Bergen Tunnels
{{Short description|Pair of railroad tunnels in New Jersey, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox tunnel
|name = Bergen Tunnels
|image = File:Westen portal Bergen Hill Tunnels (1876 & 1908).jpg
|image_size = 300px
|caption = Western portal (2001)
|official_name =
|also_known_as =
|line =
|system = New Jersey Transit
|location = {{ubl|Bergen Hill|Hudson Palisades|Jersey City, New Jersey}}
{{collapsed infobox section begin}}
|owner = NJ Transit
|opened =
|closed =
|map_cue =
|map_image =
|map_text =
|map_width =
|traffic = Railroad
|character = Passenger
|engineer = James Archbald
Samuel Rockwell
|construction = {{hlist|1877|1910}}
|length = {{convert|4200|ft|m}} approx.
|coordinates = {{coord|40|44|25|N|74|03|45|W|name= Bergen Tunnels|type:landmark_region:US-NJ|display=title}}
|notrack = 2 per tube
|gauge = {{Track gauge|sg|allk=on}}
|el = Overhead line
|speed =
|extra = {{Location map|USA New York City#USA New Jersey Hudson County#New Jersey
|label = Bergen Tunnels
|label_size =
|alt =
|position = bottom
|background =
|lat = 40.740278
|long = -74.0625
|mark =
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|border = none
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}}
{{collapsed infobox section end}}}}
The Bergen Tunnels are a pair of railroad tunnels with open cuts running parallel to each other under Bergen Hill in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. Originally built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W), they are used by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (NJT) trains originating or terminating at Hoboken Terminal.{{cite book |last=French |first=Kenneth |title=Railroads of Hoboken and Jersey City |series=Images of Rail |year=2002 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=R2ugCDdKZEYC|isbn=978-0-7385-0966-2 |page=125}}
Construction
File:Same as for NJ-22-18, except closer view. Photo by Jack E. Boucher, 1978. - Erie Railway, Bergen Hill Open Cut, Palisade Avenue to Tonnele Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, NJ HAER NJ,9-JERCI,6-19.tif in Jersey City in 1978. From left: the Bergen Tunnels, the Long Dock Tunnel, and the Bergen Arches.]]
Prior to construction, the Morris and Essex Railroad, a predecessor of the DL&W, used the Long Dock Tunnel, owned by the Erie Railroad, to pass under the Hudson Palisades. After issues of congestion and competition arose, the DL&W decided to build its own tunnel for what is commonly known as its Morristown Line.{{cite news| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1877/05/12/80645453.pdf| title=The New Bergen Tunnel| newspaper=New York Times| date=May 12, 1877}}{{Citation |last = Bianculli|first= Anthony J.|title = Iron Rails in the Garden State: Tales of New Jersey Railroading|publisher= Indiana University Press|year= 2008 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=oif8ddRyYMcC |isbn = 9780253351746}} Construction of the North Bergen Tunnel began in 1873; it came into service in 1877.{{cite web|url=https://bridgehunter.com/nj/hudson/north-bergen-tunnel/|title=NJT - North Bergen Tunnel|website=Bridgehunter.com|accessdate=November 13, 2017}} The South Bergen Tunnel opened in 1910,{{cite web|url=https://bridgehunter.com/nj/hudson/njt---south-bergen-tunnel/|title=NJT – South Bergen Tunnel|website=Bridgehunter.com|accessdate=November 13, 2017}} soon after a new Hoboken Terminal was inaugurated.
Both tunnels are approximately {{convert|4,200|ft|m|abbr=on}} long,{{Cite book |title= Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, North Bergen Tunnel, Through Bergen Hill from Prospect Street at Ogden Avenue to John F. Kennedy Boulevard at Beacon Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, NJ |work= HAER NJ-136 |publisher = Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey |year=|url = https://loc.gov/pictures/item/nj1773/
}}{{Cite book |title= Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, South Bergen Tunnel, Jersey City, Hudson County, NJ |work= HAER NJ-137 |publisher = Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey |url = https://loc.gov/pictures/item/nj1774/}} and have two short segments of open cut as well as ventilation shafts.
Rehabilitation
In 2001, New Jersey Transit contracted JV Merco-Obayashi for the rehabilitation of the partially brick-lined North Bergen Tunnel.{{cite web|url=http://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&PRESS_RELEASE_ID=203|title=NJ Transit to Begin Rehabilitation of Aging Bergen Tunnel in Early Summer|date= May 10, 2001|accessdate=November 13, 2017}} This included the stabilization of the two open cuts. The five ventilation shafts were stabilized and backfilled. Brick was removed so that the tunnel could be enlarged using drill-and-blast methods, following which it was relined with shotcrete. A drained membrane waterproofing system was installed before a final lining of concrete was cast-in-place.{{cite web |title = Bergen Tunnel Rehabilitation |publisher = Gall Zeidler Consultants |date = 2001 |url = http://www.gzconsultants.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2017/08/0000-Bergen-Rehab-Tunnel.pdf|accessdate =November 11, 2017}} In addition to waterproofing ceilings and walls, new electrical, signal and ventilation systems were installed as were new emergency exits. New tracks were affixed directly to a new concrete floor.{{cite web|url=http://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&PRESS_RELEASE_ID=304|title= Bergen Tunnel Construction Continues|date=August 10, 2001|accessdate=November 13, 2017}}
Historic status
The tunnels are part of New Jersey's state historic preservation office historic district, designated the Old Main Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Historic District.{{cite web |title=New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places| url= http://www.nj.gov/dep/hpo/1identify/nrsr_lists.htm |publisher=New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection-Historic Preservation Office |accessdate= October 2, 2017}} They were documented in 2001 for the Historic American Engineering Record.{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Bergen+Tunnels&sp=1&sb=&st=list&co=hh&sg=false&fi=all&op=AND&va=all&c= |title=Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey: Search Results: Bergen Tunnels |year=2001 |publisher=Library of Congress |accessdate=November 16, 2017}}
| class="wikitable sortable"
!|Survey No. !|Name (as assigned by HAER) !|Built !|Documented !|Carries !|Crosses !|Location !|County !|Coordinates |
| {{HAER|NJ-136|nj1773|short=yes}}
|D,L&W, North Bergen Tunnel |1877 |2001 |NJ Transit Hoboken Division tracks |{{coord|40|44|25|N|74|03|45|W|name=Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, North Bergen Tunnel|type:landmark_region:US-NJ}} |
| {{HAER|NJ-137|nj1774|short=yes}}
|D,L&W, South Bergen Tunnel |1911 |2001 |NJ Transit Hoboken Division tracks |{{coord|40|44|24|N|74|03|45|W|name=Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, South Bergen Tunnel|type:landmark_region:US-NJ}} |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite journal | title = The Delaware and Lackawanna Tunnel Through Bergen Hill, NJ | newspaper = Scientific American | year = 1877 | volume = 36 | issue = 21 | page = 319 | doi = 10.1038/scientificamerican05261877-319 | url = http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-delaware-and-lackawanna-tunnel/ }}
- {{cite news | title = North Bergen Tunnel | publisher = Bridgehunter | url = http://bridgehunter.com/nj/hudson/north-bergen-tunnel/}}
- {{HAER|NJ-136|nj1773|short=yes|HAER-136}} Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, North Bergen Tunnel (1877) {{coord|40|44|25|N|74|03|45|W|name=Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, North Bergen Tunnel|type:landmark_region:US-NJ}}
- {{HAER|NJ-137|nj1774|short=yes|HAER-137}}Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, South Bergen Tunnel 1911{{coord|40|44|24|N|74|03|45|W|name=Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, South Bergen Tunnel|type:landmark_region:US-NJ}}
{{New Jersey Transit Rail}}
Category:NJ Transit Rail Operations
Category:Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad tunnels
Category:Railroad tunnels in New Jersey
Category:Transportation in Jersey City, New Jersey
Category:Tunnels completed in 1877
Category:Tunnels completed in 1910