Lincoln Tunnel, Road tunnel between Weehawken and Manhattan, US
The Lincoln Tunnel runs 2,504 meters (approximately 8,200 feet) beneath the Hudson River and links Weehawken in New Jersey with Manhattan at 39th Street through three parallel tubes. Each tube carries traffic through a separate roadway that sits deep below the water surface, lined with massive concrete walls.
The center tube opened on December 22, 1937, and was the result of years of planning to ease crowded ferry crossings. The north tube followed in 1945 after the war, while the south tube was added in 1957 as car traffic continued to grow.
The name honors the 16th President of the United States and recalls the era when both riverbanks grew together through a shared construction project. For many commuters, passing under the river has become a daily ritual that marks the shift between two different worlds.
The center tube uses a system with reversible lanes that change direction depending on the time of day to better manage commuter flow. Buses have their own dedicated lane during morning hours that leads directly to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and cuts down waiting time.
On an average weekday, around 70,000 people ride buses through the exclusive lane that opens only for buses during morning hours. This bus traffic moves more people per hour than any single car lane during the same period.
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