Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel
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| Carries | 4 lanes of I-478 |
|---|---|
| Crosses | East River |
| Locale | Manhattan, New York and Brooklyn, New York |
| Maintained by | Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority |
| Total length | 2,778.86 m (9,117 feet) |
| Vertical clearance | 12 feet 1 inch (3.7 m) |
| Opening date | May 25, 1950 |
| Toll | $4.50 (both directions per car in cash); discount available with E-ZPass |
The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel is a toll road in New York City which crosses under the East River at its mouth and connects the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan, nearly passing under, but providing no access to Governors Island. It consists of twin tubes, carrying an aggregate of four traffic lanes, and at 9,117 feet (2,779 meters) is the longest underwater vehicular tunnel in North America and the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnel in the world. It was opened to traffic in 1950. It currently carries the unsigned Interstate 478, and formerly carried New York State Route 27A.
The battery referred to in the tunnel's name refers to Battery Park and Castle Clinton, the former fortification at the southern tip of Manhattan.
The tunnel is owned by the City of New York and operated by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Robert Moses, the chairman of the Triborough Bridge Authority, attempted to scuttle the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel proposal and have a bridge built in its place. Many objected to the proposed bridge on the grounds that it would spoil the dramatic view of the Manhattan skyline and reduce Battery Park to minuscule size. Moses remained adamant, and it was only an order from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, via military channels, which restored the tunnel project, on the grounds that a bridge built seaward of the Brooklyn Navy Yard would prove a hazard to national defense. This edict was issued in spite of the fact that the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge were already seaward of the Navy Yard.
The tunnel was designed by Ole Singstad and partially completed when World War II brought a halt to construction. After the War, Moses's Triborough Bridge Authority was merged with the Tunnel Authority, allowing the new Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority to take over the project. Moses directed the tunnel be finished with a different method for finishing the tunnel walls. This resulted in leaking and, according to Caro, the TBTA fixed the leaks by using a design almost identical to Singstad's original.<ref>Caro</ref>
As of February 22, 2006, the crossing charge for a two-axle passenger vehicle is $4.50 in each direction, with a $0.50 discount for E-ZPass users. The crossing charge for a motorcycle is $2.00 charged in each direction, with a $0.25 discount for E-ZPass users.
In the 1997 feature film Men in Black, the tunnel's Manhattan exhaust fan station is the location of the secret alien immigration terminal and the headquarters of the Men in Black.
Contents |
[edit] I-478
| Image:Interstate 478 (New York).svg | |||||
| Interstate 478 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System | |||||
| Length: | 2.14 mi (3.44 km) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formed: | 1971 | ||||
| South end: | Image:I-278.svg I-278 in Brooklyn, New York City | ||||
| North end: | Image:NY-9A.svg NY 9A in Manhattan, New York City | ||||
| |||||
Interstate 478s entire length consists of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and approaches. Its south end is at Interstate 278, and its north end is at NY-9A (West Side Highway).
I-478 was planned to be signed and continue north to Interstate 78 at the Holland Tunnel via the underground Westway project.
The I-478 number has been considered for other routes as well, including:
- The Lower Manhattan Expressway branch along the Manhattan Bridge, between I-78 (which was to use the branch to the Williamsburg Bridge) and I-278 (1958-1971)
- The Grand Central Parkway between I-278 and I-678 (1971)
Before I-478 was moved to the Westway project in 1971, that project was planned as I-695, which would have continued north along the Henry Hudson Parkway to the George Washington Bridge (Interstate 95).
[edit] Further reading
- Caro, Robert A., The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, New York: Knopf, 1974.
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External link
| Crossings of the East River | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstream Joralemon Street Tunnel Image:NYCS-bull-trans-4.svgImage:NYCS-bull-trans-5.svg | Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel Image:I-478.svg | Downstream Verrazano Narrows Bridge Image:I-278.svg | |
