Construction on the Holland Tunnel to connect New York and
New Jersey underneath the Hudson River began in 1920 and was finished in 1927.
The tunnel was designed by Clifford M. Holland and Milton Freeman. The tunnel consisted of two tubes, each carrying
two lanes of traffic in either direction, to the tunnel could handle
approximately 1,900 vehicles an hour in either direction and spanned a distance
of 9,250 feet making it the longest underground tunnel at that time. Since automobiles release toxic gases that
need to be properly expelled from the tunnel, the need to properly ventilate
the tunnel was a primary concern.
Prior tunnels had been constructed
over the years and were ventilated through natural air vents or large fan. Before the Holland Tunnel, none had spanned
as long a distance and, hence, ventilation had never been an issue. To combat the ventilation problem of the
Holland Tunnel the engineers asked for the help of University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, Yale, and the U.S. Bureau of Mines. The U.S Bureau of Mines determined content of
the exhaust gas that would be expelled on a daily basis and Yale determined the
maximum amount of carbon monoxide that would be tolerable by humans in the
tunnel
These results were passed on to the
University of Illinois where they began the design the ventilation system. With the use of multiple researchers and a
large scale model prototype of the tunnel Illinois came up with an innovative
design. The prototype ventilation system
consisted of 84 fans with a combined 6,000 horse power. 42 fans supplied fresh
air to the tunnel and 42 expelled the harmful carbon monoxide. The fans were to
be housed in two twelve story structures at either end of the tunnel. This
approach enabled the system to replenish the air supply every 1.6 minutes.
The tunnel experienced its greatest
test in 1949 when a tanker truck carrying two tons of carbon disulfide exploded
in the tunnel. This accident exposed the
structure to temperatures over 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit and harmful gases. Fortunately, the ventilation system
continued to function permitting the tunnel to reopen within fifty-six hours.
Work Cited:
Kingery,
Alan, Rudy D. Berg, and E. H. Schillinger. Men and Ideas in Engineering; Twelve
Histories from Illinois. Urbana: Published for the College of Engineering, U of
Illinois, by the U of Illinois, 1967. Print.
Tunnel Talk:
http: //tunneltalk.com/Contact-Us.php
Bridges and
Tunnels:
http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/holland-tunnel-history.htmlhttp://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/holland-tunnel-history.html
Holland
Tunnel Ventilation System:
https://www.asme.org/about-asme/who-we-are/engineering-history/landmarks/93-holland-tunnel-ventilation-system
Holland Tunnel Picture:
http://theboweryboys.blogspot.com/2012/11/holland-tunnel-still-drying-out-turns.html
