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The Holland Tunnel


Trainspotter

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The Eighth Wonder of the World, it was called, twin vehicular tubes beneath the Hudson River, the world's longest underwater tunnels – the end of three centuries of Manhattan's utter dependence on Hudson ferries if you didn't happen to be riding the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Engineer Clifford Holland had already built the East River's four subway tunnels, so he knew from digging, and he was thus quite naturally the man put in charge when the states of New York and New Jersey jointly began tunnel construction in 1920 after years of planning.

 

Holland himself didn't live to see completion of the big job seven years later – he died from overwork and exhaustion in 1924, at age 41 – and by Nov. 13, 1927, when 40,000 pedestrians and 46,000 cars and trucks lined up for miles and miles on both sides of the river to claim honors as first-day crossers, the tunnel had taken his name in memoriam.

 

Meanwhile, a great Hudson bridge was already on the drawing board. So much for ferries.

 

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Opening day of the Holland Tunnel on

November 13, 1927.

 

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post-5-133288580266_thumb.jpg

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The tunnel is great for cutting from northern jersey to lower manhattan but too many curves in the tubes and it is brighter lit than the lincoln tunnel except the southern tube. The Lincoln is better and faster because its mostly a straight line tube. I hit 100+ mph in it late nights a few times. Awesome tunnel...

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