lincoln tunnel diagram

Lincoln tunnel diagram: The Lincoln Tunnel and its approaches were announced for the first time in 1930 when the Port of New York Authority proposed a twin-tube tunnel that would run under the Hudson River. It was to cost $62 million and be constructed between West 38th Street, New Jersey, and Weehawken. The tunnel would connect to NJ 3 on the west shore of Hudson. The tunnel’s first tube was opened in December 1937. The second tube opened in February 1945. The third tube was opened in May 1957. It had six lanes of capacity.

Original Lincoln Tunnel proposal called for a land tunnel extension that would run from the toll plaza west through Bergen Hill and end at Tonnelle Avenue (US 1 – US 9) in North Bergen. Instead of building the tunnel, the Port Authority built a 360-degree elevated “helix,” which brought the six-lane highway down from the top of the Palisades of Weehawken to the Lincoln Tunnel Toll Plaza.

In December 1937, the Port Authority opened the 2.6-mile-long freeway connecting North Bergen, Union City, and Weehawken. It was designated NJ 3. The road is pre-Interstate in its six lanes measuring 11 feet wide, lack of shoulders, and inadequate acceleration/deceleration lanes. This section was built to reflect the current standards set by Robert Moses. Except for 40 MPH around “helix,” the speed limit is 50 MPH.

1952 saw the Port Authority and New Jersey Turnpike Authority extend the Lincoln Tunnel western approach 0.9 miles west to EXIT 16 on the newly opened New Jersey Turnpike, Secaucus. This extension allowed for grade-separated interchanges between US 1-US 9 & NJ 3, as well as a toll plaza. The cost to build the 1937 and 1952 sections was $16.9 million.

In 1956, the Interstate highway system was completed with the Lincoln Tunnel Approach. The original plan for the Interstate highway to run along the NJ 3 corridor from northwest to I-80 was to be part of “FAI Corridor 105”. The Federal Bureau of Public Roads was convinced by the New Jersey State Highway Department that bringing NJ 3 Freeway up-to-interstate standards would be costly. So, the route of the “FAI Corridor 105” was shifted to I-280. The I-495 designation was given to the NJ 3 link between New Jersey Turnpike (New Jersey) and Lincoln Tunnel in September 1958.

The Lincoln Tunnel Approach was granted Interstate status. After that, the New Jersey State Highway Department assumed responsibility for maintenance of the freeway at mileposts 0.8 to 1.9. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority was responsible for the west end of milepost 0.8, while the Port Authority was responsible for the east side of milepost 1. The New Jersey State Highway Department soon rebuilt the western end of the freeway in order to make it meet Interstate standards. The project also included reconstruction of NJ 3’s eastern end and reconfiguration of EXIT 16 (I-95) and EXIT 17 on the New Jersey Turnpike.