If the Holland Tunnel roadway is only 20' wide, why do the lanes appear to be narrower than 10'? Are the lanes actually only 8'6" wide each? The old Goethals was about the same width each side of the deck and I absolutely dreaded driving over it in a 6'3" wide Toyota Highlander. On the other hand, the lanes on the GWB are 8'6" each but in the same Highlander I felt like I had a bit more space.
For starters, subtract at least 4-6" from each Holland Tunnel lane for the outside edge stripe. Further subtract any space between the edge stripe and the "curb" (using that term loosely here).
There are a few reasons they don't let large trucks/buses through the Holland Tunnel. Width is one of those. Lincoln Tunnel is 1.5 feet wider.
But still, Holland Tunnel has 10 foot lanes, Lincoln has slightly wider. We have people on the forum who can confirm that (pinging Alps, who has given that 10 foot figure).
The Holland Tunnel doesn't have marked edge lines, but the full barrier line in the center takes up 18" of width. Someone else would have to confirm the actual roadway width.
8'—10' lane widths definitely aren't unheard of in the NY metro area. Some sections of the Jackie Robinson Pkwy, Bronx River Pkwy, and Queensboro Bridge have lane widths in the 8'—9' range.
The lanes on the GWB feel wider because cars in lane 2 (and lane 3 on the upper level) can move to the extreme edge of their lane when passing vehicles in the driving lane and the passing lane, since there's no curb or barrier on either side of their lane.
Quote from: cl94 on January 26, 2019, 10:05:15 PM
There are a few reasons they don't let large trucks/buses through the Holland Tunnel.
The NJT 120 is a full size bus.
It's two 10' lanes, but that's centerline to edge of curb. So they feel like 9', which at speeds of over 30 mph feel narrower than that.
I drove thru the Holland Tunnel this week and the lanes did not seem unusually narrow to me though I agree they are probably ten ft. The old Goethal's Bridge was the worst though. Passing a semi in a mid-size sedan was a challenge.
Not sure about the upper level of the GWB, but they don't seem narrow to me. They may be close to 12 ft. now since the two original divider curbs are long gone that separated the main lanes from the original two reversible middle lanes. The lower level built in the 1960s' has to be 12 ft. lanes.
Quote from: Alias the J on January 26, 2019, 09:07:46 PM
If the Holland Tunnel roadway is only 20' wide, why do the lanes appear to be narrower than 10'? Are the lanes actually only 8'6" wide each? The old Goethals was about the same width each side of the deck and I absolutely dreaded driving over it in a 6'3" wide Toyota Highlander. On the other hand, the lanes on the GWB are 8'6" each but in the same Highlander I felt like I had a bit more space.
10-foot lanes with no shoulders is a -very- narrow roadway, and feels very narrow even in a medium sized car.
Quote from: SignBridge on January 29, 2019, 09:39:02 PM
I drove thru the Holland Tunnel this week and the lanes did not seem unusually narrow to me though I agree they are probably ten ft. The old Goethal's Bridge was the worst though. Passing a semi in a mid-size sedan was a challenge.
Not sure about the upper level of the GWB, but they don't seem narrow to me. They may be close to 12 ft. now since the two original divider curbs are long gone that separated the main lanes from the original two reversible middle lanes. The lower level built in the 1960s' has to be 12 ft. lanes.
PANYNJ's GWB page says the roadway is 90' wide. 90'/8 lanes (upper deck) = 11'3" (11.25') each lane.