page_title: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
section_title: Interstate crossings
hierarchical_section_title: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey / History / Interstate crossings
caption_attribution_description: English: The TWA Flight Center building at John F. Kennedy International Airport, NYC. An Expressionist style concrete shell structure by Eero Saarinen. It opened in 1962 as a standalone terminal for TWA, and in 2008 was connected to JFK Terminal 5. Español: Vista del "TWA Flight Center" — Aeropuerto Internacional John F. Kennedy.
context_page_description: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized by the United States Congress. The Port Authority oversees much of the regional transportation infrastructure, including bridges, tunnels, airports, and seaports, within the geographical jurisdiction of the Port of New York and New Jersey. This 1,500-square-mile port district is generally encompassed within a 25-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. The Port Authority is headquartered at 4 World Trade Center and is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York.
  The Port Authority operates the Port Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal, which handled the third-largest volume of shipping among all ports in the United States in 2004, and the largest on the Eastern Seaboard. The Port Authority also operates six bi-state crossings: three connecting New Jersey with Manhattan, and three connecting New Jersey with Staten Island. The Port Authority Bus Terminal and the PATH rail system are also run by the Port Authority, as well as LaGuardia Airport, John F.
context_section_description: At the beginning of the 20th century, there were no road bridge or tunnel crossings between the two states. The initial tunnel crossings were completed privately by the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad in 1908 and 1909 ("Hudson Tubes"), followed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1910 ("North River Tunnels"). Under an independent agency, the Holland Tunnel was opened in 1927, with some planning and construction pre-dating the Port Authority. With the rise in automobile traffic, there was demand for more Hudson River crossings. Using its ability to issue bonds and collect revenue, the Port Authority has built and managed major infrastructure projects. Early projects included bridges across the Arthur Kill, which separates Staten Island from New Jersey. The Goethals Bridge, named after chief engineer of the Panama Canal Commission General George Washington Goethals, connected Elizabeth, New Jersey and Howland Hook, Staten Island. At the south end of Arthur Kill, the Outerbridge Crossing was built and named after the Port Authority's first chairman, Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge. Construction of both bridges was completed in 1928. The Bayonne Bridge, opened in 1931, was built across the Kill van Kull, connecting Staten Island with Bayonne, New Jersey.
  Construction began in 1927 on the George Washington Bridge, linking the northern part of Manhattan with Fort Lee, New Jersey, with Port Authority chief engineer, Othmar Ammann, overseeing the project. The bridge was completed in October 1931, ahead of schedule and well under the estimated costs. This efficiency exhibited by the Port Authority impressed President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who used this as a model in creating the Tennessee Valley Authority and other such entities.
  In 1930, the Holland Tunnel was placed under control of the Port Authority, providing significant toll revenues. During the late 1930s and early 1940s, the Lincoln Tunnel was built, connecting New Jersey and Midtown Manhattan.
  In 1962, the bankrupt Hudson & Manhattan Railroad was absorbed by the Port Authority, who reorganized it as Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) As part of the deal, the Port Authority acquired the rights to build the original World Trade Center on the site of the old Hudson Terminal, one of two terminals in Manhattan for H&M/PATH.
caption: John F. Kennedy International Airport
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