 million in 2023 ) if two lanes. The next year, NYCBOT announced that
17512-490: The Tunnel Authority, allowing the new Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) to take over the project. Moses, the TBTA head, promptly fired Singstad and replaced him with TBTA Chief Engineer Ralph Smillie , who designed the remainder of the tunnel. The WPB approved the resumption of tunnel work in September of that year. The TBTA advertised for bids to construct the Brooklyn toll plaza in May 1946. Because of objections to
17711-870: The US to determine the difficulties that military vehicles would have on a cross-country trip. Leaving from the Ellipse near the White House on July 7, the Motor Transport Corps convoy needed 62 days to drive 3,200 miles (5,100 km) on the Lincoln Highway to the Presidio of San Francisco along the Golden Gate . The convoy suffered many setbacks and problems on the route, such as poor-quality bridges, broken crankshafts, and engines clogged with desert sand. Dwight Eisenhower , then
17910-778: The United States, including: In addition to cancellations, removals of freeways are planned: The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has defined a set of standards that all new Interstates must meet unless a waiver from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is obtained. One almost absolute standard is the controlled access nature of the roads. With few exceptions , traffic lights (and cross traffic in general) are limited to toll booths and ramp meters (metered flow control for lane merging during rush hour ). Being freeways , Interstate Highways usually have
18109-569: The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the Gowanus Expressway, and the Battery Tunnel. A large volume of tunnel drivers also used the garage on the Manhattan side, so in 1965, plans were made to expand the garage. The expanded garage, which was completed in 1968, had 2,126 spots. The city also built a new 278-spot garage nearby for short-term parking. In 1957, workers performing maintenance on the tunnel observed that
18308-763: The West Side Elevated Highway south to the Battery with a ramp from the southbound highway leading directly into the tunnel. The Battery Park Underpass would be built between the West Side Highway and the FDR Drive. As a result, the approaches to the tunnel would only need to connect to the west side of the Battery, and traffic accessing the North River piers on the West Side would not be interrupted by tunnel traffic. However, this
18507-451: The West Side Highway was closed to traffic south of Canal Street , some 30 blocks north of the tunnel portal, and part of the highway had been destroyed during the attacks. Consequently, officials feared that traffic in the tunnel would be backed up at least 40 blocks if the highway was reopened. As a result, work started on a temporary roadway leading from the highway to the tunnel. The northbound tube, which reopened in March 2002,
18706-664: The Williamsburg Bridge would have been mostly depressed or underground, running between Delancey and Broome streets and passing under the Chrystie Street Connection of the New York City Subway . As part of the project, a third tube to the Holland Tunnel would have been built to provide sufficient capacity for the proposed expressway traffic. The expressway was originally conceived by urban planner and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) chair Robert Moses in 1941. However, efforts to build
18905-481: The act was signed, and paving started September 26, 1956. The state marked its portion of I-70 as the first project in the United States completed under the provisions of the new Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The Pennsylvania Turnpike could also be considered one of the first Interstate Highways, and is nicknamed "Grandfather of the Interstate System". On October 1, 1940, 162 miles (261 km) of
19104-493: The bridge could be completed by July 1941. As part of the approval process, the US Army held a public hearing to solicit opinions on the bridge plan. To solidify their opposition to the bridge plans, 17 civic groups formed a committee, and the Municipal Art Society criticized the proposed bridge as an act of "vandalism" toward the city's public parks. Opponents claimed that the bridge would block naval traffic,
19303-584: The bridge project, with 19 members in favor and six opposed. Two days later, both chambers of the New York State Legislature passed bills that permitted the construction of the Brooklyn–Battery Bridge, and Governor Herbert H. Lehman signed the bills within the week. Moses quickly sought to obtain approval from the US Department of War , which needed to approve the plan. He also started looking for PWA and RFC financing so
19502-684: The cancellation of the Somerset Freeway . This situation was remedied when the construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project started in 2010 and partially opened on September 22, 2018, which was already enough to fill the gap. However, I-70 remains discontinuous in Pennsylvania , because of the lack of a direct interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike at
19701-406: The choice of routing destroyed many well-established neighborhoods, often intentionally as part of a program of " urban renewal ". In the two decades following the 1956 Highway Act, the construction of the freeways displaced one million people, and as a result of the many freeway revolts during this era, several planned Interstates were abandoned or re-routed to avoid urban cores. Construction of
19900-517: The city $ 57 million (equivalent to $ 971 million in 2023 ) for the tunnel project later that month. Ole Singstad , the chief engineer of the New York City Tunnel Authority, was commissioned to design the tunnel. As a cost-saving measure, the Tunnel Authority briefly considered constructing the Brooklyn–;Battery Tunnel by digging a trench under the East River and then covering it up. In mid-1940, 400 Brooklyn residents living in
20099-475: The city, and so the city government proposed offering lower parking rates compared to privately-owned garages. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was slated to be connected with several parkways and highways on either side, which were built in tandem with the tunnel. On the Brooklyn side, the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway was under construction, providing a connector to the tunnel from the north. Although it
20298-664: The city. In some locations, low speed limits are the result of lawsuits and resident demands; after holding up the completion of I-35E in St. Paul, Minnesota , for nearly 30 years in the courts, residents along the stretch of the freeway from the southern city limit to downtown successfully lobbied for a 45 mph (70 km/h) speed limit in addition to a prohibition on any vehicle weighing more than 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) gross vehicle weight . I-93 in Franconia Notch State Park in northern New Hampshire has
20497-401: The collection of tolls, some Interstate routes are toll roads , either because they were grandfathered into the system or because subsequent legislation has allowed for tolling of Interstates in some cases. As of 2022 , about one quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country used the Interstate Highway System, which has a total length of 48,890 miles (78,680 km). In 2022 and 2023,
20696-507: The construction and improvement of highways. The nation's revenue needs associated with World War I prevented any significant implementation of this policy, which expired in 1921. In December 1918, E. J. Mehren, a civil engineer and the editor of Engineering News-Record , presented his "A Suggested National Highway Policy and Plan" during a gathering of the State Highway Officials and Highway Industries Association at
20895-427: The construction the proposed tunnel was estimated to cost $ 60 million (equivalent to $ 968 million in 2023 ), assuming that the tunnels were 31 feet (9.4 m) in diameter with 21-foot (6.4 m) roadways and a 13.5-foot (4.1 m) clearance. In October 1933, the Board of Estimate approved funding for the tunnel in the city's capital outlay budget for 1934. Two months later, the Board of Estimate approved
21094-407: The contiguous United States, primary Interstates—also called main line Interstates or two-digit Interstates—are assigned numbers less than 100. While numerous exceptions do exist, there is a general scheme for numbering Interstates. Primary Interstates are assigned one- or two-digit numbers, while shorter routes (such as spurs, loops, and short connecting roads) are assigned three-digit numbers where
21293-592: The cost of retiling the tunnels, which cost a combined $ 30 million (equivalent to $ 35.9 million in 2023 ), because of the ongoing transit crisis at the time. On September 28, 2023, an 18-wheel tractor entered the Brooklyn-bound tunnel, traveling the wrong way to Manhattan, and got stuck inside the tunnel, backing up traffic for several hours. As of August 6, 2023 , drivers pay $ 11.19 per car or $ 4.71 per motorcycle for tolls by mail/non-NYCSC E-Z Pass. E-ZPass users with transponders issued by
21492-547: The decision as hypocritical since numerous other bridges (including the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, which stood between the proposed bridge and the Navy Yard) would also constitute wartime hazards by the Army's reasoning. Moses continued to support the bridge, praising it as less intrusive and cheaper than a tunnel, despite great public opposition to a bridge. In October, in a last effort to garner official acceptance for
21691-421: The demolition of Castle Clinton, but preservationists who opposed Moses's proposed action asked federal judge to grant an injunction to prevent demolition. Even though Moses initially had the injunction dismissed, the federal government later designated the castle a US historic monument, which prohibited him from demolishing the castle. The tunnel project would also require demolishing two acres (0.81 ha) of
21890-623: The discontinuity, but they have been blocked by local opposition, fearing a loss of business. The Interstate Highway System has been expanded numerous times. The expansions have both created new designations and extended existing designations. For example, I-49 , added to the system in the 1980s as a freeway in Louisiana , was designated as an expansion corridor, and FHWA approved the expanded route north from Lafayette, Louisiana , to Kansas City, Missouri . The freeway exists today as separate completed segments, with segments under construction or in
22089-400: The dispute between Jacobs and Moses, the author Anthony Flint stated that newspapers such as The New York Times typically reported Moses's work favorably, while the newly created The Village Voice covered community rallies and advocated against the expressway. Jacobs continued to fight the expressway throughout the rest of the decade, and she was locally seen as a hero for her opposition to
22288-448: The dissemination of public information. As a result, the 2005 evacuation of New Orleans, Louisiana, prior to Hurricane Katrina ran much more smoothly. According to urban legend , early regulations required that one out of every five miles of the Interstate Highway System must be built straight and flat, so as to be usable by aircraft during times of war. There is no evidence of this rule being included in any Interstate legislation. It
22487-496: The eastern end of the concurrency near Breezewood . Traveling in either direction, I-70 traffic must exit the freeway and use a short stretch of US 30 (which includes a number of roadside services) to rejoin I-70. The interchange was not originally built because of a legacy federal funding rule, since relaxed, which restricted the use of federal funds to improve roads financed with tolls. Solutions have been proposed to eliminate
22686-450: The economy. Not just as a public works measure, but for future growth. Clay's committee proposed a 10-year, $ 100 billion program ($ 1.13 trillion in 2023), which would build 40,000 miles (64,000 km) of divided highways linking all American cities with a population of greater than 50,000. Eisenhower initially preferred a system consisting of toll roads , but Clay convinced Eisenhower that toll roads were not feasible outside of
22885-467: The end of the month, the WPB ordered a halt to all construction work on the tunnel's Manhattan end as well. Due to opposition over potentially firing the sandhogs, they were allowed to continue working until a final review of the WPB's action was conducted. At the time, the bores from Manhattan and Brooklyn were in various stages of completion. By September 1944, the war was winding down and Mayor La Guardia
23084-492: The existing, largely non-freeway, United States Numbered Highways system. By the late 1930s, planning had expanded to a system of new superhighways. In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave Thomas MacDonald , chief at the Bureau of Public Roads, a hand-drawn map of the United States marked with eight superhighway corridors for study. In 1939, Bureau of Public Roads Division of Information chief Herbert S. Fairbank wrote
23283-442: The expressway and wanted for the highway to be completed by 1971. His opponent, John Lindsay , objected to the elevated highway plan; in July 1965, he filed a lawsuit to postpone any decisions on the expressway until after the election that November. The Port Authority, which operated the Holland Tunnel, also opposed the proposed link because it would put congestion back onto the Holland Tunnel, which had seen moderate traffic flows for
23482-404: The expressway plan was not the optimal solution for Lower Manhattan congestion. In January 1967, Lindsay and Governor Nelson Rockefeller agreed to commission a study of the feasibility of an underground highway rather than an elevated highway. The engineering study was completed that March; it called for various sections to be built in tunnels and open cuts under Broome and Chrystie streets, with
23681-457: The expressway proposal, the city moved to evict 2,000 families in 416 buildings along the expressway's route, as well as displace 804 businesses. However, residents started organizing protests against the relocation plan. In response, Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. told the affected residents that the timeline for starting construction had not yet been finalized, and so they would not need to move for some time. Opposition also formed over
23880-511: The fact that the highway would create a " Chinese wall " separating the neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan. Members of the affected communities, led by community activist Jane Jacobs , formed groups to protest against LOMEX. Jacobs chaired the Joint Committee to Stop the Lower Manhattan Expressway, which recruited such members as Margaret Mead , Eleanor Roosevelt , Lewis Mumford , Charles Abrams , and William H. Whyte . In his book about
24079-426: The federal government, Interstate Highways are owned by the state in which they were built. With few exceptions , all Interstates must meet specific standards , such as having controlled access, physical barriers or median strips between lanes of oncoming traffic, breakdown lanes , avoiding at-grade intersections , no traffic lights , and complying with federal traffic sign specifications. Interstate Highways use
24278-515: The first three contracts under the new program were signed in Missouri on August 2, 1956. The first contract signed was for upgrading a section of US Route 66 to what is now designated Interstate 44 . On August 13, 1956, work began on US 40 (now I-70) in St. Charles County. Kansas claims that it was the first to start paving after the act was signed. Preliminary construction had taken place before
24477-516: The first time since its 1927 opening. Lindsay ultimately won the election and immediately began looking to modify the project's routing. The Regional Plan Association suggested that the city build the expressway underground or in an open cut, instead of an elevated highway. However, Moses opposed the construction of a depressed highway since the same number of buildings would have to be demolished compared to an elevated highway. Deputy Mayor Robert Price subsequently announced that it had stopped pursuing
24676-614: The first time sought to target these funds to the construction of a national road grid of interconnected "primary highways", setting up cooperation among the various state highway planning boards. The Bureau of Public Roads asked the Army to provide a list of roads that it considered necessary for national defense. In 1922, General John J. Pershing , former head of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during
24875-492: The first two proposals since they had been promised that the entire highway would be located underground. Despite the persistent opposition, the federal and state governments allocated funding for the expressway in September 1967. Lindsay announced in April 1968 that he wanted to start construction on the updated Lower Manhattan Expressway as soon as possible. However, the tunnel proposal also encountered difficulties: in January 1969,
25074-456: The garage opened in 1950, it had 1,050 spaces across seven levels, which were constructed at a cost of $ 3.5 million (equivalent to $ 35.2 million in 2023 ). The parking facility was expanded in 1965–1968 due to its popularity among motorists. The garage was the city's first publicly owned parking lot. The tunnel carries 28 express bus routes that connect Manhattan with Brooklyn or Staten Island . The MTA Bus Company operates
25273-556: The highest speed limits in a given area. Speed limits are determined by individual states. From 1975 to 1986, the maximum speed limit on any highway in the United States was 55 miles per hour (90 km/h), in accordance with federal law. Typically, lower limits are established in Northeastern and coastal states, while higher speed limits are established in inland states west of the Mississippi River . For example,
25472-553: The highly populated coastal regions. In February 1955, Eisenhower forwarded Clay's proposal to Congress. The bill quickly won approval in the Senate, but House Democrats objected to the use of public bonds as the means to finance construction. Eisenhower and the House Democrats agreed to instead finance the system through the Highway Trust Fund , which itself would be funded by a gasoline tax. In June 1956, Eisenhower signed
25671-617: The highway now designated I‑70 and I‑76 opened between Irwin and Carlisle . The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania refers to the turnpike as the Granddaddy of the Pikes, a reference to turnpikes . Milestones in the construction of the Interstate Highway System include: The initial cost estimate for the system was $ 25 billion over 12 years; it ended up costing $ 114 billion (equivalent to $ 425 billion in 2006 or $ 618 billion in 2023 ) and took 35 years. The system
25870-666: The highway were delayed until November 1959, when Moses submitted the LOMEX plans for city approval. The New York City Planning Commission approved the expressway in February 1960, and the New York City Board of Estimate voted in favor of the expressway's routing that September. The cost of the plan approved by the Board of Estimate was $ 80 million (equivalent to $ 631 million in 2023) but later rose to $ 100 million (equivalent to $ 789 million in 2023). Estimates published in The New York Times in 1962 showed that
26069-402: The inefficiency of evacuating from southern Louisiana prior to Hurricane Georges ' landfall in September 1998, government officials looked towards contraflow to improve evacuation times. In Savannah, Georgia , and Charleston, South Carolina , in 1999, lanes of I-16 and I-26 were used in a contraflow configuration in anticipation of Hurricane Floyd with mixed results. In 2004, contraflow
26268-431: The last two digits match the parent route (thus, I-294 is a loop that connects at both ends to I-94 , while I-787 is a short spur route attached to I-87 ). In the numbering scheme for the primary routes, east–west highways are assigned even numbers and north–south highways are assigned odd numbers. Odd route numbers increase from west to east, and even-numbered routes increase from south to north (to avoid confusion with
26467-410: The leakage was excessive and that Singstad's caulking method had been replaced because that method was actually the cause of the leak. Workers from both sides continued working on the tunnel, mining caverns until the tubes from each side connected with each other. In July 1947, the eastern tube for future northbound traffic was the first to be holed-through, with workers from each side shaking hands as
26666-660: The longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnels in North America. At the time of its opening, the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was the longest underwater vehicular tunnel in the US and the second-longest in the world, behind the Queensway tunnel under the River Mersey in the UK. The portals of each tube contain flood doors weighing 20 short tons (18 long tons; 18 t) and measuring 2 feet (0.61 m) thick, 14 feet (4.3 m) across, and 29 feet (8.8 m) tall. The tunnel
26865-454: The mainline. Some auxiliary highways do not follow these guidelines, however. The Interstate Highway System also extends to Alaska , Hawaii , and Puerto Rico , even though they have no direct land connections to any other states or territories. However, their residents still pay federal fuel and tire taxes. The Interstates in Hawaii, all located on the most populous island of Oahu , carry
27064-690: The maximum speed limit is 75 mph (120 km/h) in northern Maine, varies between 50 and 70 mph (80 and 115 km/h) from southern Maine to New Jersey, and is 50 mph (80 km/h) in New York City and the District of Columbia. Currently, rural speed limits elsewhere generally range from 65 to 80 miles per hour (105 to 130 km/h). Several portions of various highways such as I-10 and I-20 in rural western Texas, I-80 in Nevada between Fernley and Winnemucca (except around Lovelock) and portions of I-15 , I-70 , I-80 , and I-84 in Utah have
27263-403: The north by Laight, Varick, Beach, and Hudson streets. Traffic leaves the tunnel at a portal at the southeast corner of Canal and Hudson streets, then heads southeast along the south line of Canal Street and south along the west line of Varick Street to the northeast corner of the plaza. From there, five exits, which are numbered sequentially , split from the rotary. One exit goes to each corner of
27462-430: The northern sidewalk of Broome Street, was built during this time. In December 1960, the New York state government started tendering bids to construct this segment. The low bid of about $ 1.02 million (equivalent to $ 7.95 million in 2023) was accepted on January 26, 1961, and the road was completed by January 1964. This piece of the highway had cost $ 941,000 (equivalent to $ 7.07 million in 2023) to construct. It
27661-475: The number of fatalities on the Interstate Highway System amounted to more than 5,000 people annually, with nearly 5,600 fatalities in 2022. The United States government's efforts to construct a national network of highways began on an ad hoc basis with the passage of the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 , which provided $ 75 million over a five-year period for matching funds to the states for
27860-472: The official Interstate Highway standards . On one- or two-digit Interstates, the mile marker numbering almost always begins at the southern or western state line. If an Interstate originates within a state, the numbering begins from the location where the road begins in the south or west. As with all guidelines for Interstate routes, however, numerous exceptions exist. Brooklyn%E2%80%93Battery Tunnel The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel , commonly referred to as
28059-620: The only one of Moses's planned Manhattan expressways to be constructed, connected the George Washington Bridge with Moses's Cross Bronx Expressway and was completed in 1962. The I-478 designation was later reassigned to the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel . This was part of a plan for another elevated highway called the Westway , which would have connected the Brooklyn–Battery, Holland, and Lincoln tunnels. The Westway project
28258-561: The original Interstate Highway System was proclaimed complete in 1992, despite deviations from the original 1956 plan and several stretches that did not fully conform with federal standards . The construction of the Interstate Highway System cost approximately $ 114 billion (equivalent to $ 618 billion in 2023). The system has continued to expand and grow as additional federal funding has provided for new routes to be added, and many future Interstate Highways are currently either being planned or under construction. Though heavily funded by
28457-656: The planning phase between them. In 1966, the FHWA designated the entire Interstate Highway System as part of the larger Pan-American Highway System, and at least two proposed Interstate expansions were initiated to help trade with Canada and Mexico spurred by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Long-term plans for I-69 , which currently exists in several separate completed segments (the largest of which are in Indiana and Texas ),
28656-411: The prefix H . There are three one-digit routes in the state ( H-1 , H-2 , and H-3 ) and one auxiliary route ( H-201 ). These Interstates connect several military and naval bases together, as well as the important communities spread across Oahu, and especially within the urban core of Honolulu . Both Alaska and Puerto Rico also have public highways that receive 90 percent of their funding from
28855-561: The project. By 1961, Moses had initiated two large federal initiatives to demolish fourteen blocks along Broome Street in Little Italy and SoHo. Moses's plan, funded as " slum clearance " by Title I of the Housing Act of 1949 , also called for multiple blocks to be razed and replaced with upscale highrises. The plan ultimately required 132 families to move out, as well as displaced 1,000 small businesses, who relocated to what
29054-590: The proposed Manhattan ventilation building's design, the TBTA changed the plans so that the tower would look like a granite monument rather than a simple ventilation tower. Moses directed the tunnel be finished with a different method for finishing the tunnel walls. This resulted in leaking, and, according to Moses biographer Robert Caro , the TBTA fixed the leaks by using a design almost identical to Singstad's original. Singstad later claimed that Smillie had caused "excessive" leakage by not using Singstad's experimental caulking design to prevent leaks. Smillie denied that
29253-508: The proposed expressway from city maps in August. All three unbuilt expressways along the path of I-78 were deleted at the state level by Governor Rockefeller in March 1971. Effective January 1, 1970, NYSDOT truncated the east end of I-78 to the east end of the Williamsburg Bridge at I-278 in Brooklyn. The Clearview and Throgs Neck expressways, as well as the eastern part of the Cross Bronx Expressway, became I-295 , and
29452-465: The restoration of Battery Park, which reopened in 1952 after a 12-year shutdown. The tubes were designed for two lanes in each direction. This was changed in 1956, when the Brooklyn-bound western tube was changed to handle bidirectional traffic during morning rush hours, owing to heavy rush-hour traffic congestion. A northbound high-occupancy vehicle lane (HOV lane) was later added during the morning rush hours. It led from Staten Island to Manhattan via
29651-415: The route, without regard to the route number. For instance, I-190 in Massachusetts is labeled north–south, while I-195 in New Jersey is labeled east–west. Some looped Interstate routes use inner–outer directions instead of compass directions, when the use of compass directions would create ambiguity. Due to the large number of these routes, auxiliary route numbers may be repeated in different states along
29850-419: The same numbers, which is generally disallowed under highway administration guidelines. Several two-digit numbers are shared between unconnected road segments at opposite ends of the country for various reasons. Some such highways are incomplete Interstates (such as I-69 and I-74 ) and some just happen to share route designations (such as I-76 , I-84 , I‑86 , I-87 , and I-88 ). Some of these were due to
30049-503: The same roadway are signed as traveling in opposite directions; one such wrong-way concurrency is found between Wytheville and Fort Chiswell , Virginia, where I‑81 north and I‑77 south are equivalent (with that section of road traveling almost due east), as are I‑81 south and I‑77 north. Auxiliary Interstate Highways are circumferential, radial, or spur highways that principally serve urban areas . These types of Interstate Highways are given three-digit route numbers, which consist of
30248-403: The same year, asked for another $ 2 million (equivalent to $ 21.4 million in 2023 ). In February 1948, the RFC agreed to extend another $ 28 million (equivalent to $ 284 million in 2023 ) toward the completion of the tunnel. By mid-1948, the tunnel was 70 percent complete, despite material shortages and cost overruns, and was expected to open to traffic in early 1950. Work on
30447-521: The southern end of what is now I-295 , in central Queens. Due to opposition from the communities along the expressways' routes, these sections of I-78 were never built, and I-78 does not connect to I-278 or to any of its other auxiliary routes. The section of I-78 within New York is 0.5 miles (0.80 km) long according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), although the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) considers I-78 to be 0.9 miles (1.4 km) long. It consists exclusively of
30646-411: The superblock. A fifth exit, added in 2004, splits to Varick Street on the superblock's eastern side. A pedestrian overpass crosses the entrance to the plaza and exit 5 at the northeast corner since the entrance from the tunnel cuts Laight Street. There are four auxiliary routes of I-78 in New York; none of these spurs connect with I-78 because parts of I-78, I-278, and I-478 were not built. I-478
30845-401: The tiled ceiling in the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was leaking. About 10,000 sq ft (930 m ) of the 360,000 sq ft (33,000 m ) of ceiling was found to have corroded. The TBTA restored the tubes' ceilings starting in 1959 at a cost of $ 250,000 (equivalent to $ 2 million in 2023 ). In 1971, the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was designated Interstate 478 in preparation for
31044-512: The tunnel because the project could now be completed within a year. The city government then published a new financial plan in September 1938, wherein the cost of the tunnel would increase to $ 77.3 million (equivalent to $ 1.31 billion in 2023 ). The city would reduce its request from the PWA by $ 19.82 million (equivalent to $ 337 million in 2023 ) and raise that money by selling bonds instead, and it would also apply for $ 45 million (equivalent to $ 764 million in 2023 ) from
31243-435: The tunnel could not be finished until after the war. In October 1942, Moses recommended that tunnel work be halted completely to conserve steel and other metals that were needed for the war. At this time, the federal War Production Board (WPB) released an order to stop work on the Brooklyn end, although digging from the Manhattan side was allowed to continue because that work consisted solely of digging through solid rock. By
31442-461: The tunnel from all corners of the block, including an entrance from Canal Street , which intersects Hudson and Watts streets at the southwest corner of the plaza. The westbound portal is located south of Dominick Street, just north of where the four entrances merge. The exit plaza, referred to the "Holland Tunnel Rotary", is in a square superblock that previously housed the New York Central Railroad 's St. John's Park Terminal , bounded clockwise from
31641-418: The tunnel progressed, and the tunnel was 94 percent complete by late 1949. A reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle made an unsanctioned drive between the two ends of the tunnel, noting that tiles, lighting, and a road surface had yet to be added, although the bores themselves were complete. The tubes included four fluorescent-lighting installations with a total of 5,776 bulbs. At the time, it comprised
31840-416: The tunnel was holed through, the TBTA awarded contracts for the construction of the Governors Island ventilation building. Construction on this ventilation building started in January 1949. The plans for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel also included a seven-story parking garage alongside the Manhattan portal, which broke ground in August 1948. The garage was slated to be the first publicly owned parking complex in
32039-464: The tunnel was since the sea level around the tunnel had risen nine inches (23 cm) since its opening in 1951, and the portals were located on very low land to begin with. The MTA subsequently began testing inflatable dams at the tunnel's portals. In October 2017, a pair of 25-short-ton (23 t; 22-long-ton) floodgates were installed on the Manhattan-side openings of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel. The Manhattan floodgates were supposed to be accompanied by
32238-503: The tunnel's right-of-way were evicted. On the Manhattan side, a large part of Little Syria , a mostly Christian Syrian / Lebanese neighborhood centered around Washington Street , was razed to create the entrance ramps for the tunnel. Many of the shops and residents of Little Syria later moved to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. The city ultimately spent $ 4 million (equivalent to $ 68.1 million in 2023 ) on land acquisition. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel's groundbreaking ceremony
32437-512: The tunnel's exit plaza. The westbound entrance plaza is several blocks to the north and has direct entrances from Hudson , Canal , Watts, and Varick streets. While NYSDOT is transitioning to mileage-based numbers , there are no immediate plans to convert I-78's exit numbers. The entire route is in the New York City borough of Manhattan . Interstate Highway System [REDACTED] The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways , commonly known as
32636-495: The tunnel's portal, predicted that they would save 35 minutes a day and $ 1 million (equivalent to $ 10 million in 2023 ) a year by driving through the tunnel. Within the first five and a half hours of its opening, 10,563 motorists had paid a toll to use the tunnel. Within the first day, 40,000 motorists used the tunnel, and, at that rate, it was estimated that the tunnel might see 14 million vehicles per year, 40 percent more than originally estimated. This
32835-574: The tunnel, even if it had to come from private sources. After a meeting with La Guardia, RFC chair Jones announced that there were no obstacles to granting a $ 70-million (equivalent to $ 1.2 billion in 2023 ) loan toward the tunnel project. The city was expecting to start construction once the loan was received. The tunnel plans were completed and sent to federal agencies for approval that month. The New York City Tunnel Authority announced in March 1940 that it would start construction within 40 days. Preliminary construction and land acquisition for
33034-425: The tunnel. It was subsequently flooded after a severe storm surge . The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel reopened on November 13 following a cleanup process that included the removal of an estimated 86 million US gallons (330 × 10 ^ L; 72 × 10 ^ imp gal) of water. It was the last New York City river crossing to reopen. The flooding resulting from Hurricane Sandy demonstrated how floodprone
33233-413: The ventilation system as being so efficient that the ventilation towers could blow 25,000 short tons (23,000 t; 22,000 long tons) of clean air into the tunnel every hour. The system consists of 53 fans that each had a diameter of eight feet (2.4 m). At the Manhattan end, a 2,126-space parking garage sits above the approach to the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel from the West Side Highway . When
33432-470: The ventilation towers at either end might not pull in sufficient air. The tunnels would be designed to carry a maximum of 15 million vehicles per year, but it was projected that only nine million would use the tunnels during their first year of operation and that the tunnels would not reach their full capacity for another 16 years. The cost of the project had increased to $ 70 million (equivalent to $ 1.17 billion in 2023 ), and La Guardia wanted
33631-440: The war, complied by submitting a detailed network of 20,000 miles (32,000 km) of interconnected primary highways—the so-called Pershing Map . A boom in road construction followed throughout the decade of the 1920s, with such projects as the New York parkway system constructed as part of a new national highway system. As automobile traffic increased, planners saw a need for such an interconnected national system to supplement
33830-438: The world's largest continuous fluorescent installation in the world and was the first crossing in the city to have fluorescent lights. The strips of clay tiles on the tubes' ceilings were advertised as the US's longest continuous uses of clay tiles. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel opened to traffic on May 25, 1950, with a ceremony officiated by Mayor William O'Dwyer . Part of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, along Hicks Street from
34029-479: Was a tumultuous six-hour-long special executive session of the New York City Board of Estimate on the second floor of New York City Hall , where city officials voted unanimously to block the planned expressway. This served only as a temporary deterrent against the expressway plans, and, in May 1963, Moses announced a revised proposal. A short 156-foot (48 m) section of the Williamsburg Bridge spur directly under Chrystie Street, with its southern edge aligned with
34228-406: Was approved in 1949. Eventually, the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was also slated to connect to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to Staten Island . However, the Battery Park Underpass was not expected to be completed until 1952, and the FDR Drive extension would take even longer to be completed. Additionally, although a direct ramp from the Brooklyn-bound tunnel to the northbound Brooklyn–Queens Expressway
34427-407: Was awarded to Mason Hangar in October of the same year. A contest for designing the Governors Island ventilation building was also held, and the contract was ultimately given to the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White . The last tunneling project, a contract to dig in either direction from Governors Island until the tubes connected to each other, was advertised in December 1941. The tunnel
34626-458: Was closed completely after the September 11 attacks due to the proximity of the Manhattan portal to the World Trade Center site . Although many major crossings within the city were also closed following the attacks, they reopened relatively quickly, albeit with HOV restrictions during rush hours. The western tube of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was the first part of the tunnel to reopen, in October 2001, and carried only southbound traffic. However,
34825-454: Was completed in 1991. The Lower Manhattan Expressway , also known as LOMEX or the Canal Street Expressway, was a controversial plan for an expressway through Lower Manhattan. The Lower Manhattan Expressway would have begun at the West Side Elevated Highway on the west side of Manhattan , where it would have merged with I-78 at the eastern portal of the Holland Tunnel . From here, the LOMEX would have proceeded generally southeastward as
35024-428: Was depicted as the men in black 's headquarters in the Men in Black movie franchise. The Governors Island ventilation structure, designed by McKim, Mead & White , is an octagonal building located over the midpoint of the tunnel's route, at its lowest point. According to the MTA, the ventilation buildings can completely replace the tunnel's air every 90 seconds. During construction, tunnel engineers touted
35223-442: Was employed ahead of Hurricane Charley in the Tampa, Florida area and on the Gulf Coast before the landfall of Hurricane Ivan ; however, evacuation times there were no better than previous evacuation operations. Engineers began to apply lessons learned from the analysis of prior contraflow operations, including limiting exits, removing troopers (to keep traffic flowing instead of having drivers stop for directions), and improving
35422-492: Was expected to expedite cargo deliveries between these areas, thereby reviving Brooklyn's declining cargo industry. The route between Hamilton Avenue and the West Side Highway was determined to be the cheapest route that could be constructed. Although preliminary borings were set to start in February 1937, USACE officers on Governors Island opposed the placement of a ventilation tunnel there. The Tunnel Authority let contracts for borings in April 1938. The US Army , which held
35621-425: Was first proposed by Brooklyn Borough president James J. Byrne in 1926. However, this plan initially did not receive support. Albert Goldman, the New York City Commissioner of Plant and Structures, brought up the plan again in January 1929. In February 1930, the city publicized plans for a six-lane vehicular tunnel from West Street, Manhattan, to Hamilton Avenue, Brooklyn. At the time, ferry service along that path
35820-486: Was in spite of the fact that traffic speeds were limited to 40 mph (64 km/h), which reduced throughput. The 1,050-spot garage above the tunnel's northern portal opened a little more than a month after the tunnel opened. During the Battery Tunnel's first year of operation, the tunnel grossed nearly $ 5.5 million (equivalent to $ 55.3 million in 2023 ) in toll revenues, and, according to Caro, exceeded its 15-million-annual-vehicle capacity. Another analysis by
36019-412: Was necessitated because, in case the expressway was ever completed, the tunnel segment would provide structural support to the Chrystie Street Connection. Ultimately, this segment of tunnel was never used since the expressway was later canceled. The argument over the Lower Manhattan Expressway became a pivotal argument in the 1965 New York City mayoral election . Mayor Wagner supported the construction of
36218-435: Was not the case for traffic from Brooklyn, which would have to go through a traffic light before accessing the ramp for the elevated highway. The tunnel-boring project consisted of digging two separate bores from each end. Bids for digging the tunnel's shafts from the Brooklyn side were advertised and let the same month. Contracts for boring the tunnels from the Manhattan side were opened in May 1941. The Manhattan contract
36417-407: Was officially abandoned in 1985 also due to community opposition. A 2015 Gothamist article cites singer Bob Dylan as being partially responsible for the eventual cancelation of the Lower Manhattan Expressway. In 1963, Dylan was said to have written a song called "Listen, Robert Moses" that protested Moses's plans for a superhighway. Though experts were skeptical about the existence of the song and
36616-436: Was officially renamed after former Governor Hugh Carey in 2012 since he had lived in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel is owned and operated by the TBTA's successor MTA Bridges and Tunnels , an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Until 2017, the agency collected tolls at a tollbooth on the Brooklyn side. The tollbooths have been demolished and replaced with electronic toll gantries on
36815-479: Was originally commissioned by the New York City Tunnel Authority, whose chief engineer Ole Singstad created the tunnel's original designs. Halfway through construction, the Tunnel Authority was merged into the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), whose chief engineer Ralph Smillie took over the design process. The "Battery" in the tunnel's name refers to an artillery battery originally located at that site during New York City 's earliest days. The tunnel
37014-453: Was originally expected for completion by 1944. La Guardia had promised that, during World War II , the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel would be given priority status over other construction projects due to its importance to the Brooklyn economy. However, the Battery Tunnel project was not deemed a high-importance destination for steel, so the tunnel's priority status for the receipt of steel was revoked in February 1942. Although digging work continued,
37213-405: Was petitioning the US government to allow the manufacture of washers , nuts , and screws for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel construction effort. The federal government gave its permission the next month. During the war, the tunnel shafts had flooded, so they had to be drained first before construction could continue. In mid-1945, after the war ended, the Triborough Bridge Authority was merged with
37412-450: Was planned, construction was being delayed due to the difficulty of evicting tenants within the path of the ramp. Moreover, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge could not be financed, let alone started, until the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was completed. Due to extra costs caused by delays and striking sandhogs, the authority petitioned the RFC for $ 14 million (equivalent to $ 150 million in 2023 ) in funds in August 1947, and, in December of
37611-422: Was proclaimed complete in 1992, but two of the original Interstates— I-95 and I-70 —were not continuous: both of these discontinuities were due to local opposition, which blocked efforts to build the necessary connections to fully complete the system. I-95 was made a continuous freeway in 2018, and thus I-70 remains the only original Interstate with a discontinuity. I-95 was discontinuous in New Jersey because of
37810-434: Was proposed by the New York Board of Trade and Transportation in 1925 in response to growing truck traffic congestion in Lower Manhattan . The tunnel would have been located between the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge . A tunnel that specifically connected the Battery in Manhattan with Red Hook in Brooklyn, passing underneath the East River and Governors Island south of both the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges,
38009-494: Was serving as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II . In 1954, Eisenhower appointed General Lucius D. Clay to head a committee charged with proposing an interstate highway system plan. Summing up motivations for the construction of such a system, Clay stated, It was evident we needed better highways. We needed them for safety, to accommodate more automobiles. We needed them for defense purposes, if that should ever be necessary. And we needed them for
38208-547: Was set to receive $ 60 million (equivalent to $ 1.05 billion in 2023 ) in funds for the Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel. The same month, city officials hired temporary workers to survey sites for the proposed tunnel so that they could create a report for the PWA application. Civic groups and Brooklyn politicians petitioned the city to commence construction immediately so traffic congestion could be reduced. However, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had stipulated that PWA funding only be given to projects that could be finished within
38407-402: Was significant opposition from the public, and so the City Council Committee on State Legislation did not approve the plan. In response, Moses changed the Brooklyn–Battery Bridge plans to include landscaping work at the Battery. La Guardia believed that if this revised plan were passed, Ickes would finally allocate a PWA grant to the bridge project. On March 28, the City Council voted to approve
38606-416: Was slow and unreliable. Real-estate speculators believed that land prices along Hamilton Avenue would appreciate as a result of the tunnel's construction and that freight shipments could be delivered to Manhattan faster. The tunnel proposal also entailed widening Hamilton Avenue to 200 feet (61 m) and building a large bridge over the Gowanus Canal , south of the proposed tunnel's entrance. In May 1930,
38805-403: Was substantially complete by December 1948, the expressway could not open until the tunnel was complete. On the Manhattan side, the southernmost section of the West Side Elevated Highway, which connected to the Battery and the future tunnel, opened in November 1948. An extension of the East River Drive (by now renamed the FDR Drive ) to the future Battery Park Underpass and Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel
39004-401: Was supposed to be held on October 8, 1940, with President Roosevelt in attendance. At the time, the president was in the final weeks of his reelection campaign for the 1940 United States presidential election , and he was expected to campaign at several places around New York City. The groundbreaking was ultimately pushed back to October 28. At the ceremony, Roosevelt extolled the benefits of
39203-403: Was the Battery Park Underpass on the Manhattan side, which opened in April 1950. Two months later, officials opened a ramp on the Brooklyn side, which led from the southbound tunnel lanes to the northbound Brooklyn–Queens Expressway. The Battery Park Underpass was connected to the FDR Drive elevated viaduct, and thus to the FDR Drive, in May 1954. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel project also entailed
39402-408: Was the last crossing into Manhattan to reopen. In 2010, New York State legislators voted to rename the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel after former Governor Hugh Carey . The tunnel was officially renamed the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel on October 22, 2012. Less than a week after the tunnel was officially renamed, it was closed in preparation for Hurricane Sandy , marking the first-ever weather-related-closure for
39601-478: Was widened. The current grass median of the boulevard would have facilitated the expressway. The Bushwick Expressway was proposed around 1954 and included in the Port Authority's Joint Study of Arterial Facilities in 1955. The Wyckoff Avenue route was proposed in the 1960s. At this time, the TBTA envisioned the main route as an eight-lane highway, while the Williamsburg Bridge and Midtown Tunnel spurs would support six lanes of traffic. As with LOMEX, residents along
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