9. The Holland Tunnel Was Originally Conceived as a Bridge

New York and New Jersey jointly commissioned the land connection that would become the Holland Tunnel in 1906. However, this Hudson River crossing was originally conceptualized as a bridge. ASCE Metropolitan reports, “a bridge was not economically feasible due to the long span that would be required to cross the Hudson River, the deep foundations that would be needed to reach bedrock, and the lengthy approaches would necessitate the purchase of large amounts of real estate.”

Luckily, other bridges have been built to connect New York City and New Jersey. The George Washington Bridge, which was completed in 1931, serves as a connection between the two states in uptown Manhattan. Daily traffic, however, is lower on the George Washington bridge as only about 250,000 to 300,000 cars pass over the bridge each day.