Plaque Installed as Hugh L. Carey Tunnel Officially Receives Historic Landmark Designation

By Y.M. Lowy

As previously reported by BoroPark24, the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel was recently selected to receive historic civil engineering landmark status.

The designation was made official this week as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the American Society of Civil Engineers unveiled a commemorative plaque outside the tunnel's ventilation building on the Manhattan side.

The plaque recognizes the tunnel's engineering achievements, including its construction beneath the East River and the innovative methods used to build it when it opened in 1950.

The designation honors the generations of engineers whose work created one of New York City's most important transportation links. The American Society of Civil Engineers noted that the tunnel now joins a distinguished list of engineering landmarks in the region, including the Brooklyn Bridge, the original New York City subway, the Statue of Liberty, Grand Central Terminal, and the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.

The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel is now the fourth MTA-owned property to receive landmark recognition from the engineering society.

The newly installed plaque will remain on display outside the tunnel's Manhattan ventilation building as a permanent reminder of the structure's place in New York's engineering history.

photos: Marc A. Hermann / MTA