 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line | BMT Fourth Avenue Line (N, R, and W trains) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | East River betweenManhattan,New York andBrooklyn, New York | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°41′53″N74°00′20″W / 40.69806°N 74.00556°W /40.69806; -74.00556 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | New York City Subway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | August 1, 1920; 105 years ago (1920-08-01) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | August 2, 2013; 12 years ago (2013-08-02) (for reconstruction) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reopened | September 15, 2014; 11 years ago (2014-09-15) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | Metropolitan Transportation Authority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. oftracks | 2 tracks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route map | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TheMontague Street Tunnel (/ˈmɒntəɡuː/) is a rail tunnel of theNew York City Subway under theEast River between the boroughs ofManhattan andBrooklyn, connecting theBMT Broadway Line andBMT Nassau Street Line with theBMT Fourth Avenue Line. TheR train uses the tunnel at all times, theN train uses it during late nights, and severalW trains in each direction also use the tunnel during rush hours. All of these services use the Broadway Line; the tunnel's connection with the Nassau Street Line has not been used in service since 2010.
The tunnel was constructed as part of theDual Contracts expansion of the subway system, and opened in 1920. After being heavily damaged by flooding caused byHurricane Sandy in 2012, it was closed full-time from 2013 to 2014 to be reconstructed.
Construction of the tunnel began on October 12, 1914, using atunneling shield in conjunction with compressed air. The tunnel was designed by civil engineerClifford Milburn Holland, who would later serve as the first chief engineer of theHolland Tunnel.[1][2] The north tube of the tunnel was holed through on June 2, 1917,[3][4] and the south tube was holed through on June 20, 1917.[5][6]
It opened to revenue service on August 1, 1920, the same day as the60th Street Tunnel, on a holiday schedule;[7] 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 theBMT Broadway Line, to Queens for a five-cent fare.[8] 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 thethird rail was shut off after a shoe beam on a train approachingWhitehall Street fell and caused a short circuit, stranding ten subway trains inside the tunnel.[9] In late 1960, theNew York City Transit Authority voted to allot $300,000 for upgrades to the Montague Street Tunnel's ventilation shafts.[10]
On October 29, 2012, the tunnel suffered severe flooding fromHurricane Sandy and as a result, was closed to train service while repairs were being made. Service in the tunnel was restored using temporary equipment on December 21. However, theMTA later announced that a complete reconstruction of the tunnel systems was needed, so the tunnel was closed for a second time around-the-clock on August 2, 2013.[11][12] Originally slated to open by October 15, 2014, it reopened a month early on September 15, 2014.[13][14][15][16]
Use of the Montague Street Tunnel, theCranberry 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 proposedLower Manhattan – Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project.[17][18] Use of the existing tunnel was considered as an option because the Montague Street Tunnel had surplus capacity, having carried theM train until its reroute from theBMT Nassau Street Line to theIND Sixth Avenue Line in 2010, and theN train during the reconstruction of theManhattan Bridge from 1986 until 2004.[19][20]
Media related toMontague Street Tunnel at Wikimedia CommonsCrossings of theEast River | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
