Used by over 100,000 vehicles daily to travel between New Jersey and Midtown Manhattan, the Lincoln Tunnel is one of the busiest river crossings in the world. The main entrance to the tunnel on the New Jersey side is via the Lincoln Tunnel Helix, a curving, inclined, 7-lane roadway constructed in 1937. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) is undertaking the replacement of the functionally obsolete helix. The replacement will widen lane widths, add shoulders, and allow for broader curves, improving traffic and safety conditions.

EnTech provided BIM services for the planning phase of this major project, which included the development and evaluation of three schemes for possible helix replacements, the selection of a preferred scheme by the client, and the development of conceptual design criteria.

EnTech developed a 3D structural model of the existing helix, to the 200 level of development (LOD). The model spans an area of approximately 0.7 miles, from Pleasant Avenue in Weehawken to a point south of the tunnel’s toll plaza. It includes roadways; retaining walls; bridges; bridge superstructures, substructures, and foundations; as well as select architectural and civil elements and site topography.

With the help of custom automation scripts, EnTech’s team was able to complete the model of the existing structure in less than three months, despite the large scale and considerable complexity of the structure. EnTech subsequently developed a structural BIM of the preferred replacement scheme to LOD 300, based on conceptual design drawings.