Staten Island Tunnel
Rapid Transit | |
Technical | |
---|---|
Design engineer | Arthur S. Tuttle[1] |
Length | 10,400 feet (3,169.9 m) (planned) |
Width | 24 feet (7.3 m) |
The Staten Island Tunnel is an abandoned, incomplete
Construction began in 1923, and the tunnel was excavated 150 feet (46 m) into the Narrows before New York City Mayor
Modern proposals for completion of the tunnel have come from New York City Councilman
Other names
Officially called the Brooklyn-Richmond Freight and Passenger Tunnel,[1] the Staten Island Tunnel was also to be referred to by four other names:
- The Narrows Tunnel, after the Narrows, the body of water it was supposed to run under;[1]
- The Saint George Tunnel, after one of its terminals in Tompkinsville station);[2]
- The Hylan Tunnel, after former New York City Mayor
Original plans
In 1888, subsequent to building the
A rapid transit route to connect Staten Island to the remainder of New York City was proposed in 1912, in conjunction with the Dual Contracts of the New York City Subway.[8][9] At the time, there were no vehicular or rail connections between Staten Island and the other four boroughs; the only connection was by ferry.[10] Although not funded by the city, the tunnel was expected to help expand the then-sparsely populated borough in a similar manner to the population and development explosions seen in Brooklyn and the Bronx.[1][10][11][12][13]
Under the Dual Contracts, three routes were proposed—two to Brooklyn and one to Manhattan—which would connect the Staten Island Railway's rapid transit service (SIRT) to existing subway lines.[6][8][13]
Manhattan route
The Manhattan proposal, often called the "direct route," would have connected with the
Brooklyn routes
Both of the shorter, Brooklyn proposals would have connected to the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT)'s Fourth Avenue subway, constructed in 1914 during the Dual Contracts.[9]
The first route would have originated in
The second route would have originated in
In anticipation of the northern tunnel route, trackways were constructed diverging from both Fourth Avenue local tracks towards the tunnel site south of the 59th Street Station.[6][18][20] An additional portal was built in the SIRT tunnel between St. George Terminal and Tompkinsville to facilitate the northern wye from the tunnel to the North Shore Branch.[2] As a provision for the southern route, the Fourth Avenue line south of 59th Street (built with only two tracks) was placed on the west side of Fourth Avenue, which would allow two additional tracks to be added on the east side of the street to facilitate a future express service from Staten Island.[23][24]
Groundbreaking and stoppage of construction
Selection of Bay Ridge-based plan
The Bay Ridge-based plan was ultimately selected, running between 65th Street/Shore Road in Brooklyn and the
Alternate plans included constructing two sets of two tubes, one for commuter and freight service from the LIRR and the other for rapid transit, or two tunnels each with individual tubes for freight and subway service.[11][19][25] The freight service would have occurred during off-peak hours only, but simultaneous with subway service, with passenger trains running in 30-minute or one-hour headways during these times. A 1912 proposal had freight running at night between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., while the 1925 plans called for joint freight and passenger service during early mornings (5 a.m. to 6 a.m.), middays (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), and overnights (8 p.m. to 5 a.m.).[2][11][16][25][26]
At the time of the tunnel's groundbreaking, Jamaica Bay and the Paerdegat Basin were slated to become industrial complexes, which would have been facilitated by freight service from the tunnel.[6][27][28] The tunnel plan was amended in 1919.[8] In April 1921, a bill was passed in the state senate requiring the city to begin construction of the 24-foot-wide (7.3 m) tunnel within two years.[11][29]
1922 plan
In May 1922, John Hylan launched a new plan for the freight and passenger tunnel, and the Board of Estimate recommended that $4.08 million be initially appropriated for the project. The Transit Commission and the Port Authority refused to accept the plan, as they each had their own plans.[30] This plan was much less extensive than the original plan. The original plan would have had the tunnel from Owl's Head Park under the Narrows to Staten Island, and then continuing to a freight yard to be built in the center of Staten Island, from which a trunk line would run across the Arthur Kill to New Jersey as far as Paterson, before merging with the West Shore Railroad. The new revised plan would only cover the Narrows Tunnel, and a three-mile spur to Arlington Yard.[30]
Under the new plan, freight would still only operate at night through the tunnel. Spurs connecting the tunnel in Brooklyn to the Long Island freight belt line, to the B&O freight sidings on Staten Island, and to the new city piers on Staten Island would have all been built. The project was projected to cost $60 million and if the job was done quickly, it could have been done by 1929.[30] The route would help develop the waterfront areas in Staten Island and Jamaica Bay. Provisions would be made for connections with the subway system's Fourth Avenue Line, even though the Transit Commission refused to be involved with the plans.[30]
Since the plan would benefit the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad opposed it, and the railroad, cooperating with the Port Authority, proposed a tunnel from Brooklyn to Greenville, New Jersey, with a spur to Staten Island.[30] The situation become complicated, as the Port Authority plan was approved by the State Legislatures in both New Jersey and New York. In addition, the Transit Commission proposed its own subway tunnel branching from the Fourth Avenue Line to be operated as part of the city's subway system.[30]
Groundbreaking and preparations
A groundbreaking ceremony was held by
Construction halted
In 1925, however—the year bids from contractors were to be entertained by the city—the project was halted and the project's engineering staff laid off.[6] Officially, the plan was delayed due to lack of funding,[2][18] but Hylan and New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) Chairman John Delaney also wanted to secure freight service for the tunnel.[6][11] The status of the tunnel as mixed-use created tension and deadlock between Hylan, Delaney and the New York State Transit Commission; the latter emphasized passenger service for the tunnel.[6] After an investigation issued by Governor Al Smith, planners eliminated freight service from the plan, as per the Nicoll-Hofstadter Act signed into law by the governor; this then led to lack of interest from contractors.[1][6][11][31]
With the tunnel now designated exclusively for subway service, Mayor Hylan, a former Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) employee who was a known opponent of both the BMT and the IRT, supposedly stopped the project as part of an overall effort to cripple the two private subway companies and promote the plans for the city-operated Independent Subway System (IND).[3][9][18][36] It was also reported that Governor Smith, who had a financial stake in the Pennsylvania Railroad company, tried to stall the project in order to prevent the expansion of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad operations farther into the city.[2][18] The stoppage was also attributed to the political rivalry between Hylan and Smith, who were both members of Tammany Hall's Democratic Party.[6]
Nonetheless, on October 2, 1925,
Completion proposals
The tunnel had gone only 150 feet (46 m) into the Narrows before it was halted; multiple proposals have resurfaced to complete the tunnel.
The
A revised Second System plan, drawn up in 1939 after the completion of the South Brooklyn line, followed the original Bay Ridge plan, and would have also extended the IND down Fort Hamilton Parkway and/or 10th Avenue to meet up with the tunnel route.
In 1945, the tunnel between New Brighton and the BMT Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn was submitted by the Board of Transportation to the City Planning Commission as part of the 1946 budget, this time costing $50.61 million.
More recently, the
Modern proposals for completion of the tunnel have come from New York City Councilman Lewis A. Fidler, who in 2007 proposed a one-third of one percent tax for the tri-state region to pay for the construction.[55] The tunnel was one of several projects that could have competed for $3 billion of federal funds that were to have been allocated to the ARC tunnel, which was canceled by New Jersey governor Chris Christie in October 2010. State Senator Diane Savino, whose district includes parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn, supported such a plan, saying, "The MTA should complete a 1912 plan that would have rail and freight access from the terminus of Victory Boulevard to Brooklyn, along 67th Street, then utilize the R train along Fourth Avenue." The plan's projected cost would be $3 billion, "the same as a proposed extension of the 7 line under the Hudson River".[56] Supporters stated that a rail tunnel would improve quality of life for Staten Islanders, reduce traffic, and increase the attractiveness of the borough for investment.[57]
Similar proposals
Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel
The nearby
Tunnels from Brooklyn to New Jersey via Staten Island
The former Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) also planned a railroad tunnel, for freight use, between Brooklyn and Staten Island in 1893. The PRR also proposed a tunnel from Brooklyn to Jersey City, approximately following the planned path of the Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel, ten years later. The project was never started, despite efforts by government planners to start the project from the 1920s through the 1940s.[61]
In January 1935, New York City Mayor
In 1978,
Boulevard Subway plan
In 1912, Wood, Harmon & Co proposed a new subway from Bayonne, New Jersey, to Staten Island. This was called the Boulevard Subway. In their advertisements, the company stated, "Five or ten years from now—when the subway to Staten Island is built—… some Doubting Thomases of New Yorkers who don't buy will be shedding tears at their lack of foresight."[63]
The plan resurfaced in 1929, when meetings took place between
Vehicular tunnels under the Narrows
In 1929, after the cancellation of the plan to build a subway tunnel from Staten Island to Brooklyn, engineers proposed a set of vehicular tunnels from Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, to 97th Street, Brooklyn.[64] The tubes were being planned in conjunction with the Triborough Tunnel (the modern-day Queens Midtown Tunnel), which would connect Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.[65] The city appropriated $5 million for the tunnels in July 1929.[66] Boring work for the vehicular tunnels started in November 1930,[67] but in January 1932, construction was delayed indefinitely due to a lack of money.[68] The construction work did not go beyond an examination of shoreline on the Brooklyn side.[69]
In 1936, the plan for a vehicular tunnel under the Narrows was brought up again when Mayor La Guardia gained authorization to petition Congress for a bridge across the strait.
See also
- Proposed expansion of the New York City Subway
- Rail freight transportation in New York City and Long Island
References
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