The Story of the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels

Crossing Under the Hudson I Crossing Under the Hudson I The Story of the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels Angus Kress Gillespie rivergate books an imprint of rutgers university press new brunswick, new jersey, and london Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gillespie, Angus K., 1942– Crossing under the Hudson : the story of the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels / Angus Kress Gillespie. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–8135–5003–9 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Holland Tunnel (New York, N.Y.) 2. Lincoln Tunnel (New York, N.Y.) I. Title. TF238.H6G55 2011 624.1Ј94097471—dc22 2010035280 A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. Copyright © 2011 by Angus Kress Gillespie All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, elec- tronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 100 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854–8099. The only exception to this prohibition is “fair use” as defined by U.S. copyright law. Visit our Web site: http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu Manufactured in the United States of America For All the Sandhogs—Living and Dead Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. It Can’t Be Done: Planning for the Holland Tunnel 9 2. A Breath of Fresh Air: Building the Holland Tunnel 21 3. Winning Acceptance: Grand Opening of the Holland Tunnel 47 4. Let’s Build Another One: Construction of the Lincoln Tunnel 57 5. Law and Order: The Role of the Port Authority Police 79 6. Road Hazards: Threats to Life and Property 99 7. If You See Something, Say Something: Dealing with the Threat of Terrorism 118 8. Rush Hour Frustration: Dealing with Traffic Congestion 137 9. Tunneling Through the Arts: A Survey of Creative Endeavors 158 vii viii contents 10. The Light at the End of the Tunnel: The Future of the Tunnels 178 Notes 187 Index 205 Acknowledgments I first got the idea to write about the two trans-Hudson vehicular tunnels back in the 1990s while doing the research for my book Twin Towers. I spent many days going through the archives of the Port Authority located in the executive offices of the World Trade Center. Particularly useful were the weekly reports of the executive director to the commissioners. These reports, written by Austin Tobin, were candid, contemporary, and complete. The first few pages consisted of Tobin’s summary of the most important events and decisions of the preceding week. At the back was an extraordinary resource—an appendix with relevant newspaper clippings from all of the regional newspapers on both sides of the Hudson. Of course, this was an era when newspapers were thriving and competing with each other, so there were many accounts with different points of view. For the researcher these reports were a gold mine of information. However, the reports were arranged chronologically, not according to topic. So although at the time I was mostly interested in the World Trade Center, I kept finding myself distracted by fascinating tidbits about the tunnels. Along the way, it occurred to me that a fine book could be crafted about the Port Authority’s Hudson River crossings. I discussed the possibilities of this project with my colleague Michael Aaron Rockland. He suggested that the George Washington Bridge was a big enough topic for its own book. He went on to suggest that the tunnels deserved their own book, too. The upshot was that we agreed that Rockland was to write about the bridge and I was to write about the tunnels. Rockland’s magnificent book, The George Washington Bridge: Poetry in Steel, came out in October of 2008. In a real sense, this book can be considered as a companion to that volume. Naturally, in writing about the tunnels, I am indebted to those who have gone before me. Both the Holland and Lincoln tunnels are, of course, man- aged by the Port Authority. There are a number of books covering the history ix x acknowledgments of that agency, now known as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. One of the earliest is James Morris’s The Great Port: A Passage through New York, published in 1969. The most useful, authoritative, and up-to-date is Jameson W. Doig’s Empire on the Hudson: Entrepreneurial Vision and Political Power at the Port of New York Authority, published in 2001. Since Doig is writing the history of the Port Authority as a whole, he covers the Holland and Lincoln tunnels in the context of everything else that the agency was trying to accomplish. I have tried to pick up where Doig left off, and expand the story of the tunnels in particular. There is an account of the Holland Tunnel of some sixty-four pages written by Carl C. Gray entitled The Eighth Wonder, published in 1927. Although the book is short, dated, and out of print, it did prove helpful. Another book that was worthwhile in terms of research was Harriet Salt’s Mighty Engineering Feats, first published in 1937 and now out of print. This is an adult book on civil engineering covering “ten of the greatest American engineering feats,” including the Holland Tunnel. A similar book is Tanya Lee Stone’s America’s Top 10 Construction Wonders, published in 1998, with a chapter on the Lincoln Tunnel. In addition there was other relevant material, mostly in the nature of newspaper accounts, technical reports, feasibility studies, and contracts—all of which are cited in the endnotes. The contracts were for such things as the acquisition of the land and easements as well as for the construction of the vehicular tunnels, approach roads, and ventilating shafts. I have tried in this book to analyze the institutional systems of the Port Authority that keep the tunnels functioning, examining in detail an institu- tion that is normally taken for granted. In this connection, Annmarie Hauch Walsh’s The Public’s Business: The Politics and Practices of Government Corporations was very helpful to me. Like Walsh, I found that “public enter- prises are loaded with social and political implications” as well as with technical and financial ones. I might even go further and say that they also have broad cultural meanings. Wherever possible, my approach has been interdis- ciplinary. Thus, literature and cinema and television have been just as important to me as politics and economics and engineering. I have tried to tell the story of the two tunnels in a straightforward manner without academic jargon. When the story unavoidably required the use of engineering termi- nology, I explained the terms as they were introduced. I enjoyed writing this book, and many people have helped me along the way. I would first like to thank my friend and colleague Michael Aaron Rockland, who supplied plenty of support, encouragement, and advice. The American Studies Department at Rutgers University has been my academic acknowledgments xi home for many years. One of the nice things about this small department is that we have institutionalized the device of the “symposium,” where those of us with works in progress can present early drafts of our work. This book was the topic of one such symposium held in December of 2009, and Michael served as principal reader and moderator. Many worthwhile suggestions came out of this meeting, and I would like to thank the participants, including Adam Zalman, Martin Kushner, Steven Hart, Frank Grecco, Louise Duus, Louise Barnett, Helene Grynberg, Leslie Fishbein, Nicole Fleetwood, Alice Echols, Alan Isaac, and Carolina Nuñez-Puente. Later, as the book neared completion, Michael went through the whole manuscript, tightening the prose and demanding clarification of the facts. For his help, I am deeply grateful. I also owe a debt of thanks to James T. Fisher, who teaches cultural and religious history at Fordham University. I have known Jim as a friend and colleague for more than twenty years, ever since he was a graduate student in American history at Rutgers. Over the years, we have both been fascinated with the story of the Port of New York and New Jersey. His 2009 book On the Irish Waterfront was a significant addition to our knowledge of the port. Jim read an early draft of the manuscript of this book, and he helped me to under- stand how the building of the two vehicular tunnels fit in with the larger story of the growth and development of the Port Authority—and, more impor- tantly, why that agency never got around to building a trans-Hudson rail tunnel for freight. I am not an engineer, so covering the technical side of things was a chal- lenge for me. This book was written with the general reader in mind, but I have tried to give an honest and full account of tunnel engineering. I am especially indebted to Vahan Tanal, a civil engineer specializing in the design and construction of subaqueous tunnels. I met with him in his midtown Manhattan office at Parsons Brinckerhoff, one of the world’s largest engineering organizations. He was kind and patient with my questions. Later, whenever I hit a snag, I would call him on the telephone. He never failed to return my calls. In a similar fashion, I would like to acknowledge the help of Leon Goodman, planner and professor, with over forty years of experience in planning, design, and operation of transportation systems. When I met with him at his home in Long Island, he had retired as manager of the Transportation Planning Division at the Port Authority.

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