Morton Street Tunnel: The Turbulent History of the Uptown Hudson Tubes
The quest to create a fixed crossing beneath the Hudson River was a saga of ambition, engineering failure, and eventual triumph. Spanning over three decades of intermittent effort, the project that began as the Morton Street Tunnel eventually evolved into the Uptown Hudson Tubes, providing the first non-waterborne link between Manhattan and New Jersey.
The Haskin Attempt: Early Ambitions and Tragedy
Plans for a Hudson River crossing date back to the 1850s, but significant action only began in 1873. Engineer Dewitt Clinton Haskin formed the Hudson Tunnel Company, incorporating in New York on May 22 and New Jersey on May 26. With an initial capital stock authorization of $7 million, Haskin envisioned a tube running 5,400 feet (1,600 m) from 15th Street in Jersey City to Morton Street in Manhattan.
Construction began in November 1874. The original design called for a single tube 26 feet wide by 24 feet high, intended to carry trains from five different railroad companies using specialized low-steam locomotives. However, the project was quickly derailed by a court injunction from the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. Work was halted when the shaft was only 20 feet deep, and did not resume until September 1879. By then, plans had shifted to a pair of smaller tunnels, each 16 feet wide by 18 feet high.
The construction method of the era relied on compressed air to hold back water-laden silt rather than a tunneling shield. Haskin believed the silt could support the tunnel's form until a 2.5-foot-thick brick lining was installed. This approach proved fatal; on July 21, 1880, an overpressure blowout caused an air lock jam, trapping workers and killing 20 people. It took six months to recover the bodies.
Despite a takeover by a new Hudson River Tunnel Company in 1881, financial instability plagued the project. Work stopped and started between 1882 and 1883 due to insufficient funds, leaving approximately 1,500 feet of the northern tube and 600 feet of the southern tube completed.
The British Attempt and the Greathead Shield
In 1888, a British company took over the project, employing consulting engineer James Henry Greathead and contractors S. Pearson & Son. Following another blowout in 1890, the team abandoned Haskin's method in favor of shield tunneling. They utilized the "Greathead Shield," a pneumatic device that allowed them to extend the tunnel by another 1,600 feet.
To maintain air pressure, the contractors ensured a silt layer of at least 15 feet remained above the tube. Despite these technical advancements, the project again succumbed to financial ruin. By 1892, work stopped completely. The northern tube had reached 4,000 feet from New Jersey and 150 feet from New York, leaving a gap of 1,500 feet. The southern tube was significantly less advanced. In 1898, the company was foreclosed upon, and bondholders took possession.
The McAdoo Era: Completion and Innovation
The project found new life in 1901 when lawyer William Gibbs McAdoo learned of the unfinished works. Partnering with engineer Charles M. Jacobs—who had worked on New York's first underwater tunnel in 1894—McAdoo formed the New York and Jersey Tunnel Company in 1902 with $8.5 million in capital.
McAdoo shifted the tunnel's purpose to carry trolleys or rapid transit, which required smaller, less expensive tubes. As ferry congestion worsened at the Cortlandt Street Ferry Depot, the vision expanded into a network of lines. The Morton Street Tunnel was renamed the Uptown Hudson Tubes, designed to complement a separate set of downtown tunnels.
Chief engineer Charles M. Jacobs introduced a modern construction method using tubular cast iron plating and a mechanically-jacked tunneling shield. This shield featured a pressurized air lock to prevent the blowouts that had plagued previous attempts. Air pressure was maintained at 38 pounds per square inch (260 kPa). In a first for the industry, battery-operated electric locomotives were used to cart excavated mud to the surface, sometimes using kerosene torches to bake the silt for easier removal.
Because of the existing work, the northern tube was nearly finished within a year. However, workers encountered a hard reef on the Manhattan side, requiring the use of dynamite. On March 11, 1904, the northern tube was finally connected, celebrated by 20 men walking the entire length of the tunnel.
Franchise and Final Integration
By late 1904, the company secured rights to build a subway line through Midtown Manhattan, running under Christopher Street and Sixth Avenue to 33rd Street. They also gained perpetual rights for an east-west crosstown line under Christopher and Ninth Streets, though only 250 feet of this tube was ever excavated.
In 1905, the Hudson Companies were incorporated to finish the tubes and the Sixth Avenue line with $21 million in capital. Finally, in December 1906, the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Company (H&M) was formed to operate the entire system. Digging for the Uptown Hudson Tubes was officially completed in 1907, ending 33 years of intermittent struggle. The final phase involved replacing brick with concrete lining and installing tracks and electric third rails.
| Era/Leader | Key Method | Outcome | Primary Obstacle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haskin (1870s-80s) | Compressed Air / Brick | Partial completion; 20 deaths | Legal injunctions & blowouts |
| British/Pearson (1888-92) | Greathead Shield | Extended tubes; gap remained | Lack of funding |
| McAdoo (1902-07) | Cast Iron / Jacked Shield | Full completion | Hard rock reef (Manhattan) |
Key Facts
- Total Duration: 33 years of intermittent construction (1874–1907).
- First Link: The Uptown Hudson Tubes were the first non-waterborne connection between Manhattan and New Jersey.
- Fatalities: A major blowout in 1880 killed 20 workers.
- Innovation: The McAdoo project was the first to use machines rather than manual labor to remove excavated silt.
- Technical Spec: The final construction used cast iron plating and maintained air pressure at 38 psi.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the first attempt at the tunnel fail?
The first attempt by Dewitt Clinton Haskin failed due to a combination of a legal injunction from the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and a catastrophic overpressure blowout in 1880 that killed 20 workers.
What is a tunneling shield and why was it important?
A tunneling shield is a protective structure pushed through the earth to support the tunnel walls during excavation. Its introduction by the British company and later refinement by McAdoo prevented the dangerous blowouts associated with using only compressed air.
How did William Gibbs McAdoo change the project?
McAdoo shifted the tunnel's purpose to rapid transit/trolleys, which allowed for smaller, cheaper tubes. He also introduced mechanized silt removal and tubular cast iron plating to ensure structural integrity and safety.
What happened to the proposed crosstown line?
Although the company received perpetual rights to build an east-west line under Christopher and Ninth Streets, only about 250 feet were excavated; this partly completed tube still exists today.
When did the tunnel finally open for testing?
Digging was completed in 1907, and test runs of trains without passengers began in late 1907 after the interior was finished with concrete lining and electric third rails.