A toll road , also known as a turnpike or tollway , is a public or private road for which a fee (or toll ) is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and maintenance .
155-725: The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel , commonly referred to as the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel , Battery Tunnel or Battery Park Tunnel , is a tolled tunnel in New York City that connects Red Hook in Brooklyn with the Battery in Manhattan . The tunnel consists of twin tubes that each carry two traffic lanes under the mouth of the East River . Although it passes just offshore of Governors Island ,
310-510: A dockworkers ' union, which was commissioned to dig the tunnel, and a sandhogs ' union, which claimed that its members were entitled to work on the project because the sandhogs specialized in building tunnels. This disagreement turned into a violent protest and multiday strike in February 1941. The next year, some union sandhog workers were banned from working on the Battery Tunnel project due to
465-712: A $ 2.3-million (equivalent to $ 39.7 million in 2023) bridge over the Gowanus Canal. The city approved these plans in January 1936. One civic group wanted to plan for future traffic volumes, so it asked the city to conduct further studies of the Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel project. The tunnel was officially renamed the "Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel" in July 1936. In November of that year, Brooklyn Borough President Raymond Ingersoll and New York City Parks commissioner Robert Moses revealed
620-468: A $ 30-million (equivalent to $ 500 million in 2023) federal grant so construction could start quickly. A toll of $ 0.25 per motorist, collected at the Brooklyn end, would help finance the rest of the tunnel and make it profitable. The tunnel would also halve travel time between southern Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan since, at the time, there was no direct route for traffic between these two areas. This, in turn,
775-459: A $ 70-million (equivalent to $ 1.2 billion in 2023) loan toward the tunnel project. The city was expecting to start construction once the loan was received. The tunnel plans were completed and sent to federal agencies for approval that month. The New York City Tunnel Authority announced in March 1940 that it would start construction within 40 days. Preliminary construction and land acquisition for
930-497: A bridge would be cheaper, faster, and more efficient than building a tunnel. The bridge would consist of a six-lane tandem suspension bridge span with two back-to-back suspension bridges, and it could be built in 27 months, compared to 46 months for a tunnel. One of the other benefits, in Moses's opinion, was that the $ 41-million (equivalent to $ 705 million in 2023) bridge would not require any federal money. Isaacs stated that
1085-545: A bridge would cause as much congestion as a tunnel would, so he did not favor the bridge plan. The Tunnel Authority also opposed the Brooklyn–Battery Bridge because a bridge would lower property values. In response, Moses predicted that the Tunnel Authority's Queens–Midtown Tunnel would not be profitable and that the Tunnel Authority should organize its existing affairs before deciding to build a new tunnel. Moses
1240-720: A disagreement with their union's parent union. Another issue arose when it was revealed that the Great New York Aquarium at Castle Clinton , at the Battery on the Manhattan side, would need to be demolished to make way for the tunnel. The aquarium considered moving to Coney Island on the southern shore of Brooklyn. To expedite construction of the tunnel, the city closed the Great New York Aquarium and moved its fish to other aquariums in September 1941. Moses advocated for
1395-602: A flat fee either when they enter or when they exit the toll road. In a variant of the closed toll system, mainline barriers are present at the two endpoints of the toll road, and each interchange has a ramp toll that is paid upon exit or entry. In this case, a motorist pays a flat fee at the ramp toll and another flat fee at the end of the toll road; no ticket is necessary. In addition, with most systems, motorists may pay tolls only with cash or change; debit and credit cards are not accepted. However, some toll roads may have travel plazas with ATMs so motorists can stop and withdraw cash for
1550-464: A general fund by local governments, not being earmarked for transport facilities. This is sometimes limited or prohibited by central government legislation. Also, road congestion pricing schemes have been implemented in a limited number of urban areas as a transportation demand management tool to try to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution . Toll roads have existed for at least the last 2,700 years, as tolls had to be paid by travellers using
1705-653: A hearing for public opinions on the tunnel proposal, gave its permission to the tunnel plan in September 1938. The Tunnel Authority suggested that federal funding could be used to pay for the tunnel and that private financing could also be provided if it was needed. In June 1938, the city requested a $ 70.9-million (equivalent to $ 1.2 billion in 2023) PWA grant for the construction of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel. The next month, La Guardia met with PWA chair Harold L. Ickes and Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) chair Jesse H. Jones to convince them to help fund
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#17330854281621860-477: A kind of "psychological trauma". Men in black feature prominently in ufology , UFO folklore, and fan fiction. In the 1950s and 1960s, ufologists adopted a conspiratorial mindset and began fearing they would be subject to organized intimidation in retaliation for discovering "the truth of the UFOs." In 1947, Harold Dahl claimed a man in a dark suit warned him not to discuss his alleged UFO sighting on Maury Island . In
2015-622: A lack of money because, although the PWA had given the city an appropriation for the Belt Parkway, the money had been used up. Due to the PWA's refusal to grant a loan for the Battery Tunnel's construction, the project was temporarily put on hold. In January 1939, after the failure to allocate federal funds to the tunnels, Moses (now the chair of the Triborough Bridge Authority ) proposed the Brooklyn–Battery Bridge. He stated that constructing
2170-460: A pair on the Brooklyn side, as well as a seawall . This combined project was 63 percent complete as of a March 2018 MTA report. In 2017–2018, the tiled walls in the Queens–Midtown and Brooklyn–Battery tunnels were replaced due to damage suffered during Hurricane Sandy. The retiled white walls have gold-and-blue stripes, representing the official state colors of New York. Controversy arose over
2325-683: A plan to connect the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel to Long Island 's parkway system via a new Gowanus Parkway and Circumferential Parkway . The planned tunnel was also part of the Regional Plan Association 's proposed parkway system around New York City. The next month, the New York City Tunnel Authority advertised for bids to create test bores for the tunnel. Copies of the plans for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel were submitted to La Guardia's mayoral administration in February 1937. Two tunnels, one in each direction, would connect to
2480-437: A practice that continued with the automobile, and many modern tollways charge fees for motor vehicles exclusively. The amount of the toll usually varies by vehicle type, weight, or number of axles , with freight trucks often charged higher rates than cars. Tolls are often collected at toll plazas, toll booths , toll houses , toll stations, toll bars, toll barriers, or toll gates. Some toll collection points are automatic, and
2635-635: A ramp to Governors Island so the Army forces could also use the bridge, in a fashion similar to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge 's connection to the Army reservation on Yerba Buena Island in California. However, Roosevelt upheld the Department of War's decision and declined to create such a committee. In July 1939, after the bridge plan was canceled, the proposal for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel
2790-421: A small pipe was passed through from one side to another. The pipe was then removed, and the openings covered up, to prevent drastic changes in pressure at either end of the tube. The tunnels from Manhattan and Brooklyn had connected at a point under Governors Island, with an error of 0.375 inches (0.95 cm), and work continued until there was enough assurances that the tunnels had equal pressure readings. After
2945-442: A specific infrastructure (e.g. roads, bridges). These concepts were widely used until the last century. However, the evolution in technology made it possible to implement road tolling policies based on different concepts. The different charging concepts are designed to suit different requirements regarding purpose of the charge, charging policy, the network to the charge, tariff class differentiation, et cetera: Some toll roads charge
3100-583: A toll in only one direction. Examples include the Sydney Harbour Bridge , Sydney Harbour Tunnel , and Eastern Distributor (these all charge tolls city-bound) in Australia, in the United States, crossings between Pennsylvania and New Jersey operated by Delaware River Port Authority and crossings between New Jersey and New York operated by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey . This technique
3255-424: A tunnel as opposed to a bridge, while Mayor La Guardia invited the president to return for the opening ceremony in four years. Three days later, the city approved a motion to widen Hamilton Avenue from 80 to 300 feet (24 to 91 m) to make way for the Brooklyn tunnel approach, as well as awarded a contract for the tunnel's lining to Bethlehem Steel . The start of actual tunneling was delayed due to dispute between
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#17330854281623410-526: A tunnel. Construction on the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel started on October 28, 1940, but its completion was delayed due to World War II -related material shortages. The tunnel officially opened on May 25, 1950. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel is part of the Interstate Highway System , carrying the entirety of the unsigned Interstate 478 ( I-478 ) since 1971. The tunnel originally carried New York State Route 27A (NY 27A) until 1970. In 2012,
3565-478: A year of the grant being awarded. Since the Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel project would take longer, it and other New York City highway projects were ineligible for PWA funding. In January 1936, the New York State Legislature created the New York City Tunnel Authority to oversee the construction of a tunnel between Midtown Manhattan and Queens . The bill also provided the authority with the power to build
3720-421: Is also frequently used to describe mysterious men working for unknown organizations, as well as various branches of government allegedly tasked with protecting secrets or performing other strange activities. The term is generic, as it is used for any unusual, threatening or strangely behaved individual whose appearance on the scene can be linked in some fashion with a UFO sighting. Several alleged encounters with
3875-603: Is practical where the detour to avoid the toll is large or the toll differences are small. Traditionally, tolls were paid by hand at a toll gate. Although payments may still be made in cash, it is more common now to pay using an electronic toll collection system. In some places, payment is made using transponders which are affixed to the windscreen. Three systems of toll roads exist: open (with mainline barrier toll plazas ); closed (with entry/exit tolls); and open road (no toll booths, only electronic toll collection gantries at entrances and exits or at strategic locations on
4030-548: Is the largest ETC system in the U.S., and is used for both fully tolled highways and tolled express lanes. Maryland Route 200 and the Triangle Expressway in North Carolina were the first toll roads built without toll booths, with drivers charged via ETC or by optical license plate recognition and are billed by mail. In addition, many older toll roads are also being upgraded to an all-electronic tolling system, abandoning
4185-561: The BM1, BM2, BM3, and BM4 between Manhattan and Brooklyn. MTA New York City Transit operates the SIM1, SIM1C, SIM2, SIM3, SIM3C, SIM4, SIM4C, SIM4X, SIM5, SIM6, SIM7, SIM9, SIM10, SIM15, SIM31, SIM32, SIM33, SIM33C, SIM34, and SIM35 routes between Manhattan and Staten Island and the X27, X28, X37, and X38 between Manhattan and Brooklyn. A vehicular tunnel under the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn
4340-534: The Brooklyn Eagle found that 13.86 million vehicles had used the tunnel in its first year; this was lower than Caro's estimate but higher than both the TBTA's initial estimate of 10 million vehicles per year and expert forecasts of eight million annual vehicles. Some road infrastructure projects at both ends of the tunnel were completed shortly after the tunnel opened. The first associated project to be completed
4495-904: The Maine Turnpike in 1947, the Blue Star Turnpike in 1950, the New Jersey Turnpike in 1951, the Garden State Parkway in 1952, the West Virginia Turnpike and New York State Thruway in 1954, the Massachusetts Turnpike in 1957, and the Chicago Skyway and Indiana Toll Road in 1958. Other toll roads were also established around this time. With the establishment of the Interstate Highway System in
4650-589: The September 11 attacks due to the proximity of the Manhattan portal to the World Trade Center site . Although many major crossings within the city were also closed following the attacks, they reopened relatively quickly, albeit with HOV restrictions during rush hours. The western tube of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was the first part of the tunnel to reopen, in October 2001, and carried only southbound traffic. However,
4805-671: The Susa – Babylon highway under the regime of Ashurbanipal , who reigned in the seventh century BC. Aristotle and Pliny refer to tolls in Arabia and other parts of Asia. In India, before the fourth century BC, the Arthashastra notes the use of tolls. Germanic tribes charged tolls to travellers across mountain passes . Most roads were not freely open to travel on in Europe during the Middle Ages, and
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4960-580: The West African kingdom of Dahomey , toll booths were also established with the function of collecting yearly taxes based on the goods carried by the people of Dahomey and their occupation. In some cases, officials imposed fines for public nuisance before allowing people to pass. Industrialisation in Europe needed major improvements to the transport infrastructure which included many new or substantially improved roads, financed from tolls. The A5 road in Britain
5115-580: The West Side Highway and the FDR Drive on the Manhattan side and to Hamilton Avenue on the Brooklyn side. In the future, the West Side Elevated Highway would be extended from the north, connecting to the new tunnel. There would be a ventilation tower at the midpoint on Governors Island because the tunnels would stretch 8,800 feet (2,700 m) between the two portals, and it was thought that
5270-498: The toll was one of many feudal fees paid for rights of usage in everyday life. Some major European "highways", such as the Via Regia and Via Imperii , offered protection to travelers in exchange for paying the royal toll. Many modern European roads were originally constructed as toll roads in order to recoup the costs of construction and maintenance, and to generate revenue from passing travelers. In 14th-century England, some of
5425-416: The "closed motorway system" (km travelled) or through the "open motorway system" (flat-rate toll). Given the multiplicity of operators, the toll is only requested when exiting the motorway and not when the motorway operator changes. This system was made possible following article 14 of law 531 of 12 August 1982. From a technical point of view, however, the mixed barrier/free-flow system is active where, at
5580-474: The 19th century. Roads radiating from Toronto required users to pay at toll gates along the street ( Yonge Street , Bloor Street , Davenport Road , Kingston Road ) but the toll gates disappeared after 1895. In the eastern United States of the 18th and 19th century, hundreds of private turnpikes were created to facilitate travel between towns and cities, typically outside built-up areas. 19th-century plank roads were usually operated as toll roads. One of
5735-464: The Army's reasoning. Moses continued to support the bridge, praising it as less intrusive and cheaper than a tunnel, despite great public opposition to a bridge. In October, in a last effort to garner official acceptance for the Battery Bridge plan, Moses and La Guardia appealed directly to President Roosevelt to form an independent committee to study the proposal. Moses again revised the plan, adding
5890-618: The BOT arrangement, a few of the older toll roads in these states are still operated by public authorities. In France, some toll roads are operated by private or public companies, with specific taxes collected by the state. Men in black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories , men in black ( MIB ) are government agents dressed in black suits , who question, interrogate, harass, threaten, allegedly memory-wipe or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses to keep them silent about what they have seen. The term
6045-469: The BOT methodology for future highway projects. The more traditional means of managing toll roads in the United States is through semi-autonomous public authorities . Kansas , Maryland , Massachusetts , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New York , North Carolina , Ohio , Oklahoma , Pennsylvania , and West Virginia manage their toll roads in this manner. While most of the toll roads in California, Delaware, Florida, Texas, and Virginia are operating under
6200-407: The Battery in order to build a seawall , and, as a result of the downsizing of the Battery, an architect was hired to study the redesign of the park. This, in turn, led to a public competition for potential park redesigns. In August 1940, the city filed plans for two drawbridges across the Gowanus Canal as part of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel approach project. The US Army officially approved plans for
6355-489: The Brooklyn approach was already underway. The Army had already approved the tunnel but, due to a minor change in the plan, had to hold another hearing, and the Army was expected to uphold the permit. In May, La Guardia signed a preliminary contract to start construction. Moses stated that he wanted to complete the tunnel, a crucial link in the Circumferential Parkway System, as soon as possible. The RFC granted
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6510-611: The Brooklyn–Battery Bridge. In May 1939 Robert Woodring, the US Secretary of War , blocked the construction of the bridge due to concerns over the span's potential to become a naval obstruction during a war, since the Brooklyn Navy Yard was located shoreward of the proposed bridge. In response, Moses submitted a revised plan for the bridge and asked the Department of War to reconsider. Moses and Brooklyn politicians declared that they would not accept anything other than an endorsement of
6665-452: The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was also dubbed the most expensive tunnel in the United States. It was expensive enough that the TBTA had been forced to look around the world for a company that could cover the tunnel's $ 33.5-million (equivalent to $ 337 million in 2023) insurance policy. However, the cost was expected to be counterbalanced, in part, through the $ 0.35 tolls and the time savings afforded. Truckers at Bush Terminal , located south of
6820-476: The Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel if funds became available. By this time, the construction cost of the Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel was now projected to be $ 58 million (equivalent to $ 1 billion in 2023). Detailed plans for the tunnel were released in May 1936. The project now consisted of a $ 60.3-million (equivalent to $ 1.04 billion in 2023) twin-tube bore from Red Hook, Brooklyn, to the Battery, Manhattan, as well as
6975-493: The Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel in conjunction with a Staten Island–Brooklyn tunnel under the Narrows . The city was set to ask for $ 50 million (equivalent to $ 935 million in 2023) in federal funding, but this request was dropped from the final vote. Mayor Fiorello La Guardia set up a public-works authority in February 1935 so the city could apply for loans from the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). This authority
7130-565: The Gowanus Canal bridge in October, just before the tunnel was set to begin construction. The Gowanus bridge's contract was awarded in December 1940. A contract for the Gowanus Parkway approach to the tunnel and bridge was awarded the next month. In mid-1941, planners realized that Hicks Street, on the Brooklyn side, would also need to be widened so that traffic from the north could enter the tunnel, whose Brooklyn portal faced southeast. By May 1942,
7285-459: The Gowanus Parkway was completed between Hicks Street and the Belt Parkway. The parkway also included a bridge over the Gowanus Canal, a fixed span rising 90 feet (27 m) above the waterway before descending to Hicks Street. Construction on an extension of the highway along Hicks Street did not start until 1946. A new plan for the Manhattan approaches was released in mid-1941. This plan, believed to reduce traffic congestion, consisted of extending
7440-435: The Manhattan side. As of 2016, the tunnel is used by 54,076 vehicles on an average weekday. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel has a total of four ventilation buildings: two in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn, and one on Governors Island. One of the Manhattan ventilation buildings is granite-faced and designed like a monument due to objections to the building's design during the construction process. The Manhattan ventilation structure
7595-512: The Meninblack featured alien visitations to Earth. James T. Flocker's 1979 film The Alien Encounters included Men in Black who harass a UFO investigator portrayed by Augie Tribach. The 1984 film The Brother from Another Planet features two Men in Black who try to capture the alien hero. One is played by the film's director, John Sayles. The 1995 album Masquerade (Running Wild album) , by
7750-572: The New York E‑ZPass Customer Service Center pay $ 6.94 per car or $ 3.02 per motorcycle. Mid-Tier NYCSC E-Z Pass users pay $ 8.36 per car or $ 3.57 per motorcycle. All E-ZPass users with transponders not issued by the New York E-ZPass CSC will be required to pay Toll-by-mail rates. Toll road Toll roads have existed in some form since antiquity , with tolls levied on passing travelers on foot, wagon, or horseback;
7905-537: The New York State Legislature passed bills that permitted the construction of the Brooklyn–Battery Bridge, and Governor Herbert H. Lehman signed the bills within the week. Moses quickly sought to obtain approval from the US Department of War , which needed to approve the plan. He also started looking for PWA and RFC financing so the bridge could be completed by July 1941. As part of the approval process,
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#17330854281628060-520: The RFC. Manhattan Borough President Stanley M. Isaacs objected to the tunnel plan because he thought the proposal would not be able to adequately handle traffic on the Manhattan side. In response, Parks Commissioner Moses asked Isaacs to think of a better idea to deal with the traffic. Ickes later rejected the city's request for PWA funds, saying that there were "tremendous financial and practical obstacles" for any further PWA involvement. These impediments included
8215-765: The South to the North. The road connects the southwest of the city, including the Sea Port area, with the Ring Road, Vasilievsky Island, Kurortny district and the Scandinavia motorway. The WHSD is divided into three sections: Southern, Central and Northern. The entire stretch of the WHSD was opened for traffic in 2016. There are 16 toll plazas on the WHSD. Paying toll by transponder is mostly recommended for frequent drivers. The Flow+ toll collection system
8370-981: The Terminal Bridge Corporation petitioned the New York City Board of Estimate for permission to build and operate a tunnel under the East River. In November of that year, the Board of Estimate referred the Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel plan to the New York City Board of Transportation (NYCBOT), who was tasked with surveying the site of the tunnel. At the time, the tunnel would have cost $ 75 million (equivalent to $ 1.09 billion in 2023), including land acquisition if it included two three-lane tunnels. The tunnels itself would have cost $ 58 million (equivalent to $ 842 million in 2023) if they were three lanes or $ 50 million (equivalent to $ 726 million in 2023) if two lanes. The next year, NYCBOT announced that
8525-437: The Tunnel Authority, allowing the new Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) to take over the project. Moses, the TBTA head, promptly fired Singstad and replaced him with TBTA Chief Engineer Ralph Smillie , who designed the remainder of the tunnel. The WPB approved the resumption of tunnel work in September of that year. The TBTA advertised for bids to construct the Brooklyn toll plaza in May 1946. Because of objections to
8680-464: The U.S. saw large road building projects in major urban areas. Electronic toll collection, first introduced in the 1980s, reduces operating costs by removing toll collectors from roads. Tolled express lanes, by which certain lanes of a freeway are designated "toll only", increases revenue by allowing a free-to-use highway to collect revenue by allowing drivers to bypass traffic jams by paying a toll. The E-ZPass system, compatible with many state systems,
8835-556: The US Army held a public hearing to solicit opinions on the bridge plan. To solidify their opposition to the bridge plans, 17 civic groups formed a committee, and the Municipal Art Society criticized the proposed bridge as an act of "vandalism" toward the city's public parks. Opponents claimed that the bridge would block naval traffic, a suggestion that La Guardia and Moses refuted. The Department of War ultimately declined to endorse
8990-547: The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the Gowanus Expressway, and the Battery Tunnel. A large volume of tunnel drivers also used the garage on the Manhattan side, so in 1965, plans were made to expand the garage. The expanded garage, which was completed in 1968, had 2,126 spots. The city also built a new 278-spot garage nearby for short-term parking. In 1957, workers performing maintenance on the tunnel observed that
9145-727: The West Side Elevated Highway south to the Battery with a ramp from the southbound highway leading directly into the tunnel. The Battery Park Underpass would be built between the West Side Highway and the FDR Drive. As a result, the approaches to the tunnel would only need to connect to the west side of the Battery, and traffic accessing the North River piers on the West Side would not be interrupted by tunnel traffic. However, this
9300-422: The West Side Highway to Interstate Highway standards . Although the project was canceled in 1985, the I-478 designation still exists and is contiguous with the entirety of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel. However, I-478 is not posted on any public signage. Under an agreement with Verizon Wireless , the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel received cellular service in 1995. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was closed completely after
9455-449: The West Side Highway was closed to traffic south of Canal Street , some 30 blocks north of the tunnel portal, and part of the highway had been destroyed during the attacks. Consequently, officials feared that traffic in the tunnel would be backed up at least 40 blocks if the highway was reopened. As a result, work started on a temporary roadway leading from the highway to the tunnel. The northbound tube, which reopened in March 2002,
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#17330854281629610-399: The band Running Wild (band) has song called Men in Black. The song tells about a UFO sighting and the arrival of the Men In Black and the covering up of the sighting. The 1997 science-fiction film Men In Black , starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones , was loosely based on The Men in Black comic book series created by Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers . Cunningham got
9765-435: The beltways around some larger cities ( tangenziali ) which are not part of a thoroughfare motorway, and the Autostrada A2 between Salerno and Reggio di Calabria which is operated by the government-owned ANAS . Both are toll free. On Italian motorways, the toll applies to almost all motorways not managed by Anas . The collection of motorway tolls, from a tariff point of view, is managed mainly in two ways: either through
9920-486: The brand I-Pass in Illinois ) is accepted on almost all toll roads. Similar systems include SunPass in Florida , FasTrak in California , Good to Go in Washington state , and ExpressToll in Colorado . The systems use a small radio transponder mounted in or on a customer's vehicle to deduct toll fares from a pre-paid account as the vehicle passes through the toll barrier. This reduces manpower at toll booths and increases traffic flow and fuel efficiency by reducing
10075-461: The centre of the city tolled. In the United States, as states looked for ways to construct new freeways without federal funding again, to raise revenue for continued road maintenance, and to control congestion, new toll road construction saw significant increases during the first two decades of the 21st century. Spurred on by two innovations, the electronic toll collection system, and the advent of high-occupancy and express lane tolls , many areas of
10230-448: The city $ 57 million (equivalent to $ 971 million in 2023) for the tunnel project later that month. Ole Singstad , the chief engineer of the New York City Tunnel Authority, was commissioned to design the tunnel. As a cost-saving measure, the Tunnel Authority briefly considered constructing the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel by digging a trench under the East River and then covering it up. In mid-1940, 400 Brooklyn residents living in
10385-406: The city, and so the city government proposed offering lower parking rates compared to privately-owned garages. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was slated to be connected with several parkways and highways on either side, which were built in tandem with the tunnel. On the Brooklyn side, the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway was under construction, providing a connector to the tunnel from the north. Although it
10540-423: The construction the proposed tunnel was estimated to cost $ 60 million (equivalent to $ 968 million in 2023), assuming that the tunnels were 31 feet (9.4 m) in diameter with 21-foot (6.4 m) roadways and a 13.5-foot (4.1 m) clearance. In October 1933, the Board of Estimate approved funding for the tunnel in the city's capital outlay budget for 1934. Two months later, the Board of Estimate approved
10695-524: The cost of retiling the tunnels, which cost a combined $ 30 million (equivalent to $ 35.9 million in 2023), because of the ongoing transit crisis at the time. On September 28, 2023, an 18-wheel tractor entered the Brooklyn-bound tunnel, traveling the wrong way to Manhattan, and got stuck inside the tunnel, backing up traffic for several hours. As of August 6, 2023, drivers pay $ 11.19 per car or $ 4.71 per motorcycle for tolls by mail/non-NYCSC E-Z Pass. E-ZPass users with transponders issued by
10850-417: The demolition of Castle Clinton, but preservationists who opposed Moses's proposed action asked federal judge to grant an injunction to prevent demolition. Even though Moses initially had the injunction dismissed, the federal government later designated the castle a US historic monument, which prohibited him from demolishing the castle. The tunnel project would also require demolishing two acres (0.81 ha) of
11005-410: The distance travelled. Motorway barriers are arranged along the route (however not at every junction), at which the user pays a fixed sum, depending only on the class of the vehicle. The user can therefore travel along sections of the motorway without paying any toll as the barriers may not be present on the section travelled. Road tolls were levied traditionally for a specific access (e.g. city) or for
11160-460: The end of the month, the WPB ordered a halt to all construction work on the tunnel's Manhattan end as well. Due to opposition over potentially firing the sandhogs, they were allowed to continue working until a final review of the WPB's action was conducted. At the time, the bores from Manhattan and Brooklyn were in various stages of completion. By September 1944, the war was winding down and Mayor La Guardia
11315-406: The entrance and exit from the motorways, there are lanes dedicated to the collection of a ticket (on entry) and the delivery of the ticket with simultaneous payment (on exit) and other lanes where, during transit without the need to stop, an electronic toll system present in the vehicles records the data and debits the toll, generally into the bank account previously communicated by the customer, to
11470-619: The event includes the first quarter collected at its toll booths. The first major deployment of an RFID electronic toll collection system in the United States was on the Dallas North Tollway in 1989 by Amtech (see TollTag ). The Amtech RFID technology used on the Dallas North Tollway was originally developed at Sandia Labs for use in tagging and tracking livestock. In the same year, the Telepass active transponder RFID system
11625-402: The expenses by introducing a toll. It was followed by Greece, which made users pay for the network of motorways around and between its cities in 1927. Later in the 1950s and 1960s, France, Spain, and Portugal started to build motorways largely with the aid of concessions, allowing rapid development of this infrastructure without massive state debts. Since then, road tolls have been introduced in
11780-535: The first US motor roads, the Long Island Motor Parkway (which opened on October 10, 1908) was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt II, the great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt . The road was closed in 1938 when it was taken over by the state of New York in lieu of back taxes. The first toll road in St. Petersburg appeared in the 2000s. The Western High-Speed Diameter (WHSD) is a multilane motorway running from
11935-506: The first built in the world, connecting Milan to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore , and now parts of the Autostrada A8 and Autostrada A9 , was devised by Piero Puricelli and was inaugurated in 1924. Piero Puricelli, a civil engineer and entrepreneur, received the first authorization to build a public-utility fast road in 1921, and completed the construction (one lane in each direction) between 1924 and 1926. Piero Puricelli decided to cover
12090-452: The garage opened in 1950, it had 1,050 spaces across seven levels, which were constructed at a cost of $ 3.5 million (equivalent to $ 35.2 million in 2023). The parking facility was expanded in 1965–1968 due to its popularity among motorists. The garage was the city's first publicly owned parking lot. The tunnel carries 28 express bus routes that connect Manhattan with Brooklyn or Staten Island . The MTA Bus Company operates
12245-461: The highway the first all-automated toll highway in the world. A bill is mailed monthly for usage of the 407. Lower charges are levied on frequent 407 users who carry electronic transponders in their vehicles. The approach has not been without controversy: In 2003 the 407 ETR settled a class action with a refund to users. Throughout most of the East Coast of the United States, E-ZPass (operated under
12400-405: The highway. In some cases, the ticket displays the toll to be paid on exit. Upon exit, the driver must pay the amount listed for the given exit. Should the ticket be lost, a driver must typically pay the maximum amount possible for travel on that highway. Short toll roads with no intermediate entries or exits may have only one toll plaza at one end, with motorists travelling in either direction paying
12555-705: The hybrid systems they adopted during the late 20th century. These include the Massachusetts Turnpike , one of the oldest American toll roads, which went all-electronic in 2016, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike , America's oldest toll freeway, which went all-electronic in 2020, along with the Illinois Tollway , which both accelerated their transitions to such due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Turnpike trusts were established in England and Wales from about 1706 in response to
12710-459: The late 1950s, toll road construction in the U.S. slowed down considerably, as the federal government now provided the bulk of funding to construct new freeways, and regulations required that such Interstate highways be free from tolls. Many older toll roads were added to the Interstate System under a grandfather clause that allowed tolls to continue to be collected on toll roads that predated
12865-408: The leakage was excessive and that Singstad's caulking method had been replaced because that method was actually the cause of the leak. Workers from both sides continued working on the tunnel, mining caverns until the tubes from each side connected with each other. In July 1947, the eastern tube for future northbound traffic was the first to be holed-through, with workers from each side shaking hands as
13020-425: The line: "Three men in black said, 'Don't report this.'" Their 1983 song "Take Me Away", about the singer's desire to leave Earth with "good guy" aliens, has the line: "The men in black, their lips are sealed." In 1979, British punk rock and new wave rock band The Stranglers recorded a song entitled "Meninblack" for their album The Raven , released that year. In 1981, their concept album The Gospel According to
13175-400: The mainline toll plazas (toll barriers). It is also possible for motorists to enter an 'open toll road' after one toll barrier and exit before the next one, thus travelling on the toll road toll-free. Most open toll roads have ramp tolls or partial access junctions to prevent this practice, known in the U.S. as " shunpiking ". With a closed toll system, vehicles collect a ticket when entering
13330-523: The maintenance and improvement of most of the main roads in England and Wales, which were used to distribute agricultural and industrial goods economically. The tolls were a source of revenue for road building and maintenance, paid for by road users and not from general taxation. The turnpike trusts were gradually abolished from the 1870s. Most trusts improved existing roads, but some new roads, usually only short stretches, were also built. Thomas Telford 's Holyhead road followed Watling Street from London but
13485-461: The majority of the EU member states. In the United States, prior to the introduction of the Interstate Highway System and the large federal grants supplied to states to build it, many states constructed their first freeways by floating bonds backed by toll revenues. The first major fully grade separated toll road was the Pennsylvania Turnpike in 1940. This was followed up by other toll roads, such as
13640-455: The manager of his device. In Italy, this occurs through the Autostrade per l'Italia interchange system. The Autostrada A36 , Autostrada A59 and Autostrada A60 are exclusively free-flow. On these motorways, those who do not have the electronic toll device on board must proceed with the payment by subsequently communicating the data to the motorway manager (by telephone, online or by going to
13795-409: The median of the road). Some toll roads use a combination of the three systems. On an open toll system, all vehicles stop at various locations along the highway to pay a toll. (This is different from "open road tolling", where no vehicles stop to pay a toll.) While this may save money from the lack of need to construct toll booths at every exit, it can cause traffic congestion while traffic queues at
13950-478: The men in black have been reported by UFO researchers and enthusiasts. The "MIB" supposedly appeared throughout different moments in history. Stories about men in black inspired the science fiction comedy franchise Men in Black , and an album by the Stranglers . Folklorist James R. Lewis compares accounts of men in black with tales of people encountering Lucifer , and speculates that they can be considered
14105-539: The mid-1950s, ufologist Albert K. Bender claimed he was visited by men in dark suits who threatened and warned him not to continue investigating UFOs. He maintained that the men were secret government agents tasked with suppressing evidence of UFOs. Ufologist John Keel claimed to have had encounters with MIB and referred to them as " demonic supernaturals" with "dark skin and/or 'exotic' facial features." According to ufologist Jerome Clark , reports of men in black represent "experiences" that "don't seem to have occurred in
14260-465: The most heavily used roads were repaired with money raised from tolls by pavage grants. Widespread toll roads sometimes restricted traffic so much, by their high tolls, that they interfered with trade and cheap transportation needed to alleviate local famines or shortages. Tolls were used in the Holy Roman Empire in the 14th and 15th centuries. After significant road construction undertaken by
14415-423: The motorways subject to toll payment must only proceed at a maximum speed of 30 kilometres per hour (20 mph) without the need to stop. The amount is directly proportional to the distance travelled by the vehicle, the coefficient of its class and a variable coefficient from motorway to motorway, called the kilometre rate. Unlike the closed motorway system, in the open system, the road user does not pay based on
14570-544: The need for better roads than the few and poorly-maintained tracks then available. Turnpike trusts were set up by individual Acts of Parliament , with powers to collect road tolls to repay loans for building, improving, and maintaining the principal roads in Britain . At their peak, in the 1830s, over 1,000 trusts administered around 30,000 miles (48,000 km) of turnpike road in England and Wales, taking tolls at almost 8,000 toll-gates. The trusts were ultimately responsible for
14725-409: The need for complete stops to pay tolls at these locations. By designing a toll gate specifically for electronic collection, it is possible to carry out open-road tolling, where the customer does not need to slow at all when passing through the toll gate. The U.S. state of Texas is using a system that has no toll booths. Drivers without a TollTag have their license plate photographed automatically and
14880-619: The northeastern United States, the InterCounty Connector ( Maryland Route 200 ) was partially opened to traffic in February 2011, and the final segment was completed in November 2014. The first section of another all-electronic toll road, the Triangle Expressway , opened at the beginning of 2012 in North Carolina. Some toll roads are managed under such systems as the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) system. Private companies build
15035-399: The offices dedicated to payment). The closed motorway system is applied to most Italian motorways. It requires the driver of the vehicle to collect a special ticket at the entrance to the motorway and pay the amount due upon exit. If equipped with an electronic toll system the two procedures are completely automatic and the driver on the detection lanes located at the entrances and exits from
15190-503: The original interstate system funding. Houston's outer beltway of interconnected toll roads began in 1983, and many states followed over the last two decades of the 20th century adding new toll roads, including the tollway system around Orlando, Florida , Colorado's E-470 , and Georgia State Route 400 . London, in an effort to reduce traffic within the city, instituted the London congestion charge in 2003, effectively making all roads within
15345-587: The proposed Manhattan ventilation building's design, the TBTA changed the plans so that the tower would look like a granite monument rather than a simple ventilation tower. Moses directed the tunnel be finished with a different method for finishing the tunnel walls. This resulted in leaking, and, according to Moses biographer Robert Caro , the TBTA fixed the leaks by using a design almost identical to Singstad's original. Singstad later claimed that Smillie had caused "excessive" leakage by not using Singstad's experimental caulking design to prevent leaks. Smillie denied that
15500-587: The public, and so the City Council Committee on State Legislation did not approve the plan. In response, Moses changed the Brooklyn–Battery Bridge plans to include landscaping work at the Battery. La Guardia believed that if this revised plan were passed, Ickes would finally allocate a PWA grant to the bridge project. On March 28, the City Council voted to approve the bridge project, with 19 members in favor and six opposed. Two days later, both chambers of
15655-563: The registered owner will receive a monthly bill, at a higher rate than those vehicles with TollTags. A similar variation of automatic collection is the Toll Roads in Orange County, CA, US, wherein all entry or collection points are equipped with high-speed cameras which read license plates and users will have 7 calendar days to pay online using their plate number or else set up an account for automatic debits. The first all-electronic toll road in
15810-520: The restoration of Battery Park, which reopened in 1952 after a 12-year shutdown. The tubes were designed for two lanes in each direction. This was changed in 1956, when the Brooklyn-bound western tube was changed to handle bidirectional traffic during morning rush hours, owing to heavy rush-hour traffic congestion. A northbound high-occupancy vehicle lane (HOV lane) was later added during the morning rush hours. It led from Staten Island to Manhattan via
15965-641: The roads and are given a limited franchise. Ownership is transferred to the government when the franchise expires. This type of arrangement is prevalent in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines . The BOT system is a fairly new concept that is becoming more popular in the United States, with California , Delaware , Florida , Illinois , Indiana , Mississippi , Texas , and Virginia already building and operating toll roads under this scheme. Pennsylvania , Massachusetts , New Jersey , and Tennessee are also considering
16120-413: The same day. At the time, the Brooklyn Eagle described the Battery Tunnel as "the nation's largest, most modern underwater vehicular tunnel", which took three minutes to traverse from end to end. The Eagle also estimated that the tunnel cost $ 736 per inch ($ 290/cm) (equivalent to $ 7,394 per inch ($ 2,911/cm) in 2023) that was built. With a cost of $ 80 million (equivalent to $ 804 million in 2023),
16275-425: The same year, asked for another $ 2 million (equivalent to $ 21.4 million in 2023). In February 1948, the RFC agreed to extend another $ 28 million (equivalent to $ 284 million in 2023) toward the completion of the tunnel. By mid-1948, the tunnel was 70 percent complete, despite material shortages and cost overruns, and was expected to open to traffic in early 1950. Work on the tunnel progressed, and
16430-547: The second plan. However, in July, the War Department also rejected the second plan, since the new plan would also pose a wartime hazard. Advocates for the bridge called the rejection a "setback to business". They also discounted the decision as hypocritical since numerous other bridges (including the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, which stood between the proposed bridge and the Navy Yard) would also constitute wartime hazards by
16585-560: The system. Some of these such as the Connecticut Turnpike and the Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike later removed their tolls when the initial bonds were paid off. Many states, however, have maintained the tolling of these roads as a consistent source of revenue. As the Interstate Highway System approached completion during the 1980s, states began constructing toll roads again to provide new freeways which were not part of
16740-446: The tiled ceiling in the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was leaking. About 10,000 sq ft (930 m) of the 360,000 sq ft (33,000 m) of ceiling was found to have corroded. The TBTA restored the tubes' ceilings starting in 1959 at a cost of $ 250,000 (equivalent to $ 2 million in 2023). In 1971, the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was designated Interstate 478 in preparation for the " Westway " project, which would reconstruct
16895-613: The time of its opening, the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was the longest underwater vehicular tunnel in the US and the second-longest in the world, behind the Queensway tunnel under the River Mersey in the UK. The portals of each tube contain flood doors weighing 20 short tons (18 long tons; 18 t) and measuring 2 feet (0.61 m) thick, 14 feet (4.3 m) across, and 29 feet (8.8 m) tall. The tunnel
17050-515: The toll, and the cost of the toll booth operators—up to about one-third of revenue in some cases. Automated toll-paying systems help minimise both of these. Others object to paying "twice" for the same road, namely in fuel taxes and in tolls. In addition to toll roads, toll bridges and toll tunnels are also used by public authorities to generate funds to repay the cost of building the structures. Some tolls are set aside to pay for future maintenance or enhancement of infrastructure, or are applied as
17205-582: The tolls. The toll is calculated by the distance travelled on the toll road or the specific exit chosen. In the United States, for instance, the Kansas Turnpike , Ohio Turnpike , New Jersey Turnpike , most of the Indiana Toll Road , New York State Thruway , and Florida's Turnpike currently implement closed systems. The Union Toll Plaza on the Garden State Parkway was the first ever to use an automated toll collection machine. A plaque commemorating
17360-476: The tubes do not pass directly under Governors Island , that island contains a ventilation building for the tunnel. Vehicles taller than 12 feet 1 inch (3.68 m) and wider than 8 feet 6 inches (2.59 m) are prohibited from using the tubes. The tubes stretch 9,117 feet (2,779 m) from portal to portal, making them the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnels in North America. At
17515-508: The tunnel because the project could now be completed within a year. The city government then published a new financial plan in September 1938, wherein the cost of the tunnel would increase to $ 77.3 million (equivalent to $ 1.31 billion in 2023). The city would reduce its request from the PWA by $ 19.82 million (equivalent to $ 337 million in 2023) and raise that money by selling bonds instead, and it would also apply for $ 45 million (equivalent to $ 764 million in 2023) from
17670-432: The tunnel could not be finished until after the war. In October 1942, Moses recommended that tunnel work be halted completely to conserve steel and other metals that were needed for the war. At this time, the federal War Production Board (WPB) released an order to stop work on the Brooklyn end, although digging from the Manhattan side was allowed to continue because that work consisted solely of digging through solid rock. By
17825-418: The tunnel does not provide vehicular access to the island. With a length of 9,117 feet (2,779 m), it is the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnel in North America. Plans for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel date back to the 1920s. Official plans to build the tunnel were submitted in 1930 but were initially not carried out. The New York City Tunnel Authority, created in 1936, was tasked with constructing
17980-503: The tunnel was 94 percent complete by late 1949. A reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle made an unsanctioned drive between the two ends of the tunnel, noting that tiles, lighting, and a road surface had yet to be added, although the bores themselves were complete. The tubes included four fluorescent-lighting installations with a total of 5,776 bulbs. At the time, it comprised the world's largest continuous fluorescent installation in
18135-522: The tunnel was holed through, the TBTA awarded contracts for the construction of the Governors Island ventilation building. Construction on this ventilation building started in January 1949. The plans for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel also included a seven-story parking garage alongside the Manhattan portal, which broke ground in August 1948. The garage was slated to be the first publicly owned parking complex in
18290-453: The tunnel was officially renamed after former New York Governor Hugh Carey . It is operated by MTA Bridges and Tunnels as one of the MTA's nine tolled crossings. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel consists of two two-lane tubes, one in each direction. They pass underneath the East River , connecting the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan to the neighborhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn . Although
18445-566: The tunnel was since the sea level around the tunnel had risen nine inches (23 cm) since its opening in 1951, and the portals were located on very low land to begin with. The MTA subsequently began testing inflatable dams at the tunnel's portals. In October 2017, a pair of 25-short-ton (23 t; 22-long-ton) floodgates were installed on the Manhattan-side openings of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel. The Manhattan floodgates were supposed to be accompanied by
18600-498: The tunnel's right-of-way were evicted. On the Manhattan side, a large part of Little Syria , a mostly Christian Syrian / Lebanese neighborhood centered around Washington Street , was razed to create the entrance ramps for the tunnel. Many of the shops and residents of Little Syria later moved to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. The city ultimately spent $ 4 million (equivalent to $ 68.1 million in 2023) on land acquisition. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel's groundbreaking ceremony
18755-492: The tunnel's portal, predicted that they would save 35 minutes a day and $ 1 million (equivalent to $ 10 million in 2023) a year by driving through the tunnel. Within the first five and a half hours of its opening, 10,563 motorists had paid a toll to use the tunnel. Within the first day, 40,000 motorists used the tunnel, and, at that rate, it was estimated that the tunnel might see 14 million vehicles per year, 40 percent more than originally estimated. This
18910-467: The tunnel. After unsuccessful attempts to secure federal funds, New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses proposed a Brooklyn–Battery Bridge. However, the public opposed the bridge plan, and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) rejected the plan several times out of concern that the bridge would impede shipping access to the Brooklyn Navy Yard . This prompted city officials to reconsider plans for
19065-416: The tunnel. It was subsequently flooded after a severe storm surge . The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel reopened on November 13 following a cleanup process that included the removal of an estimated 86 million US gallons (330 × 10 ^ L; 72 × 10 ^ imp gal) of water. It was the last New York City river crossing to reopen. The flooding resulting from Hurricane Sandy demonstrated how floodprone
19220-425: The user deposits money in a machine which opens the gate once the correct toll has been paid. To cut costs and minimise time delay, many tolls are collected with electronic toll collection equipment which automatically communicates with a toll payer's transponder or uses automatic number-plate recognition to charge drivers by debiting their accounts. Criticisms of toll roads include the time taken to stop and pay
19375-409: The ventilation system as being so efficient that the ventilation towers could blow 25,000 short tons (23,000 t; 22,000 long tons) of clean air into the tunnel every hour. The system consists of 53 fans that each had a diameter of eight feet (2.4 m). At the Manhattan end, a 2,126-space parking garage sits above the approach to the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel from the West Side Highway . When
19530-468: The ventilation towers at either end might not pull in sufficient air. The tunnels would be designed to carry a maximum of 15 million vehicles per year, but it was projected that only nine million would use the tunnels during their first year of operation and that the tunnels would not reach their full capacity for another 16 years. The cost of the project had increased to $ 70 million (equivalent to $ 1.17 billion in 2023), and La Guardia wanted
19685-496: The world and was the first crossing in the city to have fluorescent lights. The strips of clay tiles on the tubes' ceilings were advertised as the US's longest continuous uses of clay tiles. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel opened to traffic on May 25, 1950, with a ceremony officiated by Mayor William O'Dwyer . Part of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, along Hicks Street from the Battery Tunnel north to Atlantic Avenue, opened
19840-471: The world of consensus reality ." Historian Aaron Gulyas wrote, "During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, UFO conspiracy theorists would incorporate the MIB into their increasingly complex and paranoid visions." Keel has argued that some MIB encounters could be explained as entirely mundane events perpetuated through folklore. In his 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies , he describes a late-night outing in 1967, where he
19995-491: Was able to garner support for the bridge from influential city and state politicians, including four of five borough presidents, Mayor La Guardia, and US Senator Robert F. Wagner . In early March 1939, the New York City Planning Commission endorsed plans for the Battery Bridge, and a bill for the bridge was moved to a vote in the state legislature. The bill was proposed for a vote in the City Council, but this
20150-535: Was approved in 1949. Eventually, the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was also slated to connect to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to Staten Island . However, the Battery Park Underpass was not expected to be completed until 1952, and the FDR Drive extension would take even longer to be completed. Additionally, although a direct ramp from the Brooklyn-bound tunnel to the northbound Brooklyn–Queens Expressway
20305-403: Was awarded to Mason Hangar in October of the same year. A contest for designing the Governors Island ventilation building was also held, and the contract was ultimately given to the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White . The last tunneling project, a contract to dig in either direction from Governors Island until the tubes connected to each other, was advertised in December 1941. The tunnel
20460-486: Was blocked due to concerns that the bridge's connection to the East River Drive would not be able to accommodate future traffic volumes. The American Institute of Architects asked that the city reconsider the bridge, as it would obstruct the dramatic view of the Manhattan skyline , reduce the Battery to minuscule size, and destroy the Great New York Aquarium at Castle Clinton . There was significant opposition from
20615-457: Was built to provide a robust transport link between Britain and Ireland and had a toll house every few miles. In the 20th century, road tolls were introduced in Europe to finance the construction of motorway networks and specific transport infrastructure such as bridges and tunnels. Italy was the first country in the world to build motorways reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only. The Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"),
20770-469: Was depicted as the men in black 's headquarters in the Men in Black movie franchise. The Governors Island ventilation structure, designed by McKim, Mead & White , is an octagonal building located over the midpoint of the tunnel's route, at its lowest point. According to the MTA, the ventilation buildings can completely replace the tunnel's air every 90 seconds. During construction, tunnel engineers touted
20925-780: Was exceptional in creating a largely new route beyond Shrewsbury , and especially beyond Llangollen . Built in the early 19th century, with many toll booths along its length, most of it is now the A5 . In the modern day, one major toll road is the M6 Toll , relieving traffic congestion on the M6 in Birmingham. A few notable bridges and tunnels continue as toll roads including the Dartford Crossing and Mersey Gateway bridge. Some cities in Canada had toll roads in
21080-536: Was expected to expedite cargo deliveries between these areas, thereby reviving Brooklyn's declining cargo industry. The route between Hamilton Avenue and the West Side Highway was determined to be the cheapest route that could be constructed. Although preliminary borings were set to start in February 1937, USACE officers on Governors Island opposed the placement of a ventilation tunnel there. The Tunnel Authority let contracts for borings in April 1938. The US Army , which held
21235-490: Was first proposed by Brooklyn Borough president James J. Byrne in 1926. However, this plan initially did not receive support. Albert Goldman, the New York City Commissioner of Plant and Structures, brought up the plan again in January 1929. In February 1930, the city publicized plans for a six-lane vehicular tunnel from West Street, Manhattan, to Hamilton Avenue, Brooklyn. At the time, ferry service along that path
21390-451: Was implemented on the WHSD. The system was designed for automatic calculation of the driving distance of a vehicle equipped with a transponder. The system does not require constructing toll plazas at each entrance to or exit from the highway. Transponders mounted on vehicles are read by signal receivers installed at the entrance and exit ramps. In Italy the only toll roads are the autostrade (Italian for motorways ). Major exceptions are
21545-481: Was in spite of the fact that traffic speeds were limited to 40 mph (64 km/h), which reduced throughput. The 1,050-spot garage above the tunnel's northern portal opened a little more than a month after the tunnel opened. During the Battery Tunnel's first year of operation, the tunnel grossed nearly $ 5.5 million (equivalent to $ 55.3 million in 2023) in toll revenues, and, according to Caro, exceeded its 15-million-annual-vehicle capacity. Another analysis by
21700-416: Was introduced across Italy. Several US states now use mobile tolling platforms to facilitate use of payment via smartphones. Highway 407 in the province of Ontario , Canada, has no toll booths, and instead reads a transponder mounted on the windshields of each vehicle using the road (the rear licence plates of vehicles lacking a transponder are photographed when they enter and exit the highway). This made
21855-430: Was not the case for traffic from Brooklyn, which would have to go through a traffic light before accessing the ramp for the elevated highway. The tunnel-boring project consisted of digging two separate bores from each end. Bids for digging the tunnel's shafts from the Brooklyn side were advertised and let the same month. Contracts for boring the tunnels from the Manhattan side were opened in May 1941. The Manhattan contract
22010-511: Was officially renamed after former Governor Hugh Carey in 2012 since he had lived in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel is owned and operated by the TBTA's successor MTA Bridges and Tunnels , an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Until 2017, the agency collected tolls at a tollbooth on the Brooklyn side. The tollbooths have been demolished and replaced with electronic toll gantries on
22165-536: Was originally commissioned by the New York City Tunnel Authority, whose chief engineer Ole Singstad created the tunnel's original designs. Halfway through construction, the Tunnel Authority was merged into the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), whose chief engineer Ralph Smillie took over the design process. The "Battery" in the tunnel's name refers to an artillery battery originally located at that site during New York City 's earliest days. The tunnel
22320-451: Was originally expected for completion by 1944. La Guardia had promised that, during World War II , the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel would be given priority status over other construction projects due to its importance to the Brooklyn economy. However, the Battery Tunnel project was not deemed a high-importance destination for steel, so the tunnel's priority status for the receipt of steel was revoked in February 1942. Although digging work continued,
22475-472: Was petitioning the US government to allow the manufacture of washers , nuts , and screws for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel construction effort. The federal government gave its permission the next month. During the war, the tunnel shafts had flooded, so they had to be drained first before construction could continue. In mid-1945, after the war ended, the Triborough Bridge Authority was merged with
22630-446: Was planned, construction was being delayed due to the difficulty of evicting tenants within the path of the ramp. Moreover, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge could not be financed, let alone started, until the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was completed. Due to extra costs caused by delays and striking sandhogs, the authority petitioned the RFC for $ 14 million (equivalent to $ 150 million in 2023) in funds in August 1947, and, in December of
22785-662: Was proposed by the New York Board of Trade and Transportation in 1925 in response to growing truck traffic congestion in Lower Manhattan . The tunnel would have been located between the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge . A tunnel that specifically connected the Battery in Manhattan with Red Hook in Brooklyn, passing underneath the East River and Governors Island south of both the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges,
22940-407: Was revisited. Around this time, Roosevelt's administration was considering loosening PWA requirements and lowering interest rates so that the Battery Tunnel could qualify for these funds. By November, La Guardia was arranging to obtain financing for the tunnel, even if it had to come from private sources. After a meeting with La Guardia, RFC chair Jones announced that there were no obstacles to granting
23095-543: Was set to receive $ 60 million (equivalent to $ 1.05 billion in 2023) in funds for the Brooklyn–Manhattan tunnel. The same month, city officials hired temporary workers to survey sites for the proposed tunnel so that they could create a report for the PWA application. Civic groups and Brooklyn politicians petitioned the city to commence construction immediately so traffic congestion could be reduced. However, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had stipulated that PWA funding only be given to projects that could be finished within
23250-469: Was slow and unreliable. Real-estate speculators believed that land prices along Hamilton Avenue would appreciate as a result of the tunnel's construction and that freight shipments could be delivered to Manhattan faster. The tunnel proposal also entailed widening Hamilton Avenue to 200 feet (61 m) and building a large bridge over the Gowanus Canal , south of the proposed tunnel's entrance. In May 1930,
23405-452: Was substantially complete by December 1948, the expressway could not open until the tunnel was complete. On the Manhattan side, the southernmost section of the West Side Elevated Highway, which connected to the Battery and the future tunnel, opened in November 1948. An extension of the East River Drive (by now renamed the FDR Drive) to the future Battery Park Underpass and Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel
23560-399: Was supposed to be held on October 8, 1940, with President Roosevelt in attendance. At the time, the president was in the final weeks of his reelection campaign for the 1940 United States presidential election , and he was expected to campaign at several places around New York City. The groundbreaking was ultimately pushed back to October 28. At the ceremony, Roosevelt extolled the benefits of
23715-567: Was taken for an MIB while searching for a phone to call a tow truck. In his article "Gray Barker: My Friend, the Myth-Maker," John C. Sherwood claims that, in the late 1960s, at age 18, he cooperated when Gray Barker urged him to develop a hoax—which Barker subsequently published—about what Barker called "blackmen", three mysterious UFO inhabitants who silenced Sherwood's pseudonymous identity, "Dr. Richard H. Pratt." The 1976 Blue Öyster Cult song "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)" contains
23870-400: Was the Battery Park Underpass on the Manhattan side, which opened in April 1950. Two months later, officials opened a ramp on the Brooklyn side, which led from the southbound tunnel lanes to the northbound Brooklyn–Queens Expressway. The Battery Park Underpass was connected to the FDR Drive elevated viaduct, and thus to the FDR Drive, in May 1954. The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel project also entailed
24025-405: Was the last crossing into Manhattan to reopen. In 2010, New York State legislators voted to rename the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel after former Governor Hugh Carey . The tunnel was officially renamed the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel on October 22, 2012. Less than a week after the tunnel was officially renamed, it was closed in preparation for Hurricane Sandy , marking the first-ever weather-related-closure for
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