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Mr. Holland’s Tunnel

J.M. Syken

Course Outline

In this course, we will examine the historical background, design, construction, operation and legacy of the world’s first mechanically ventilated vehicular tunnel, spanning the Hudson River between lower Manhattan and Jersey City, New Jersey. This review will include the debate concerning whether a bridge or tunnel would be most appropriate and the two state commissions created to study the problem, need, financing, capacity etc. The choice to build twin tubes, alternate tunnel designs, the “coal famine” of 1918 (which dramatized the need for a vehicular river crossing) will be highlighted as well. The “Shield Method” of tunneling used to dig the tunnel will be reviewed in-depth and detail.

The role of Chief Engineer Clifford M. Holland in the design, construction and posthumous naming of the tunnel (in his honor) will be reviewed as will be his two successors’ accomplishments. In particular, the role of Ole Singstad, the tunnel’s Design Engineer who took on the role of Chief Engineer (after Holland’s and M.H. Freeman’s untimely death/s) and completed the tunnel, going on to become one of the greatest tunnel engineers of the era. The design, testing, equipment, installations, operations etc. of the mechanical ventilation system designed by Singstad will be of great interest. The success of the tunnel and plans to make it part of Robert Moses’ Lower Manhattan Expressway project (never realized) will also be of interest.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Understand/appreciate the problem of trans-Hudson transportation and the debate over whether a bridge or tunnel was more appropriate;
• Understand/appreciate the impact of the car and truck on transportation by the 1920s;
• Understand/appreciate the choice of a twin tube, mechanically ventilated design for the tunnel and alternate designs considered;
• Understand/appreciate the logistics, mobilization, property seizures etc. associated with the tunnel on both sides of the Hudson River;
• Understand/appreciate the choice of the “Shield Method” over the “Trench Method” of tunneling;
• Understand/appreciate the material, methods, systems etc. associated with the Shield Method of tunneling;
• Understand/appreciate the use of compressed air and its associated dangers;
• Understand/appreciate the unique and revolutionary design of the mechanical ventilation system (a.k.a. “lungs of the tunnel”);
• Understand/appreciate the science behind proper tunnel design including entrance/exit plazas; and
• Understand/appreciate the operation of the tunnel, its transfer to the Port Authority (in 1931) and legacy of success.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for architects, engineers and other design professionals.

Benefit to Attendees

The attendee/s will gain an intimate knowledge and insight into the creation of the world’s first mechanically ventilated vehicular tunnel

Course Introduction

The course includes an in-depth PowerPoint presentation and the viewing a short documentary film

Course Content

In this course, you are required to view/study the following slideshow and the materials contained in the web pages:

Road of Tomorrow: Mr. Holland’s Tunnel (printable handout in PDF, 6 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)

Road of Tomorrow: Mr. Holland’s Tunnel (non-printable slideshow for screen-viewing only, 31 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)

Archival/Documentary Film:

TITLE: Holland Tunnel Construction
LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fORmoNbN5yI&feature=related
DURATION: 03:29

Note A: Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.

Course Summary

In January 1918, lighters carrying coal destined to heat homes and businesses on the island of Manhattan were ice-bound in a frozen Hudson River. That very cold winter and the inability for the coal – within site across the river - to get across dramatized to all concerned the need for a vehicular crossing of the Hudson. The two states on either side of the river; New York and New Jersey, began looking into a trans-Hudson crossing in 1906, at first favoring a bridge. By 1913, a tunnel with adequate capacity (via twin mono-directional tubes) and a revolutionary mechanical ventilation system (to remove the deadly carbon monoxide) was decided upon. The project was delayed, mainly due to WWI, but by 1919 Chief Engineer Clifford M. Holland was given the green light to proceed. He gave the work his all - including his own life, dying of heart failure in 1924 before his great work was completed (in 1927). To honor his heroic effort, the tunnel was posthumously named in his honor (not as a reminder of NYC’s Dutch heritage, as some mistakenly believe). The tunnel set the gold standard for ventilated vehicular tunnel design still used today. A financial and commercial success, in its wake came more tunnels (and bridges) to break the water barrier that had isolated Manhattan from the rest of the nation.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_Tunnel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Manhattan_Expressway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cp1Rh-FNOc
(Film: How Tunnels Are Made Safe - 47:18)

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.