The Montague Street Tunnel carries the N R trains of the New York City Subway under the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It opened to revenue service on Sunday, August 1, 1920 at 2 am with a holiday schedule, the same day as the 60th Street Tunnel. Regular service began Monday, August 2, 1920. The two new tunnels allowed passengers to make an 18-mile (29 km) trip from Coney Island, through Manhattan on the BMT Broadway Line, to Queens for a 5 cent fare.[1] The original construction cost was $9,867,906.52, almost twice that of the 60th Street Tunnel.
Construction of the tunnel began on October 12, 1914, using a tunneling shield in conjunction with compressed air. The tunnel was designed by civil engineer Clifford Milburn Holland, who would later serve as the first chief engineer of the Holland Tunnel.[2][3] The north tube of the tunnel was holed through on June 2, 1917 and the south tube was holed through on June 20, 1917.[4][5]
On December 27, 1920, more than ten thousand passengers were forced to evacuate the tunnel. Power to the third rail was shut off after a shoe beam on a train approaching Whitehall Street fell and caused a short circuit, stranding ten subway trains inside the tunnel.[6]
Use of the Montague Street Tunnel, the Cranberry Street Tunnel or a combination of the two tunnels were considered as alternatives in lieu of constructing a new tunnel under the East River for the proposed Lower Manhattan – Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project.[7][8] Use of the existing tunnel was considered as an option because the Montague Street Tunnel had surplus capacity, having carried the M until 2010, and the N trains during the reconstruction of the Manhattan Bridge from 1986 until 2004.[9][10]
Brooklyn ventilation building
References[edit]
- ^ "New Subway Link Opens; Service Started Through Queens and Montague Street Tubes". The New York Times. August 1, 1920. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
- ^ "Work Begins on New Tubes Under River". The New York Times. October 11, 1914. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ Aronson, Michael (June 15, 1999). "The Digger Clifford Holland". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ "New River Tunnel Opened". The New York Times. June 3, 1917. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ "Last Down-town Tunnel Holed Through". nycsubway.org. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ "Thousands Penned in River Tunnel". The New York Times. December 28, 1920. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ "Airport Link Options Narrowed to Four". Lower Manhattan Development Corportation. 2004-02-05. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ Dunlap, David W.; Baker, Al (May 4, 2004). "Rail Tunnel Is Considered For L.I. Link To Manhattan". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ Rogers, Josh (February 6, 2004). "Debating L.I.R.R.-Link Options". Downtown Express. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ Pierre-Pierre, Garry (April 10, 1996). "Neglect of Manhattan Bridge Takes Toll in Time and Money". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
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