the north river tunnels are a pair of rail tunnels that carry amtrak
and new jersey transit lines under the hudson river between weehawken
new jersey and pennsylvania station in manhattan constructed in 1910 the north river tunnels are a
critical travel option for commuters on the busy northeast corridor line these tunnels are
active they allow 24 hourly crossings each way and operate at near capacity during peak hours
running parallel to one another under the hudson their centers are separated by only 37 feet
and amazingly these two tracks fan out to 21 just west of penn station the north river tunnels were
an engineering marvel but how did they come to be what did it take to construct them and what's
the status of these tunnels in modern times today we discover the story of the north river tunnels
i'm your host ryan socas and you're watching it's history
the origin of the name north river is labeled after its earliest explorers in the 17th century
after observing the two large streams joining the tip of manhattan island they designated one the
north river and the other the east river based on their geographical directions from new york
harbor another origin story is contributed to the dutch you see legend has it they designated the
hudson river as the north river the delaware river as the south river and the fresh river
located in connecticut the north river is part of the hudson river's mouth
approximately to the bend where the hudson river turns from southwest to south at about 30th street
in manhattan and near the northern boundary of hoboken new jersey so basically the north
river is an alternate name for the southernmost portion of the hudson river the term north river
somewhat fell out of use in the 1900s however the name does remain for the north river piers and
the north river tunnels anyhow in the 1800s and early 1900s crossing the hudson river
proved to be an obstacle with most travels done by ferry luckily the hudson shore of manhattan
provided many piers known as the north river piers to accommodate its commuters shipping and
ocean-going vessels passengers and freight were required to cross east of the river for travel
this led to an extensive network of fairy slips docks barges and in later decades car floats
water travel was overcrowded and difficult even if the hudson is a full mile wide up
and down the river vessels were constantly in use creating a serious safety and logistical
problem you see travel must have an unobstructed passage at the center of the river and all points
between the banks so a solution was needed from time to time proposals were made to build a bridge
over this portion of the river but unfortunately back then no individual or interest wanted to make
progress in that direction so they needed another option in 1808 the secretary of treasury albert
gelatin issued his report of proposed locations for transportation of national importance
the north river figures were prominent among his proposals has the best routes towards the western
and northern lands stating quote what is called the north river is a narrow and long bay which
in its northward course from the harbor of new york breaks through or turns all the mountains
affording tide navigation for vessels of 80 tons to albany and troy 160 miles above new york this
distinguishes the north river from all the other bays and rivers of the united states with direct
attention to the north river the pennsylvania railroad also known as prr began its plan to
construct another travel option after merging with the united new jersey railroad and canal
company in 1871 originally they planned to build a bridge but were unsuccessful so in 1892 the prr
teamed up with the long island railroad company also known as lirr to develop several improved
regional rail access proposals they called this proposal the new york tunnel extension project
these proposals finally came to fruition at the turn of the century when the pennsylvania
railroad created subsidiaries to manage the project incorporated on february the 13th 1902
the pennsylvania new jersey and new york railroad or the pnj and ny was to oversee the construction
of the north river tunnels the tunnel design team began work in 1902 and were led by chief
engineer charles m jacobs in 1904 the contract for building the north river tunnels was awarded
to the o'rourkey engineering construction company initially the tunnels would have been comprised of
three tubes but ultimately they opted for only two the first task began by digging two shafts
with one just east of 11th avenue manhattan and a larger one a few hundred yards west of the river
the tunnels were built with drilling and blasting techniques and tunneling shields placed at three
locations then driven towards each other under the river itself the tunnels were started in rock
using drills and blasting but this was complicated as the bed under the river was pure mud for a
considerable depth as a result this part of the project was driven under compressed air using
194 ton shields that met about 3000 feet after the tubes had been excavated they were lined with 2.5
foot wide segmental cast iron rings each weighing 22 tons the segments were bolted together and
lined with 22 inches of concrete and in the end these tunnels were 56 by 116 feet at the bottom
and 76 feet deep in 1905 a serious complication arose in an address before the general society
of mechanics and tradesmen at carnegie lesser the chief engineer predicted that the city would find
the transportation problem remedied underground however by spring of 1906 general charles w
raymond reported that profoundly troubling issues of quote the behavior of subacuous tunnels
according to raymond the chairman of the board of engineers the tunnels under the hudson river
were shifting this was because the riverbed underneath the hudson consisted of soft muddy
silt and raymond's data showed the tunnels regularly rising and falling as much as two
feet within the mud this issue weighed heavily on the pennsylvania railroad's vice president
samuel rhee who addressed his concerns in a confidential letter to the railroad's president
on april the 2nd 1906 reasserted that if the tunnels were indeed moving the matter needed
to be taken on immediately the railroad's engineers considered several ideas to solve
this potentially devastating problem so railroad president alexander cassatt ordered his team to
increase the cast iron ring segment's weight to 11 594 pounds hoping that this would settle the
tunnels once and for all but it wasn't enough they were still moving amazingly construction proceeded
and the two halves of the north river tunnel met underneath the hudson river on september the 11th
1906 at the time it was the longest underwater tunnel in the world chief engineer charles jacob
led a celebratory inspection party through the tunnel but the mystery of the up and down movement
still bothered the railroad's president the next day cassatt telegrammed rey telling him about his
concerns then when the second north river tunnel was linked on october the 9th the press was
indeed invited to tour the completed project ironically the wavering issue of the tunnels
were strategically not mentioned now that both tunnels were linked ray ordered that no further
work be done including the concrete reinforcement and installation of electric wiring and tracks
until the board resolved the issues of the tunnel's movements measurements experimental tests
and debates went on for months and by the spring of 1907 the explanation for the tunnels drifting
in the hudson river silt remained unsolved and even though no one knew why these movements were
happening the board's five members had to make a very important decision from the onset of this
project the board had considered installing screw piles through the cast iron shells of the tunnel
that would be secured to the solid bedrock underneath the silt to protect against tunnel
movement during the spring and summer of 1907 jacobs installed etson recording gauges which
would measure the pressure changes of the moving tunnels by doing so he discovered a shocking fact
the tunnels were rising and falling with the tide so on october the 3rd 1907 jacobs reported to the
board of engineers that high tide corresponded precisely with the lowest depth measurements
of the tunnel on the etson gauges however on may the 8th 1908 the board demanded the use of screw
piles a demand that ray contradicted by informing the board of his decision not to install them
you see rey had studied the movements of the tunnels and felt that there was no convincing
evidence that this additional insurance was worth the pursuit he felt that the potential dangers of
installing them were more significant than not installing them since proper testing with the
screw piles attached had not been conducted time has proven his decision a wise choice
even though the tunnels constantly surveyed over the years continue to oscillate slightly
they remain entirely safe they did decide to incorporate extra cast iron plates even though the
silt was a major problem it was still firm enough to preserve the tunnels in perfect alignment
but it was speculated that if the heavy motors were allowed to bear directly upon the shell
there would be a shock due to movement which may produce settlements or set up stresses resulting
in fracture and even consequent catastrophic leakage this difficulty was ultimately overcome by
the introduction of further cast iron piles placed beneath the center of the inverts every 15 feet
and extended if necessary to a depth of 150 feet with the tops of the piles to be filled
with concrete to a depth of 15 feet with this in mind the load was distributed by a system of
stringers capped with piles and carrying the rails after one section was screwed down another was
bolted to it continuing until firm material had been reached heavy pressure is forced around the
outside of the shell in both soft material and rock and each tunnel is lined with additional
concrete with these adjustments completed most authorities were convinced that the tunnel project
could now proceed despite the concern of shifting tubes the tunnels opened for service in 1910 when
the new york tunnel extension to new york penn station opened the north river tunnels and penn
station made the prr the only railroad with direct access to new york city from the south many people
gave up their ferry rides to use this new form of transit with trains typically traveling west
to new jersey through the north tube and east to manhattan using the south tube the stupendous work
undertaken by the pennsylvania railroad was deemed helpful in the city of new york to a remarkable
degree these tunnels significantly serve the convenience of people journeying from distant
points even in modern day since 2003 the tunnels have operated at near capacity during peak hours
the number of new jersey transit weekday trains through the north river tunnels increased from
147 in 1976 to 438 in 2010 and yet it's still an uphill battle over time the tunnels began to
deteriorate so in the 1990s several proposals were developed to build additional tunnels and restore
what remains under the hudson this would help to both add capacity to the northeast corridor and
allow for repairs to be made to the existing utilities ultimately a plan to repair the tunnels
and add new tubes was approved in 2021 the access to the region's core or arc was a program that was
launched in 1995 by the port authority of new york and new jersey as well as others to restore and
research public transportation in the metropolitan area it found that long-term goals would be best
met by better connections between the region's major rail stations this was to little avail
however as the arc project which did not include amtrak directly was cancelled in october of 2010
by new jersey governor chris christie who cited potential cost overruns amtrak did step in briefly
to engage the governor in an attempt to revive the arc tunnel program and use the work already done
for it but those negotiations were never finalized ultimately amtrak said it was not interested in
purchasing any of the completed work amtrak's non-involvement didn't last long and in 2011
the gateway program was born which was amtrak's plan for restoration this plan was announced on
february the 7th 2011 with officials claiming that amtrak would take lead on seeking financing and as
of 2017 the gateway program was expected to cost 12.9 billion dollars however in october of 2012
a year after the gateway program was announced the north river tubes were submerged by seawater
from hurricane sandy marking the first time in the tunnel's history that both tubes had been
completely flooded after the north river tunnels were flooded the gateway program was prioritized
in 2012 superstorm sandy damaged the north river tunnels and as a result the passage
still remains compromised these historic tunnels were destroyed by flooding which caused frequent
delays and train operations the surge damaged overhead wires electrical systems concrete walls
as well as vital drainage systems the north river tunnels are currently safe for use by amtrak and
new jersey transit trains traveling between jersey and new york city however it is in poor condition
due to the storm damage and requires regular and even occasionally emergency maintenance disrupting
service for hundreds of thousands of rail passengers throughout the region
despite the ongoing maintenance the tunnel system continues to degrade and can only be addressed
through comprehensive tunnel rehabilitation in may of 2014 amtrak stated that within 20 years
one or even both of the tunnels would have to be shut down so in may of 2021 the u.s department
of transportation finally approved two new tunnels although specific funding sources for the complete
project were not identified at the time therefore amtrak and new jersey transit decided to take on
the construction with the development of the hudson tunnel project which will rehabilitate
the north river tunnel without disrupting existing train service levels and provide the capability
for rail service crossing the hudson river each tube will be closed for rehabilitation required in
the current north river tunnel however to avoid unacceptable reductions in weekly service the
project first includes the construction of a new tunnel with two new rail tubes beneath the hudson
river this enhancement will maintain the current level of train service in contrast the damaged
tubes in the north river tunnels will be taken out of service one at a time for rehabilitation
once the north river tunnel rehabilitation is complete the old and new tunnels will be
in service providing capability and increased operational flexibility for the train operators
amtrak's 12.3 billion dollar plan for a new commuter train path under the hudson river between
new jersey and manhattan will take more than a decade to complete in the meantime it's working
to keep open the current tunnels the ongoing work involves eliminating water in the tunnels that
cause significant failures and corrosion as well as improving the tunnel's drainage system amtrak
has budgeted around 150 million dollars for those type of repairs when hurricane sandy hit in 2012
the tunnel flooded with seawater causing severe damage to its infrastructure the original tunnel
tracks consisted of rock ballast and timber ties that have become coated with corrosive elements
other work includes replacing corroded cables that are more than 80 years old the gateway program is
still in progress with unclear funding issues according to the railroad operator which owns
the existing north river tunnel the tunnels will remain in use until restoration is established let
me emphasize new york relies on these tunnels the repair is critical since track workers and
traveling public will be less exposed to safety hazards caused by falling concrete the formation
of icicles and slippery walkway surfaces but more importantly the north river tunnel is crucial for
commuters on the new jersey transit and amtrak's busy northeast corridor line and needs to remain
open at all cost so hopefully the restoration process will deem successful and these historic
tunnels can exist well into the future alongside many of new york city's other fascinating tunnels
which i put together a playlist about so make sure you click that playlist to watch our series
and let me know if you'd like more tunnel videos by clicking subscribe
to catch new videos every thursday and saturday until next time this is ryan silkesh signing off
you