Queens-Midtown Tunnel

Infobox_Bridge
bridge_name= Queens-Midtown Tunnel


caption= Queens Midtown Tunnel, NYC Portal
official_name=
also_known_as=
carries= 4 lanes of I-495
crosses= East River
locale= Manhattan, New York and Queens, New York
maint= Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority
id=
design=
mainspan=
length=1,955 m (6,414 ft)
width=
clearance=12 feet 1 inch (3.7 m)
below=
traffic= 83,900 [cite web | url=https://www.nysdot.gov/portal/page/portal/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/appendixctdr.pdf | accessdate=2007-05-05 | title=2005 NYSDOT Traffic Data Report: AADT Values for Select Toll Facilities]
open= November 15, 1940
closed=
toll= $5.00 (both directions per car in cash); discount available with E-ZPass
map_cue=
map_

map_text=
map_width=
lat=
long= The Queens-Midtown Tunnel (sometimes simply Midtown Tunnel) is a toll road in New York City. It crosses under the East River and connects the Borough of Queens (at the Long Island City terminus of I-495, the Long Island Expressway) with the Borough of Manhattan (between the major crosstown thoroughfares of East 34th Street and East 42nd Street in the Midtown Manhattan area). Designed by Ole Singstad, it was opened to traffic in 1940. The tunnel consists of twin tubes carrying an aggregate of four traffic lanes, and is 1,955 m (6,414 ft) long. It once carried New York State Route 24.

One interesting feature is the apartment houses that overlook the toll plaza.

From March 16, 2008, the crossing charge for a two-axle passenger vehicle is $5.00 charged in each direction, with an 85¢ discount for E-ZPass users. The crossing charge for a motorcycle is $2.25 charged in each direction, with a discount to $1.81 for E-ZPass users.

The tunnel is owned by the City of New York and operated by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York).

In the 1997 feature film "Men in Black", Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith star in a scene in which their Ford LTD car overturns to ride on the ceiling of the tunnel.

The tunnel is closed to traffic one night each spring to allow for the annual Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Animal Walk. Several nights before the circus opens at Madison Square Garden, the elephants march into Manhattan and down 34th Street to the arena. In 2007, the circus opened on Saturday, March 31 and the Animal Walk took place at approximately midnight on Tuesday, March 27. While this event is a much anticipated annual tradition for some, in recent years it has attracted organizations protesting the treatment of the circus animals.

References

Crossings navbox
structure = Crossings
place = East River
bridge = Queens-Midtown Tunnel
bridge signs =
upstream = Steinway Tunnel
upstream signs = NYCS-bull-small|7
downstream = East River Tunnels
downstream signs =