No one can forget the sight of floodwaters from Superstorm Sandy pouring into the Queens Midtown Tunnel. Water as high as three feet breached the tops of toll booths and washed directly into the tunnel’s entrances, and the flooding shut down the tunnel for days. Now years later, a system is in place to make sure something like that doesn’t…
What to Know
- Work to restore and upgrade New York City's Hugh L. Carey and Queens Midtown tunnels has wrapped up 6 years after being damaged by Sandy.
- The tunnels now have 50,000-pound steel floodgates to protect them from floods as well as energy-efficient lights and cashless tolling.
- Restoring and modernizing the tunnels cost more than $550 million.
Work to restore and upgrade New York City's Hugh L. Carey and Queens Midtown tunnels has wrapped up six years after they were badly damaged during Superstorm Sandy.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other elected officials are celebrating the completion of the work Friday in Queens.
The tunnels now have 50,000-pound steel floodgates to protect them from floods, as well as new energy-efficient lights and cashless tolling technology.
During the 2012 storm, saltwater flooded the two tunnels, badly damaging their electrical and lighting systems.
Restoring and modernizing the tunnels cost more than $550 million. The federal government kicked in more than $400 million for the work, which was completed nine months ahead of schedule.
