New! – BHRA’s Narrows Tunnel Plan – (subway to SI and freight service btw NJ
and L.I.) – also BHRA’s critique of the PANYNJ’s plan. (1.3mb PDF)New! – Original construction plans for the “Narrows Tunnel” – possibly a
shovel ready project (5mb PDF)One of the most frequent questions asked during tours of the Atlantic Avenue
Tunnel is: “what other forgotten tunnels exist in the NYC area?” Most of
the tunnels that lay dormant and unused are short spurs created by rail
projects that were begun, then abandoned before completion. The
Verrazano Rail Tunnel would have connected Brooklyn’s rail and subway
system with Staten Island’s Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) railroad branch and
the Staten Island Railway. On this page you will find information relating to this unfinished rail line.Note: many of these files are large in size (1m up to 5m), so they may load slowly if you do not have a fast internet connection.
Once images are loaded, click on image to view as full size. Then use
your browser’s zoom tool to adjust size to suit.
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| They Called The 1923 Narrows Tunnel: ‘Hope And A Hole In The Ground’
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Above is the first page of the ca 1964 article
on the Narrows Tunnel. Despite what it says, it was supposed to be directly connected
to the subway system. |
Above is the second page of the ca 1964 article
on the Narrows Tunnel. Note: photo above shows existing shaft cap at
foot of 68th street. |
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The writer of the above 1964 article, was unaware that in 1933 the scope of
the tunnel project was expanded. This modification changed
the project from a two track rail tunnel, to a 4 track tunnel. Two
of the four tubes were designated for electrified rail (passenger and
freight ) and two tubes were designed for a subway connection to the
Fourth Avenue line (the R train).Notice the article says a total of nearly $4.3 million was spent on the Narrows Tunnel project, with approx. $1.2 million going into the construction of the Brooklyn and Staten Island shafts. Where is the balance of $ 3.1 million?
That was a huge amount of money back in 1923. It certainly didn’t all
go for design work- back then, that would have only been in the
$100,000 range. Possibly there’s more tunnel than is thought to exist. |
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“The Subway That Was Never Built”
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According to the newsletter (at left), the Narrows tunnel was just the “tip of the iceberg”.
The full plan called for a “loop tunnel” system under NY harbor, consisting of the Narrows Tunnel, the 4th Avenue Brooklyn subway, and another tunnel going directly from Staten Island to Manhattan, with stops on the Jersey side of the harbor, and even stations at Liberty and Ellis
islands.
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1922 Board of Estimate Report: “The Narrows Tunnel”
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| Cover |
Brooklyn Shaft cross-section view |
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| Brooklyn Shaft Plan View (shows existing Brooklyn shaft location) |
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1929 Land Use Map Desk Atlas “E. Belcher
Hyde Map” Vol. 3, Sect 15- 19.The proposed subway line connecting Brooklyn with Staten Island was NYC
Board of Transportation Route # 122-123, October 25, 1933. The
Narrows tunnel connections to the 4th Avenue subway are clear, but
incorrectly marked as “vehicular tunnel”. |
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The Fourth Avenue subway connection (Staten Island bound tube) can be seen under 67th
Street. The Manhattan bound tube is visible under Senator Street.
They merge just west of 3rd Avenue. |
The intermediate tunnel between the Shore Road Shaft and the 4th Avenue subway connection. |
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The Brooklyn Shaft still exists today at the foot of 68th Street, between Shore Road and
the Belt Parkway. |
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How They Would Have Built It: Board of Estimate Report on Two Underwater Construction Methods (circa 1925).
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Shield Method
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Trench Method |
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Scholarly Writings On The Narrows Tunnel:
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| Information on the political and economic history behind the Narrows Tunnel can be found in D.A. Johnson’s book “Planning the Great Metropolis: The 1929 Regional Plan of New York And Its Environs”. (see pages 202- 212)
Many of these pages are available for viewing free of charge on Google Book |
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| Links to related material on other websites |
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| A Tunnel From SI To Brooklyn |
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge |
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| Also more writings by Bob on this topic can be found on the “The Brooklyn Grade Crossing Elimination Project” website |
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The Narrows Rail Tunnel (The Brooklyn-Richmond Freight & Passenger Tunnel)