While the tunnel is closed to traffic, workers will carry out major repairs to components that were damaged by flooding from the 2012 storm. The Port Authority, owner of the 1.6-mile-long tunnel, has stated that the work would include repair or replacement. mechanical, electrical, communication and plumbing systems damaged by salt left by the flood.
Many architectural and structural elements of the tunnel infrastructure will also be repaired. These include security steps and walls, curb drainage, structural steel, wall tiles, granite block retaining walls, pump rooms, drains, cables and fire detection and suppression systems, the agency said.
The Port Authority, which estimated that rehabilitation of the tunnel would cost $364 million, increased tolls at Holland and five other crossings between New Jersey and the city on January 1. The undiscounted toll increased from $1 to $17 per car.
Sandy inflicted similar damage to a 112-year-old railway tunnel under the Hudson. The owner of this tunnel, Amtrak, has warned for years that lingering corrosion from flooding will eventually render the tunnel unusable. One of the goals of the current project to build a $16.1 billion rail tunnel under the river, known as the Gateway, is to provide an alternative route for trains before Amtrak closes one existing railway tubes for rehabilitation.
