60th Street Tunnel (New York City, New York)

 tunnel, invisible

The 60th Street Tunnel carries the BMT Broadway line of the New York Subway system, which in turn carries the N Q R train services under the East River and Roosevelt Island between Mid-town Manhattan and the Queens Plaza District in 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, an investigation made following the 1907 collapse of the Quebec Bridge determined that the bridge would not be able to handle the additional weight of subway trains; thus, the tunnel was constructed to the north. Clifford Milburn Holland served as the engineer-in-charge.

The tunnel opened to revenue service on Sunday, August 1, 1920 at 2 am with a holiday schedule, the same day as the Montague Street Tunnel. Regular service began Monday, August 2, 1920. The two new tunnels allowed passengers to make an 18-mile (29 km) trip from Coney Island, through Manhattan, to Queens for a 5 cent fare. The original construction cost was $5,617,008.97.