T he Edgewater Tunnel is a former New York Susquehanna & Western railroad tunnel through Bergen Hill, the Hudson Palisades. Originally opened in 1894, it was built to gain access to the Hudson River waterfront. About 200 feet underground and about 1 mile long, its western cut and portal is located in the Fairview Cemetery in Fairview and the eastern portal is located in Edgewater. The right of way was taken out of use in 1985 and the track was removed seven years later. A pipeline now runs through the tunnel between the Hess facilities in Bogota and Edgewater. A power cable, part of the Hudson Project, runs from a Bergen Generating Station substation through the tunnel and under the Hudson to Midtown Manhattan and was completed in 2013. The branch line remains in partial use between Undercliff Junction in Ridgefield, and the bridge at US Route 1 and 9 in Fairview east of Route 1 and 9, but trackage through the cut and tunnel was removed in October of 1992. The right-of-way itself has not been abandoned. During the 1980s and early 1990s, planners and government 6 officials realized that alternative transportation systems needed to be put in place to relieve increasing congestion along the Hudson Waterfront. It was decided that the most efficient and cost-effective system to meet the growing demands of the area would be a light rail system. When a new transportation network was proposed, it was suggested that the tunnel be used for what became the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, but that idea was ultimately rejected in favor of the Weehawken Tunnel. The Hudson Waterfront/River Road corridor has seen extensive residential and commercial development and subsequent congestion since that time, and further studies of a more comprehensive transportation strategy have been conducted. The Hole Story on the Fairview Tunnel I grew up, and still live in Fairview, just about 1000 feet from the Fairview portal, and this tunnel has always held a special place for me. As kids we used to go down there to cool off in the summer, as the air was very cool from the rock walls, which were about 200 feet underground. It is just under one mile in length, making it the longest
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