Midotwn Tunnel

The Queens Midtown Tunnel is a toll road in New York City. It crosses under the East River and connects the Borough of Queens (at the Long Island City terminus of I-495, the Long Island Expressway) with the Borough of Manhattan (between the major crosstown thoroughfares of East 34th Street and East 42nd Street in the Midtown Manhattan area). Designed by Ole Singstad, it was opened to traffic in 1940. The tunnel consists of twin tubes carrying an aggregate of four traffic lanes, and is 6,414 feet long. It once carried New York State Route 24.

One interesting feature is the apartment houses that overlook the toll plaza.

From March 18, 2005, the crossing charge for a two-axle passenger vehicle is $4.50 charged in each direction, with a 50¢ discount for E-ZPass users. The crossing charge for a motorcycle is $2.00 charged in each direction, with a $0.25 discount for E-ZPass users.

The tunnel is owned by the City of New York and operated by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority ( New York).

In the 1997 feature film Men in Black, Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith star in a scene in which their Ford LTD car overturns to ride on the ceiling of the tunnel.

The tunnel is closed to traffic one night in March to allow for the annual Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' Animal Walk. The night before the circus opens at Madison Square Garden, the elephants and horses march into Manhattan and down 34th street to the arena. While this event is a much anticipated annual tradition for some, in recent years it has attracted organizations protesting the treatment of the circus animals.