Car Rental New York City and the Queens Midtown Tunnel

If you’re planning on traveling from the busy island of Manhattan to the bustling borough of Queens during your upcoming New York City car rental vacation, Prestige Car Rental encourages you to utilize the East River Queens-Midtown Tunnel crossing! This exciting feat of engineering genius is an important part of the New York City roadways, providing visitors with easy access to surrounding neighborhoods and local businesses. Built between 1936 and 1940, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel was designed to help relieve heavy traffic flows across the East River Bridges and river ferries. Today the Queens-Midtown Tunnel is a vital New York City transit route used to connect two of the largest NYC boroughs.

Building the Queens Midtown Tunnel

Inspired by the first underwater vehicular tunnel, the Holland Tunnel (also in NYC), the Queens-Midtown Tunnel was designed as a twin tube crossing, providing four lanes of through traffic. (The original proposal for this Manhattan/Queens connection was actually a bridge at East 37th Street, but real estate costs and building conditions favored the construction of a tunnel.) Excavation on this project proved difficult as crews turned up vast geological variations beneath the East River, creating a costly and exhausting tunneling process. Silt and rock hampered the drilling process often creating dangerous working conditions for the underground “sandhogs”. Ground was officially broken on the Queens-Midtown Tunnel the afternoon of October 1, 1936, by then president Franklin D. Roosevelt. The tunnel’s final hole-through took place on November 8, 1939, as workers from both the Manhattan and Queens’ shoreline met beneath the East River.

Crossing the Queens-Midtown Tunnel

If you’re planning on utilizing the Queens-Midtown Tunnel during you’re upcoming New York City car rental vacation, Prestige Car Rentals recommends giving yourself plenty of traveling time. The Queens-Midtown tunnel carries approximately 80,000 vehicles a day, according to the New York State Department of Transportation, often resulting in long toll lines and extended wait periods. The current Queens-Midtown tunnel toll for New York City car rentals and other two axel vehicles is $4.50 each way, so remember to toss some extra change inside your upcoming New York City car rental. Opened in 1940, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel was the largest non-Federal project of the day, providing travelers with a quick and convenient borough crossing. President Roosevelt was the first person to drive through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel.

Design Characteristics of the Tunnel

Before you pass through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel entrance in your upcoming New York City car rental, be sure to take a good look at the area’s setup and architecture. Unlike other East River crossings, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel leaves a relatively small imprint on the surrounding neighborhoods, appearing almost out of thin air! Knitted into the very fabric of Murray Hill on the Manhattan side, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel is almost impossible to pick out amongst the attractive residential streets. If you’re approaching from the Long Island City, Queens entrance, keep an eye out for historic land markings and aged architecture – this entrance was once used as an historic entryway to the Queens Rail and Ferry Transfer Point back in the 19th century!

Designed and engineered by legendary tunnel tycoon, Ole Singstad, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel is an exceptional feat of engineering and construction. Over 13,900 tons of structural steel was used inside the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, along with 65,900 tons of cast iron lining and 120,800 cubic yards of structural concrete. Built strong, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel is well over sixty year old, providing visitors with a safe and functional East River crossing. If you would like more information concerning the upkeep and condition of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel feel free to visit the Metropolitan Transport Authority official website - http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/bandt/.