New York and New Jersey Interstate Bridge Commission

EPISODE 307 The Holland Tunnel, connecting Manhattan with Jersey City beneath the Hudson River, is more important to daily life in New York City than people may at first think.

Before the creation of the Holland Tunnel, commuters and travelers had painfully few options if they wanted to get to and from Manhattan. And for the city's many waterfront industries, there was mostly only one option --- barges and ferries that carried cargo across the crowded Hudson River, maneuvering through an overcrowded port system which profited from the grotesque congestion.

And then along came the automobile, rapidly transforming the American way of life. How could an average motorist -- or a regular cargo truck -- get back and forth to New York City in its current chaotic state?

The new tunnel envisioned by chief engineer Clifford Milburn Holland would create a new pathway for motor vehicles, the first for such conveyances under the Hudson River.

Yet one pressing problem stood in the way of its completion. Railways and mass transit could travel through long, underground tunnels because their tracks were electrified. But automobiles produced poisonous exhaust -- carbon monoxide -- making a contained tunnel almost 100 feet underwater a deadly proposition.

The ingenious solution would ensure not only the success of the New York/New Jersey tunnel, but would change the fate of automobile transportation in the United States and around the world.

PLUS: The tragic story behind the naming of the Holland Tunnel

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