<P> The Holland Tunnel is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey . It consists of a pair of tubes with 29.5 - foot (9.0 m) diameters, running roughly parallel to each other and 15 feet (4.6 m) apart underneath the Hudson River . The exteriors of each tube are composed of a series of cast iron rings, which themselves comprise 14 curved steel pieces, each of which is 6 feet (1.8 m) long . The steel rings, in turn, are covered by a 19 - inch - thick (48 cm) layer of concrete . Each tube provides a 20 - foot (6.1 m) roadway with two lanes and 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m) of vertical clearance . The north tube is 8,558 feet (2,608 m) between portals, while the south tube is slightly shorter, at 8,371 feet (2,551 m). If each tube's immediate approach roads are included, the north tube is 9,210 feet (2,807 m) long and the south tube 9,275 feet (2,827 m) long . </P> <P> Both tubes' underwater sections are 5,410 feet (1,650 m) long and are situated in the silt beneath the river . The lowest point of the roadways are about 93 feet (28.3 m) below mean high water, and the lowest point of the tunnel ceiling is about 72 feet (21.9 m) below mean high water . The tubes descend at a maximum grade of 4.06% and ascend at a grade of up to 3.8% . The tubes stretch an additional 1,000 feet (300 m) from the eastern shoreline to the New York portals, and 500 feet (150 m) from the western shoreline to the New Jersey portals . These sections of the tunnel are more rectangular in shape, since they were built as open cuts that were later covered over . The walls and ceiling are furnished with glazed ceramic tiles, which were originally engineered to minimize staining . The majority of the tiles are white, but there is a two - tile - high band of yellow - orange tiles at the bottom of each tube's walls, as well as two - tile - high band of blue tiles on the top . </P> <P> The northern tube, which carries westbound traffic, originates at Broome Street in Manhattan between Varick and Hudson Streets; it continues to 14th Street east of Marin Boulevard in Jersey City . The southern tube, for eastbound traffic, originates at 12th Street east of Marin Boulevard, and surfaces at the Holland Tunnel Rotary in Manhattan . The entrance and exit ramps to and from each portal are lined with granite and are 30 feet (9.1 m) wide . Although the two tubes' underwater sections are parallel, the tubes' portals on either side are located two blocks away from each other, in order to reduce congestion on each side . The Holland Tunnel's tubes initially contained a road surface made of Belgian blocks and concrete, but this has since been replaced with asphalt in 1955 . Each tube contains a catwalk on its left (inner) side, raised 4 feet (1.2 m) above the roadway . Five emergency - exit cross-passages connect the two tubes' inner catwalks . When the Holland Tunnel opened, the catwalk was equipped with police booths and a telephone system, stationed at intervals of 250 feet (76 m). </P> <P> The amount of traffic going through the Holland Tunnel has remained steady despite tight restrictions on eastbound traffic in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks, including a ban on commercial traffic entering New York City put in place after an August 2004 threat . Aside from a sharp decline immediately following the September 11 attacks, the number of vehicles using the Holland Tunnel in either direction daily has steadily declined from a peak of 103,020 daily vehicles in 1999 to 89,792 vehicles in 2016 . As of 2017, the eastbound direction of the Holland Tunnel was used by 14,871,543 vehicles annually . </P>

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