# Lincoln Tunnel
The Lincoln Tunnel is a three-tube, six-lane vehicular tunnel under the [Hudson River](https://www.edgepedia.org/hudson-river), connecting midtown Manhattan in New York City with [Weehawken, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/weehawken-new-jersey), owned and operated by the [Port Authority of New York and New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/port-authority-of-new-york-and-new-jersey).[1](https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1995/1496/1496.pdf) Its center tube opened to motor traffic on December 22, 1937, and two additional tubes followed in 1945 and 1957 as traffic grew.[2](https://www.worldbook.com/behind-the-headlines/Opening-the-Lincoln-Tunnel) • [3](https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/nycdata/infrastructure/lincoln_tunnel.html) Today the crossing carries more than 30 million cars and trucks each year.[4](https://portfolio.panynj.gov/2017/12/22/the-lincoln-tunnel-turns-80/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Structure | Three separate tubes, six lanes total, under the Hudson River between midtown Manhattan and Weehawken, New Jersey[1](https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1995/1496/1496.pdf) |
| Center tube | Opened December 22, 1937; construction began March 1934 with crews working from both sides of the river[2](https://www.worldbook.com/behind-the-headlines/Opening-the-Lincoln-Tunnel) |
| North tube | Opened 1945; westbound vehicles travel in the 7,482-foot (2,281-meter) north tube[2](https://www.worldbook.com/behind-the-headlines/Opening-the-Lincoln-Tunnel) |
| South tube | Construction began in 1951 and the tube was completed on May 25, 1957[3](https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/nycdata/infrastructure/lincoln_tunnel.html) |
| Cost | The first two tubes together cost less than $87,000,000; the Port Authority estimated a third tube at $90,000,000[5](https://dspace.njstatelib.org/bitstreams/dba12859-b362-4502-99ed-9abfd8e2345b/download) |
| Traffic | Combined traffic in the two tubes reached 21 million vehicles by 1955; the tunnel now handles more than 30 million cars and trucks a year[6](https://www.enr.com/articles/61676-from-the-archives-january-19-1956?v=preview) • [4](https://portfolio.panynj.gov/2017/12/22/the-lincoln-tunnel-turns-80/) |
| Bus priority | The Exclusive Bus Lane (XBL) was established in December 1970 for bus traffic connecting to the tunnel from New Jersey[7](https://www.panynj.gov/port-authority/en/blogs/land/Lincoln-Tunnel-Drives-Toward-the-Future-of-Tolling.html) |
## Construction of the first tube
Construction on the tunnel began in March 1934, with crews working from both sides of the Hudson River.[2](https://www.worldbook.com/behind-the-headlines/Opening-the-Lincoln-Tunnel) One of the most challenging aspects of the engineering was that work proceeded from both ends at once: the tunnel being built from the New Jersey side had to align perfectly with the tunnel being built from the New York side.[3](https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/nycdata/infrastructure/lincoln_tunnel.html) The workers who tunneled beneath the river between 1935 and 1937 were known as sandhogs, and their photographs and oral histories form a record of the construction.[8](https://portfolio.panynj.gov/2015/07/14/the-building-of-the-lincoln-tunnel-titans-work-beneath-the-hudson/) • [9](https://hobokenmuseum.org/exhibition/driving-under-the-hudson-a-history-of-the-holland-and-lincoln-tunnels/)
The center tube opened to motor traffic on December 22, 1937, connecting midtown New York City with Weehawken, New Jersey.[2](https://www.worldbook.com/behind-the-headlines/Opening-the-Lincoln-Tunnel) In 1938, the first year of operation, just under 2 million vehicles used the crossing.[10](https://dspace.njstatelib.org/bitstreams/1437a1db-d1bb-44f9-afa2-559a82f728c1/download)
## The second and third tubes
Work on the second tube finished in 1945, and the combined price of the two tubes came to under $87,000,000.[5](https://dspace.njstatelib.org/bitstreams/dba12859-b362-4502-99ed-9abfd8e2345b/download) The Depression-era crash of 1929 and World War II had delayed construction of the first two tubes for many years, and by 1937 only one was finished.[9](https://hobokenmuseum.org/exhibition/driving-under-the-hudson-a-history-of-the-holland-and-lincoln-tunnels/)
**Growth forced a third tube.** Combined annual traffic in the two existing tubes had reached 21 million by 1955, which spurred the Port Authority to build a third.[6](https://www.enr.com/articles/61676-from-the-archives-january-19-1956?v=preview) The Port Authority decided in 1951 to add a third tube and prepared plans and specifications at an estimated cost of $90,000,000.[8](https://portfolio.panynj.gov/2015/07/14/the-building-of-the-lincoln-tunnel-titans-work-beneath-the-hudson/) • [5](https://dspace.njstatelib.org/bitstreams/dba12859-b362-4502-99ed-9abfd8e2345b/download) Construction of the third tube began in September 1952, and the southern tube was completed on May 25, 1957, thirty years after the opening of the [Holland Tunnel](https://www.edgepedia.org/holland-tunnel).[10](https://dspace.njstatelib.org/bitstreams/1437a1db-d1bb-44f9-afa2-559a82f728c1/download) • [3](https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/nycdata/infrastructure/lincoln_tunnel.html) • [8](https://portfolio.panynj.gov/2015/07/14/the-building-of-the-lincoln-tunnel-titans-work-beneath-the-hudson/)
## Operation
The three tubes give the crossing six lanes, and traffic is distributed among them in both directions.[1](https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1995/1496/1496.pdf) On the New Jersey side, a massive inclined ramp known as the Helix carries traffic out of and into the tunnel.[6](https://www.enr.com/articles/61676-from-the-archives-january-19-1956?v=preview)
**Buses get a dedicated lane.** To handle New Jersey bus service bound for the Lincoln Tunnel, the Port Authority created the Exclusive Bus Lane, or XBL, in December 1970.[7](https://www.panynj.gov/port-authority/en/blogs/land/Lincoln-Tunnel-Drives-Toward-the-Future-of-Tolling.html) During the morning peak, a contraflow lane on I-495 permits buses direct access to the toll plaza, bypassing the general traffic queuing, so bus travelers reach the tunnel directly while cars and trucks approach through a network of access lanes that store the queues.[1](https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1995/1496/1496.pdf)
**Tolling changed in 2021.** Over two nights in late November 2021, crews at the 84-year-old tunnel assembled and installed two pairs of new gantries to house equipment for the Port Authority's all-electronic tolling system, which was already installed at the agency's five other vehicular crossings.[7](https://www.panynj.gov/port-authority/en/blogs/land/Lincoln-Tunnel-Drives-Toward-the-Future-of-Tolling.html)
## Traffic and congestion pricing
New York City's congestion pricing program, which charges vehicles entering the busiest part of Manhattan, gives a credit on the E-ZPass of up to $3 for passenger vehicles, and more for trucks and buses, to drivers who have already paid a peak-hour toll to enter Manhattan at the Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, Queens-Midtown Tunnel, or Hugh L. Carey Tunnel.[11](https://apnews.com/article/123ad0724cddfd061fb3e5a573d8417a) In the first week of the toll, traffic into Manhattan dropped 7.5 percent, about 43,000 fewer cars a day, and morning rush-hour travel times over crossings including the Holland and Lincoln tunnels fell by 40 percent or more.[12](https://apnews.com/article/cbd1d520ccbfbeb68d248e9d2ed3bd62)
The Port Authority is also evaluating replacement of the Lincoln Tunnel Helix as part of its planning for the crossing.[13](https://www.mta.info/document/110016)
## References
1. [Public Transportation 1995: Current Research in Planning, Management, Technology, and Ridesharing, Transportation Research Record 1496](https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1995/1496/1496.pdf)
2. [Opening the Lincoln Tunnel, World Book](https://www.worldbook.com/behind-the-headlines/Opening-the-Lincoln-Tunnel)
3. [NYCdata | Infrastructure: Lincoln Tunnel, Baruch College](https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/nycdata/infrastructure/lincoln_tunnel.html)
4. [The Lincoln Tunnel Turns 80, Port Authority of NY & NJ](https://portfolio.panynj.gov/2017/12/22/the-lincoln-tunnel-turns-80/)
5. [New Jersey State Library archived report on the Lincoln Tunnel](https://dspace.njstatelib.org/bitstreams/dba12859-b362-4502-99ed-9abfd8e2345b/download)
6. [From the Archives: January 19, 1956, Engineering News-Record](https://www.enr.com/articles/61676-from-the-archives-january-19-1956?v=preview)
7. [Lincoln Tunnel Drives Toward the Future of Tolling, Port Authority of NY & NJ](https://www.panynj.gov/port-authority/en/blogs/land/Lincoln-Tunnel-Drives-Toward-the-Future-of-Tolling.html)
8. [The Building of the Lincoln Tunnel: Titans' Work Beneath the Hudson, Port Authority of NY & NJ](https://portfolio.panynj.gov/2015/07/14/the-building-of-the-lincoln-tunnel-titans-work-beneath-the-hudson/)
9. [Driving Under the Hudson: A History of the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, Hoboken Historical Museum](https://hobokenmuseum.org/exhibition/driving-under-the-hudson-a-history-of-the-holland-and-lincoln-tunnels/)
10. [New Jersey State Library archived copy on the Lincoln Tunnel](https://dspace.njstatelib.org/bitstreams/1437a1db-d1bb-44f9-afa2-559a82f728c1/download)
11. [Visiting the Big Apple? Prepare to pay more if you drive to busiest part of Manhattan, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/123ad0724cddfd061fb3e5a573d8417a)
12. [Traffic into Manhattan drops 7.5% in first week of new toll, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/cbd1d520ccbfbeb68d248e9d2ed3bd62)
13. [MTA Appendix E document](https://www.mta.info/document/110016)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Architecture, buildings, and civil works › Civil and water works › Tunnels › Named tunnels and people › Landmark tunnels › Hudson River vehicular tunnels*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license