Opened 1 August 1920 | No. of tracks 2 tracks Rebuilt 14 September 2014 | |
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Closed August 2, 2013; 3 years ago (August 2, 2013) (for reconstruction) Operator Metropolitan Transportation Authority Similar 60th Street Tunnel, Joralemon Street Tunnel, Steinway Tunnel, 63rd Street Tunnel, Rikers Island Bridge | ||
Rfw of the brooklyn bound r part 4 the montague street tunnel
The Montague Street Tunnel carries the N and R services of the New York City Subway under the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The R uses the tunnel at all times, and the N also uses it during late nights, when it is designated "via Financial District".
Contents
- Rfw of the brooklyn bound r part 4 the montague street tunnel
- Rfw of the queens bound r part 4 the montague street tunnel
- History
- Constraints
- References
Rfw of the queens bound r part 4 the montague street tunnel
History
Construction of the tunnel began on October 12, 1914, using a tunneling shield in conjunction with compressed air. The tunnel was designed by civil engineer Clifford Milburn Holland, who would later serve as the first chief engineer of the Holland Tunnel. The north tube of the tunnel was holed through on June 2, 1917, and the south tube was holed through on June 20, 1917.
It opened to revenue service on August 1, 1920, the same day as the 60th Street Tunnel, on a holiday schedule; regular service began the next day. The two new tunnels allowed passengers to make an 18-mile (29 km) trip from Coney Island, through Manhattan on the BMT Broadway Line, to Queens for a 5-cent fare. The original construction cost was $9,867,906.52, almost twice that of the 60th Street Tunnel.
On December 27, 1920, more than ten thousand passengers were forced to evacuate the tunnel. Power to the third rail was shut off after a shoe beam on a train approaching Whitehall Street fell and caused a short circuit, stranding ten subway trains inside the tunnel.
On October 29, 2012, the tunnel suffered severe flooding from Hurricane Sandy. As a result, the tunnel was closed to all train service while repairs were being made. Service in the tunnel was restored using temporary equipment on December 21. However, the MTA had announced that a complete reconstruction of the tunnel systems was needed, so the tunnel was closed for a second time on August 2, 2013. Originally slated to open by October 2014, it reopened a month early on September 14, 2014.
Constraints
Use of the Montague Street Tunnel, the Cranberry Street Tunnel, or a combination of the two tunnels were considered as alternatives in lieu of constructing a new tunnel under the East River for the proposed Lower Manhattan – Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project. Use of the existing tunnel was considered as an option because the Montague Street Tunnel had surplus capacity, having carried the M train until its reroute from the BMT Nassau Street Line to the IND Sixth Avenue Line in 2010, and the N train during the reconstruction of the Manhattan Bridge from 1986 until 2004.
