Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

Author: John Warren

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2015-08-31

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 1439653070

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At its opening in 1964, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was named one of the "Five Wonders of the Modern World" by Reader's Digest magazine. It was the culmination of a concerted, decade-long push by a group of men, led by Lucius J. Kellam Jr., an Eastern Shore native and businessman who dreamed of opening up the remote Eastern Shore to the bustling Virginia mainland. This $200-million, 17.6-mile-long series of bridges, tunnels, islands, and trestle in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay - long dismissed as impractical and even impossible - won the attention of the world at its opening. It also brought an abrupt end to the ferry service that was long a cornerstone of the New York-to-Florida "Ocean Highway," shuttling millions of cars between the Eastern Shore and Hampton Roads.

Highway Under the Hudson
Highway Under the Hudson

Author: Robert W. Jackson

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2011-12

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0814742998

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Every year, more than thirty-three million vehicles traverse the Holland Tunnel, making their way from Jersey City and Lower Manhattan. From tourists to commuters, many cross the tunnel's 1.6 mile corridor on a daily basis, and yet few know much about this amazing feat of early 20th-century engineering. How was it built, by whom, and at what cost? These and many other questions are answered in Highway under the Hudson, Robert W. Jackson's story about this seminal structure in the history of urban transportation. In this meticulously researched work, Jackson provides the first complete history of the planning, financing and construction of the Holland Tunnel. Dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World" when it opened in 1927, the Holland Tunnel was the longest vehicular tunnel in the world st the time of its construction. In Highway under the Hudson, Jackson explains the economic forces which led to the need for the tunnel, and details the extraordinary political and social politicking that took place on both sides of the Hudson River to enable its construction. He introduces us to important figures in the tunnel's history, such as New Jersey Governor Walter E. Edge, who, more than anyone else, made the dream of a tunnel a reality; George Washington Goethals (builder of the Panama Canal and namesake of the Goethals bridge), the first chief engineer of the project; engineers Ole Singstad, who designed the ventilation system, and Clifford Holland, the chief engineer for whom the tunnel is named; New Jersey Bridge and Tunnel commissioners Thomas Albeus Adams and John F. Boyle, who tried to profit from the tunnel's construction; Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague, who blocked completion of the tunnel until the New York Bridge and Tunnel Commission agreed to pay for street improvements in his city; and the compressed-air workers (called "sandhogs") who risked their lives to build the tunnel. Fully illustrated with more than 50 beautiful photographs and drawings, Jackson's story of the Holland Tunnel is one of great human drama, with heroes and villains, that illustrates how great things are accomplished, and at what price.

Infrastructure of America's Tunnels
Infrastructure of America's Tunnels

Author: Marcia Amidon Lusted

Publisher: Mitchell Lane

Published: 2019-07-04

Total Pages: 70

ISBN-13: 1545745633

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Infrastructure is something that we use every day, like roads, bridges, and tunnels, but probably never think too much about. However, in the United States, many parts of the country’s infrastructure are old, falling apart, and desperately need repair and upgrading. Tunnels especially are vital to transportation, and extremely dangerous when they collapse. This book explores eight tunnels of different types that are lifelines for transportation in the US, but are now at risk. Whether its Boston’s Big Dig, the twin railroad tunnels under the Hudson River, California’s Hetch Hetchey water system, or a rail tunnel in Baltimore that’s more than 100 years old, these tunnels are very important to the entire country. Without emergency repairs and expansion, these tunnels could fail, with catastrophic results.