By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media

For Lincoln Tunnel commuters, a vehicle stuck in the tunnel is the traffic alert that sends their blood in to a slow boil.

If you’re a driver or bus commuter, your eyes cannot roll far enough into your forehead when “stuck in the tunnel” comes up in a traffic alert or report.

The reason can range from the routine, such as a break-down, to the critical, a crash, to the stupid, such as the driver of a truck not realizing the tunnel has 13-feet clearance.

The result is the same, tempers, tail lights and time sucked out of your day. Based on agency tweets, it happens more than you’d think.

How does the Port Authority fish the offending vehicle out of the tube? There’s a real procedure for that.

Don't Edit

(Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Step one: Find it.

Sounds simple, right? It’s not. There are three tubes that average about 1.5 miles long each, making it a little bit more complicated than it sounds.

Back in the mid-twentieth century, police rode in little railcars along a catwalk inside the tunnel to direct traffic and spot trouble. That ended when we learned how bad air pollution from cars was.

The previous alert in the South tube of the Lincoln Tunnel to NY due to a disabled vehicle is no longer in effect. There may be residual delays. [61] — Lincoln Tunnel (@PANYNJ_LT) August 6, 2018

There are several ways Port Authority officials find out that have a disabled vehicle in the tunnel, before traffic gets jammed up, said Steve Coleman, a Port Authority spokesman.

Don't Edit

You're on camera.

Cameras are the first tool used to find the problem. The tunnel is loaded with them and operations staff systematically check each cameras when they see traffic start to back-up to find the cause, Coleman said. They also determine if it is a car, bus or truck, so the proper sized tow truck can be sent to pluck or push it out.

Tunnel workers also may find the disabled vehicle first, or the driver may report it with more detailed information the camera may not give, such as why they’re stuck, Coleman said.

Don't Edit

(Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Step two: The size of problems matter.

The bigger the vehicle is determines how bad the problem is, what it will take to get the vehicle out of the tunnel and how long a delay will be.



If a disabled vehicle is close to the toll booths, a Tunnel and Bridge Agent will be sent to its location to access the problem and get the right equipment sent to the scene, Coleman said. That can include fire engines and ambulances if needed.

Two @NJTRANSIT buses involved in an accident in the Lincoln Tunnel have been evacuated and EMS is on scene responding to injured passengers. No critical injuries have been reported at this time. Lincoln Tunnel remains operational with delays. — Lincoln Tunnel (@PANYNJ_LT) May 18, 2018

Naturally, crashes require the biggest response and take the longest time to investigate and clear up.

Don't Edit

To shut it down or not?

One of the biggest judgement calls is whether it is faster for a rescue truck to go with the flow of traffic or if it must travel against the flow of traffic to reach the problem vehicle, Coleman said.

That call is made by the Tour Manager, he said.

“An “against traffic response” requires a Port Authority employee to be at the disabled vehicle’s location and to hold traffic to allow a wrecker to respond, Coleman said. “A “with traffic response” is exactly like it sounds.

"We send a wrecker into the tunnel going in the same direction of normal traffic,” he said.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

(Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Step three: Unclog the tunnel.

This is another step that’s easier said than done. The type of disabled vehicle determines how easily it can be cleared from the tunnel. Cars are the easiest, because a tow truck with a large bumper, similar to the ones shown above, can push it out to a safe area, Coleman said.

The exception is a four-wheel drive vehicle that can’t be put in neutral. It has has to be taken out on a flatbed truck to avoid damaging the transmission, he said.

Naturally, the biggest vehicles, trucks and buses are most difficult to remove, especially if they have air brakes.

A heavy duty wrecker will be called to the scene with two tunnel and bridge agents.

Don't Edit

The Lincoln Tunnel to NY is experiencing a delay of 15 minutes due to an over-height vehicle. The South Tube to NY is closed for operational activity. [13] — Lincoln Tunnel (@PANYNJ_LT) June 18, 2018

Don't Edit

Air brake antics.

If the disabled vehicle has air brakes, tunnel agents will determine if it has enough air pressure to be towed out of the tunnel, Coleman said.

What’s the big deal about air brakes?

The air pressure keeps the brake shoes away from the brakes, so if there is no air pressure, the brakes lock-up and the truck or bus can’t be moved, Coleman said. One way around that problem is for the wrecker to pump enough air pressure to release the brakes of the disabled vehicle. Then it can be towed out with a chain, he said.

A bridge and tunnel agent will be inside a disabled bus to make sure it’s under proper control, he said.

If a driver applies the brakes, it can significantly yank back on the wrecker and possibly damage the rear end,” Coleman said.

And then there will be two broken down vehicles clogging the tunnel.

“Tunnel and Bridge Agents undergo a lot of training for this and must be familiar with where the (air brake) connection points are for different models of buses,” he said.

Don't Edit

(Kathryn Brenzel | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

More traffic, more problems.

This is how traffic backs up when there is a crash inside the tunnel. The Lincoln Tunnel is the Hudson River crossing that carries the second highest volume of traffic after the George Washington Bridge, according to Port Authority statistics.

As of June, the Lincoln Tunnel carried 9.32 million vehicles, compared to 24.99 million that took the GWB. In 2017, almost 20 million vehicles used the Lincoln Tunnel and 51 million used the GWB.

Don't Edit

Keep the bus lane clear, too.

Yes, we have to state the obvious, the Xclusive Bus Lane to the Lincoln is only for buses and the Port Authority has to police that, too.

Port Authority police enforce the "buses only" restriction from 6 a.m, to 10 a.m. on one westbound lane of Route 495 that is used as the Xclusive Bus Lane to the Lincoln Tunnel. Cars that wander into the bus lane are another bane for commuters for the delays it causes and how can you miss the big buses only sign and lane full of buses?

Drivers who try to enter or drive a “non-bus” in the XBL in most instances are issued summonses and diverted to Route 495 westbound, said Lenis Rodrigues, a Port Authority spokeswoman. Usually this happens after the toll plaza for the Lincoln Tunnel and Route 495 exit from the New Jersey Turnpike, she said. On the morning of August 7, several summonses for unauthorized vehicles in the XBL were issued.

The XBL will continue to operate during the $90 million, 2.5 year project to rebuild a bridge that carries Route 495 over Routes 1&9 and Paterson Plank Road that will close two lanes of the highway starting on the evening of August 17.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

(Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Read more:

Major closure on route to Lincoln Tunnel coming, here's what you need to know.

10 projects that will complicate travel in N.J. in 2018.

Lincoln Tunnel bus crash injures 31.



Cops deliver baby outside Lincoln Tunnel.

Don't Edit

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

