60th Street Tunnel
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| 60th Street Tunnel | |
|---|---|
| Carries | 2 tracks of the N, R and W trains of the New York City Subway |
| Crosses | East River |
| Locale | Manhattan, New York and Queens, New York |
| Maintained by | Metropolitan Transportation Authority |
| Opening date | April 1, 1920 |
The 60th Street Tunnel carries the N, R, and W trains of the New York City Subway under the East River and Roosevelt Island between Manhattan and Queens.
The tunnel was built as part of the Dual Contracts period of New York City subway construction. The original plan provided for trackage over the Queensboro Bridge, which spans the East River from about 59th Street in Manhattan to Queens Plaza in Queens. However, it was determined that the bridge would not be able to handle the additional weight of subway trains; thus, the tunnel was constructed to the north.
The tunnel opened to revenue service on Sunday, August 1, 1920 at 2am with a holiday schedule, the same day as the Montague Street Tunnel. Regular service began Monday, August 2, 1920. The 2 new tunnels allowed passengers to make an 18 mile trip from Coney Island, through Manhattan, to Queens for a 5 cent fare. The original construction cost was $5,617,008.97.
Originally, the tunnel only connected the BMT Broadway Line to the Queensboro Plaza station, where trains terminated, and passengers could transfer to BMT elevated trains to continue along either the BMT Astoria Line or the IRT Flushing Line (both of which at this point handled only the narrower elevated trains). After 1949, service patterns were changed so that all BMT trains ran over the Astoria Line and all IRT trains on the Flushing Line. In the 1960s, the BMT 60th Street Tunnel Connection opened, allowing Broadway trains to connect to the local tracks of the IND Queens Boulevard Line at Queens Plaza. This track connection is currently utilized by the R train; the N and W continue to use the connection to Queensboro Plaza.
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