Highway Under the Hudson

Robert W. Jackson is an urban planner and historian, and previously served as a historian for the Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service, where he documented historic bridges and highways in Texas, Iowa and Pennsylvania. He holds a PhD in American Civilization from University of Texas, and is the author of Rails across the Mississippi: A History of the St. Louis Bridge. He currently lives in Austin, Texas.

• Introduction ? The Impetus ? Vexing Questions ? A Coal Famine ? Th e Wedding Ring ? A Controversy Acute and Personal ? Political and Petty Tampering ? Another Long and Costly Delay ? A Tempest in a Teapot ? The Sandhogs ?? The Holland Tunnel ?? One Work Complete ?? Fires, Blasts Rip Holland Tunnel ?? Built to Last Forever Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

...Jackson's work is an exemplary tale of interstate political alliances, environmental technology, and sandhog worker culture. - Michael J. Conrad (New York History) There is no comparable book on this tunnel. Highly recommended. - D. Brand (CHOICE) Highway under the Hudson tells a truly engaging story about a great engineering project....Robert Jackson has skillfully captured the political intrigue, technological challenge, and human drama associated with turning a dream into a reality. - Henry Petroski,A.S.Vesic Civil Engineering Prof.,History Prof., Duke University; author of "The Essential Engineer" Robert Jackson has given us a terrific storyreplete with important engineering challenges and men who braved the oddsand sometimes diedin building the Holland Tunnel. - Jameson W. Doig,Research Professor in Government, Dartmouth College; author of "Empire on the Hudson" Robert Jackson has written a scholarly work. It explores human motivation, design ingenuity, dedication, sacrifice, and, ultimately, the imperfection of our human vision. - Dario A. Gasparini,Professor of Civil Engineering, Case Western Reserve University Written in a clear, engaging style, Highway under the Hudson exposes the complex social, political, and technological forces that converged in the construction of the Holland Tunnel. Equally adept at unraveling political machinations, visualizing and describing engineering techniques, portraying the dangerous working conditions of the "sandhogs" who dug the tunnel, and evoking the personalities of those who planned, financed, and engineered the project, Robert W. Jackson contributes an essential chapter in the history of New York City's infrastructure - Jeffrey L. Meikle,Professor of American Studies, University of Texas at Austin Robert Jackson spent three-and-a-half years compiling a complete history on [the Holland Tunnel]...[he] delves into not only the history of this famous tunnel but the drama behind its construction, the people involved and the unique engineering that took place. - Linnea Covington (Our Town) When the Holland Tunnel opened in 1927, it was the worlds longest and largest vehicular tunnel and was distinguished by an innovative ventilation system. Until then, vehicles were ferried across the Hudson and were subject to the vicissitudes of ice and fog. In Highway under the Hudson: A History of the Holland Tunnel,Robert W. Jackson explores the tortured bistate bureaucratic and political prelude to the construction of the 1.6-mile underwater corridor, which, by the way, was named not for the regions Dutch roots, but for the projects first chief engineer, Clifford Holland of Brooklyn, who died at 41 of heart failure in a sanitarium while undergoing a tonsillectomy. (The New York Times) His vivid account features a colorful cast of characters...An important work chronicling a largely unsung American engineering feat...it remains a compelling story that serves as a dramatic reminder that government can accomplish great things that the private sector cannot. (Library Journal) Jackson's history of the tunnel is a meticulous study of politics and technology, drawn from manuscript collections and extensive public documents. (Journal of American History) Jackson has excavated a vast amount of information, bringing this authoritative history of a ground-breaking tunnel to life (Publishers Weekly) Historian Jackson provides an excellent history of the Holland Tunnel's politics and planning, 1906-20; its construction, 1920-27; and its operations in the 1930s-40s. He describes in detail the self-serving politics and corruption, particularly of New Jersey's tunnel commissioners in the 1910s-20s... The volume includes photographs of politicians, engineers, and construction, but no tables. The references, bibliography, and index are excellent. There is no comparable book on this tunnel. Summing Up: Highly recommended. (Choice Reviews)