NEW YORK—The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel is filled with 43 million gallons of water due to the massive storm surge associated with Hurricane Sandy. The tunnel is to open “soon,” but MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota was unable to give a specific timetable on Thursday.
“I bet you have never seen a tunnel look like that,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters during a tour of the tunnel officially known as the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel. Prior to the storm it served as a daily artery for 50,000 vehicles traveling between Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Two press vans were driven into the tunnel about a quarter of a mile before stopping, having reached the water. The thick smell of gasoline soaked the air, and the ground was slick with oil and sludge.
Gov. Cuomo, along with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Chuck Schumer huddled with Lhota in the tunnel for a quick briefing.
