The plan is also supported by many regional planning organizations and is promoted
primarily by the New York City Economic
Development Corporation (EDC), which calls it the Cross Harbor
Freight Movement Project. The EDC has a comprehensive review of this
project on its site and is moving forward with an Environmental Impact Stataement
(EIS).
The Trunnel concept is primarily focused on relieving autotruck traffic into and out of
Manhattan and the southwest corner of Long Island (the Brooklyn-Manhattan-
Williamsburgh bridges and
Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel* (I-478) tunnel bottleneck), both
for the benefit of that area and for the motorist facing interminable delays
transiting NYC. It is an easy engineering feat (vis-à-vis the Chunnel).
* - on Steve Anderson's fantastic
NYCRoads site (to which I commend you).
The Trunnel would directly link two economically powerful areas of two major states -
the New York City metropolitan area, and northeastern New Jersey; there would be a
great enhancement of employment and commerce and existing (and significant)
commutation would be greatly eased.
This is an old idea, not at all unique to me, the Pennsylvania Railroad proposed it in
1893 and again in 1903, and it resurfaced in the 1920s and again in late 1941.
This is a project whose time has come and which would show vision and practicality.
Goods which now take all day to get around the Manhattan bottleneck would arrive in
minutes. Let's all get behnd it (all obviously would not include the
New York Cross Harbor Railroad, the rail-float operations of which would instantly
cease on the opening of the tunnel, unless they acquired the operating rights, a move
that would probably be hotly contested by the New York &
Atlantic Railway, which runs all freight on Long Island on trackage leased from
the LIRR.
To further develop the concept, oil and natural gas pipelines might be incorporated in
the project, allowing direct transfer of these resources between northern New Jersey,
a major refinery and storage area, and Long Island, a major consumer.
MoveNY claims the Trunnel would take nearly 15 million tons of freight from area roads
and bridges annually.
(06 Jun 03)
Perhaps it should be explained that modern TOFC (trailer on flat car) and high-cube
cars and stack trains can not fit through the old, existing rail tunnels from the
Pennsylvania Railroad portals in North Bergen, New Jersey, under the North (so-called
Hudson) River, under Manhattan and through Pennsylvania Station, under the East
River, and into Sunnyside Yard in Sunnyside (Long Island City), Queens, on Long
Island. The LIRR Bay Ridge Branch (on the RoW of the former
New York Connecting Railroad and now operated by the New York & Atlantic) runs
from the 65th Street Yard in Bay Ridge up across Brooklyn and Queens, to Fresh Pond
Junction, where it interchanges with the LIRR and CSX, Providence & Worcester, and
Canadian Pacific, and into Sunnyside Yard (another LIRR, and Amtrak, interchange)
and also up across the Hell Gate Bridge to Oak Point Yard in the Bronx, the latter
service operated by the former Conrail as CSX and CP and also interchanging with the
Delaware & Hudson.
(06 Jun 03)
{preliminary - to be continued}
For examples of the latest in tunnelling equipment, methods, and projects, visit the site of the Herrenknecht companies.
(This is a referral only; not a recommendation.)
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S. Berliner, III
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2003
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