63rd Street Tunnel
63rd Street Tunnel | |
|---|---|
 Tunnel vents in Central Park | |
| Coordinates | 40°46′N 73°58′W / 40.76°N 73.96°W |
| Carries | 2 tracks of the IND 63rd Street Line (F and <F>) of the New York City Subway; 2 trackways for future use by the LIRR |
| Crosses | East River |
| Locale | Manhattan and Queens, New York City |
| Maintained by | Metropolitan Transportation Authority |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 3,140 feet (960 m) between shafts[1] |
| Width | 38.5 feet (11.7 m)[1] |
| History | |
| Opened | October 29, 1989[2] |
| Location | |
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The 63rd Street Tunnel currently carries the IND 63rd Street Line of the New York City Subway under the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens. It is the newest of the East River tunnels, and the newest river crossing in the New York metropolitan area. Construction of the 63rd Street Tunnel began on November 24, 1969 and the tunnel was holed through beneath Roosevelt Island on October 10, 1972[3][4] However, completion of the tunnel was delayed by New York City's fiscal crisis of the 1970s. The tunnel was placed into partial service in 1989.
The final section of the 63rd Street Tunnel, which cost $645 million to complete and connected what had been a service dead-ending at the 21st Street Station in Queensbridge to the IND Queens Boulevard Line, was finished in 2000 and first used by trains during the off-peak hours while signal work was performed in the 53rd Street Tunnel.[5][6]The tunnel connection was placed into permanent service with the start of V train and the shifting of the route of the F train on December 17, 2001.[7]
Unlike previous tunnels that were bored under the riverbed, the 63rd Street Tunnel's river portions used the immersed tube method. Trenches were built in the river bed, and prefabricated concrete sections of tunnel were floated into position and then sunk into the trenches. Other portions of the tunnel were built using cut-and-cover construction or rock tunneling. The tunnel also serves the Roosevelt Island station, and the Lexington Avenue station, which will serve as a transfer point to the BMT Broadway Line (current plans are to extend the Q train) when the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway opens for service.
The tunnel has two levels. Currently, the F and <F> service uses the two tracks on the upper level, connecting the IND Queens Boulevard Line in Queens to the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan via the IND 63rd Street Line. There is also an unused connection to the BMT 63rd Street Line, west of the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station. The two trackways on the lower level are currently unused, but are designed for the Long Island Rail Road East Side Access project, which will bring LIRR commuter trains to Grand Central Terminal by 2015.
References
- ^ a b Guide to Civil Engineering Projects In and Around New York City (2nd ed.). Metropolitan Section, American Society of Civil Engineers. 2009. pp. 62–63.
- ^ Lorch, Donatella (October 29, 1989). "The 'Subway to Nowhere' Now Goes Somewhere". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
- ^ Burks, Edward C. (November 25, 1969). "Mayor and Governor Unite to Start Transit Tube". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
- ^ "Governor Rockefeller and Mayor Lindsay Attend 'Holing Through' of 63d St. Tunnel". The New York Times. October 11, 1972. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
- ^ Saulny, Susan (November 28, 2000). "Another Tunnel Offers Breathing Room for E and F Trains". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
- ^ Kennedy, Randy (November 28, 2001). "New Subway Line To Start". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
- ^ Kershaw, Sarah (December 17, 2001). "V Train Begins Service Today, Giving Queens Commuters Another Option". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
Crossings of the East River | ||||
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40.771728°N -73.982963°E / 40.771728°N 73.982963°W Coordinates: longitude degrees < 0 with hemisphere flag
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