The 178th and 179th Street Tunnels are two disused vehicular

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

s in

Upper Manhattan Upper Manhattan is the most northern region of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, the northern boundary of Central Park (110th Street), ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Originally conceived and constructed under the auspices of Robert Moses, the twin tunnels have been superseded by the

Trans-Manhattan Expressway Interstate 95 (I-95) is part of the Interstate Highway System and runs from Miami, Florida, to the Canada–United States border near Houlton, Maine. In the U.S. state of New York, I-95 extends from the George Washington Bridge in New Yor ...

in Washington Heights, which itself runs through a

cut Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut (ea ...

with high-rise apartments built over it in places. In the 1950s, the Trans-Manhattan Expressway (

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

) was constructed as a high-speed

interstate The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

bypass of the tunnels, and by 1962, the two tunnels were out of commission. Both tunnels are now are being used by the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...

as storage space.

History

The tunnels were built to carry traffic between the east side of Upper Manhattan and the

George Washington Bridge The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee, New Jersey, with Manhattan in New York City. The bridge is named after George Washington, the first president of the United S ...

(which opened in 1931) on the west side. Originally, only the 178th Street Tunnel was built, consisting of a tube with a width of and a clearance of . It carried traffic to and from the George Washington Bridge at the western end. The eastern end split into two directions: a ramp to Amsterdam Avenue on the right and a driveway south to the

Harlem River Drive The Harlem River Drive is a 4.20-mile (6.76 km) long north–south limited-access parkway in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs along the west bank of the Harlem River from the Triborough Bridge in East Harlem to 10th Avenue ...

on the left. Plans for the 178th Street Tunnel were approved in 1930, and the tunnel was nearly completed by early 1932. However, the opening of the tube was postponed for several years until traffic growth warranted the tunnel's opening, and the Port Authority resumed construction in 1938 for the 1939 New York World's Fair. After delays related to the construction of the Harlem River Drive ramp, the 178th Street Tunnel opened on June 27, 1940, serving both directions of traffic. Due to labor shortages and low traffic during World War II, the tunnel was closed in May 1942, reopening in November 1945. While the 179th Street Tunnel had been planned along with its counterpart in 1930, engineers waited until the traffic loads demanded the opening of a new tunnel. By the late 1940s, the 178th Street Tunnel was frequently congested. Construction began on the 179th Street Tunnel in June 1949. The work involved constructing the Highbridge Interchange, which contained ramps from the 178th Street Tunnel to the Harlem River Drive, Amsterdam Avenue, and the

Washington Bridge The Washington Bridge is a -long arch bridge over the Harlem River in New York City between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. The crossing, opened in 1888, connects 181st Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Washington Heights, Manhattan, w ...

across the

Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York, United States, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the New York mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyt ...

, as well as corresponding ramps from these roads to the 179th Street Tunnel. The ramp from the 178th Street Tunnel to Harlem River Drive, which had been completed only a decade prior, was demolished in 1950. The 179th Street Tunnel cost $9 million and the Highbridge Interchange cost $4.6 million. Both projects opened on May 5, 1952. At that time, the 178th Street Tunnel was reconfigured to serve eastbound traffic only, while the 179th served the westbound. The two tunnels had a similar display, with a stone arch for portals and "Whitestone" light posts. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, New York public works baron Robert Moses started work on a bypass in Manhattan of the Washington Heights area to serve the George Washington Bridge. The traffic for the George Washington Bridge began to overwhelm the twin two-lane tunnels. In addition, the ventilation system was inadequate, and needed replacing. The plans for the Trans-Manhattan Expressway were conceived in 1955 and seven years later, the new expressway opened to traffic. Following the closures, the entranceway of the 178th Street Tunnel was used as a secondary emergency equipment garage for the George Washington Bridge but later removed. The two tunnels are currently being used as storage space. Although the two tunnels were closed, there were proposals to use them again for vehicular traffic. A study was completed, in which the tunnels would be rehabilitated and reused temporarily for traffic diverted from a reconstruction of the Trans-Manhattan Expressway and the

Alexander Hamilton Bridge The Alexander Hamilton Bridge is an eight-lane steel arch bridge that carries traffic over the Harlem River between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx in New York City. It connects the Trans-Manhattan Expressway in the Washington Heights ...

. The rehabilitation never happened and the tunnels continue to be used as storage.

References

External links

Trans-Manhattan Expressway (Interstate 95, US 1 and US 9)
{{DEFAULTSORT:178th-179th Street Tunnels Expressways in New York City Robert Moses projects Road tunnels in New York City 1940 establishments in New York City Infrastructure completed in 1940 Port Authority of New York and New Jersey