The Holland Tunnel under the Hudson River is one of the first underwater autotunels opened in the United States. This is the first tunnel with mechanical ventilation on Earth. It connects Kennel Street in Manhattan with Jersey City's 12th and 13th Streets, and traffic is tolled.
History
Construction work began in 1920, and the Holland Tunnel was opened at 4:55 p.m. Eastern Time on November 12, 1927. Archived data indicates that 20,000 people walked through it before it was closed to pedestrians at 19:00.
Due to the name of the object, there is a misconception that this is a Dutch bridge, because the country participated in the colonization of the territory of modern America, but this is not the case. It was named after the chief engineer working on the project, Clifford Milburn Holland, who made a great contribution to the development of Manhattan's transportation links with the mainland, but did not live to see the completion of construction.
Initially, the launch of the bridge was considered unprofitable: experts said that in a long tunnel people could suffocate from exhaust fumes. Then a talented engineer introduced a ventilation system that can completely refresh the air in 1.5 minutes. 2,000 tests were conducted with the prototype system. In 1993, the Holland Tunnel was listed as a National Historic Landmark in the United States.
Description
The Holland Tunnel is 2.7 kilometers long, with a maximum depth of 28.5 meters below the water level. The structure is assembled from 2 parallel pipes with a diameter of 9 meters. The outer walls of each of them are made of cast iron rings consisting of 14 steel elements with a length of 1.8 meters. At first, the road surface was made of concrete and Belgian blocks, but in 1955 it was changed to asphalt, the walls and ceiling are lined with glazed ceramic tiles.
The air in the Holland Tunnel is refreshed by 84 powerful fans. Half of them conduct air through pipelines at road level, the rest emit already polluted air through pipes in the ceiling. Their condition is carefully monitored so as not to put people's health at risk. From 2003 to 2006, the fire protection system was upgraded.
How to get
The Holland Tunnel is located on Interstate 78 and is open around the clock. When planning trips, please note that rush hour usually occurs from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and on weekends from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The fare is paid only when driving towards Manhattan (the price depends on the time of day and the class of vehicle), in the direction of New Jersey it is free.
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