Jackson, Robert W. (Robert Wendell), 1950-

Highway under the Hudson : a history of the Holland Tunnel / Robert W. Jackson.

New York : New York University Press, ©2011.

v, 266 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

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

9780814742990 (cloth ; alk. paper)
0814742998 (cloth ; alk. paper)
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9780814745038 (ebook)
0814745032 (ebook)

Tunnels New York (State) New York Design and construction History 20th century.
City planning New York (State) New York History 20th century.
Urban transportation New York (State) New York History 20th century.
Tunnels Conception et construction New York (État) New York Histoire 20e siècle.
Transports urbains New York (État) New York Histoire 20e siècle.
City planning.
Economic history.
Politics and government
Tunnels Design and construction.
Urban transportation.
Holland Tunnel (Jersey City, N.J., and New York, N.Y.) History.
New York (N.Y.) History 1898-1951.
New York (N.Y.) Economic conditions 20th century.
New York (N.Y.) Politics and government 1898-1951.
Holland Tunnel (Jersey City, N.J. et New York, N.Y.) Histoire.
New York (N.Y.) Histoire 1898-1951.
New York (N.Y.) Administration 1898-1951.
New York (State) New York.
United States Holland Tunnel(Jersey City, New Jersey and New York, New York)

History.

Location: Library main 281179
Call No.: BIB 218305
Status: Available