Holland Tunnel


Considered a notable engineering achievement because it solved the problem of ventilating a long vehicular tunnel, it has 84 powerful fans capable of replacing air in the tunnel every 90 seconds. The polluted air is drawn off through a duct in the roof of the tube with the aid of suction fans. The system was severely tested on May 13, 1949, when a truck loaded with poisonous and flammable carbon disulfide caught fire in the tunnel and exploded. Despite the destruction of 23 trucks and the ruin of 500 feet of tunnel ceiling, no fatalities resulted.