The Park Avenue Tunnel in New York, NY carries one lane of Northbound traffic from 33rd St to 40th St. The tunnel, completed in 1834 has been in operation for over 180 years, and was previously used for various railroads.

The New York City Department of Transportation (NYDOT), Division of Bridges completed a 24 million dollar renovation of The Park Avenue Tunnel in New York City. The rehabilitation of the tunnel began in 2017, and was performed in various phases and included structural, electrical, mechanical improvements. Part of the project also included fire protection updates, along with a new drainage system consisting of new drain pipes and catch basins.

When the City of New York decided to refurbish the 186 year old tunnel, they wanted to make sure the tunnel would last another 180 years or longer. When evaluating the overall project, they felt the longevity of hot dipped galvanized steel outweighed all other options available to them in a corrosive environment. The City of New York did their due diligence in selecting hot dipped galvanizing for their project. They reached out to Tully Construction and Jennmar Corporation to look at galvanized coating as an option. They looked at case studies of painted steel versus galvanized steel, and recent structural failures with uncoated bar all weighed in their decision making process. With all the possible options available to them, they made the choice to use hot dipped galvanized lattice girders for strength and durability inside the tunnel. It was forward thinking on their part to make as many of the tunnel’s components long lasting and sustainable for many years to come.