EngineeringLength
Longest tunnel in the world
137 km
85.1 mi
- Record holder
- Delaware Aqueduct
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What to remember
About half of New York City's water arrives through a single tunnel. The Delaware Aqueduct, built between 1939 and 1945, runs for 137 km with a diameter of at least 4.1 m. It is the world's longest tunnel: the length records belong to water distribution tunnels, ahead of railway tunnels.
Its route starts on the west bank of the Hudson River, at the Rondout, Cannonsville, Neversink and Pepacton reservoirs. The water goes through the Chelsea Pump Station near Beacon, then on the east bank into the West Branch and Kensico reservoirs, before ending at Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers.
The city uses about 1.3 billion US gallons a day, or 4,900,000 m³, and the aqueduct carries roughly half of it. It is New York City's main water supply tunnel.
Related records
Sources and licences
- Value, holder and date: Wikipedia article “List of longest tunnels” (revision used 1379104625). Data from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo: Daniel Case, Photo licensed under CC BY 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons).
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