NYC Car Rental and the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel

The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel opened in 1950 and at the time was the longest continuous underwater tunnel for vehicles in North America. Today, you can still drive through the longest vehicular tunnel with your New York City car rental, because it still has that title.

Dig deep

Work on the tunnel, which you can drive through with your New York City car rental today, began in 1940. In the early years building was slow because there was a materials shortage during World War II. The Triborough Bridge Authority was a large part of the project, helping to build roads and fencing for the tunnel.

A trip underneath

The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel is a toll road which crosses under the East River. It will connect your New York City car rental between Brooklyn and Manhattan. It nearly passes under, although it does not provide access to, Governors Island. It is made up of twin tubes that carry a total of 4 lanes of traffic. The air in the tunnel is changed every one and a half minutes.

Why travel here?

The tunnel connects your New York City car rental between two great boroughs in New York. If you are traveling to Brooklyn, the communities of South Brooklyn (Red Hook, Columbia Terrace, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and Boerum Hill) are beautiful brownstone communities surrounded by shops and restaurants. On the Manhattan side, Battery Park is a great attraction to visit with your New York City car rental.

Play all day

Battery Park is at the Southern tip of Manhattan with beautiful views of the Harbor, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. This is one of New York's oldest open public spaces, with 23 acres of waterfront land. In the summer, there are beautiful promenades and other activities, such as open-air concerts. The land where Battery Park now stands is where the Hudson and East Rivers meet. Dutch settlers landed here in 1623 and built a battery of cannon to defend the new city, which they called New Amsterdam. Come down with your New York City car rental and experience this part of early American history.

Battery Park has extensive gardens on the property. The Upper Promenade's gardens are now called the Gardens of Remembrance as a tribute to the survivors of September 11, as well as a place of solace and renewal.

The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel is the longest continuous tunnel in North America for traffic, which you can visit with your New York City car rental. It will connect you to great locations in both Brooklyn and Manhattan such as shopping, Battery Park, and other nearby attractions.