[14][15] The main approach road on the New Jersey side is Route 495, a state highway running in a west–east direction within an open cut through Union City.

[26] New Jersey Transit operates fifty-seven interstate bus routes through the Lincoln Tunnel, as do numerous regional and long-distance companies.

[31] The XBL was suspended in March 2020 in conjunction with restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and was reinstated in September as traffic reached pre-pandemic levels.

[32] The idea for a three-tube vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, with the West Side of Manhattan, New York, was first proposed by Darwin R. James in 1923.

[53] In February 1933, Herbert Lehman, now the Governor of New York, announced that his Emergency Public Works Commission would seek a $75 million loan for the Midtown Hudson Tunnel from the RFC.

[57] The United States Department of War held a hearing about the proposed tunnel, in which it received only two complaints, both from shipping lines that were concerned about the Port Authority's intention to use "blankets" to cover the tubes.

[16]: 66  Also in July, issues arose when the City of Weehawken refused to let the Port Authority conduct blasting for the New Jersey ventilation shaft for more than 12 hours a day.

[16]: 66  After a section of the bore was completed, the sandhogs assembled segments of 14 curved metal pieces into rings that measured 31 feet in diameter and weighed 20 tons.

[16]: 69–71 The Midtown Hudson Tunnel's vehicular tube was being excavated from both ends, but the teams on the New Jersey side worked faster because the ground there was softer.

The retrofits consisted of installing ceiling panels with exhaust pipes; a roadway with air ducts; and straight retaining walls with ceramic tiles, metal police booths, and a catwalk for maintenance and emergency uses.

[92] At the same time, the two under-construction approaches on the New York side were named after Port Authority chairmen who had been important figures in the Lincoln Tunnel's construction.

[16]: 78 [102] The Port Authority devised a slogan to encourage motorists to use the tunnel, advertising it as "the Direct Way to Times Square" and erecting road signs to that effect.

[110] Previously, buses from Weehawken had to drive onto ferries to access Manhattan, but in July 1938, the Interstate Commerce Commission granted the bus companies permission to use the tunnel.

[120] At the time of the first tube's opening, the express highway ended at the toll plaza just outside the tunnel portal, leading to Boulevard East and Park Avenue.

[128] However, work on the second tube was halted the same month because New Jersey had failed to build sufficient approach roads to accommodate the extra traffic load.

[131] The six-lane "loop" road, an approach to the future express highway, opened in October 1938 and extended west to Pleasant Avenue, located at the top of the King's Bluff ledge.

[144] The Port Authority also began a study on whether local streets near the Lincoln Tunnel's existing approaches could accommodate traffic from a third tube.

[145] In February 1951, Port Authority chairman Austin J. Tobin announced that traffic across the Hudson River had increased to a point where the construction of a third tube would soon be necessary.

[146] The next month, the Port Authority commissioners gave their approval to preliminary plans for the third tube, which was expected to cost $85 million and be completed by 1957 "barring total war".

In February 1957, it started training "spotters" to look at traffic on the Manhattan side's tunnel approaches from the 35th floor of 330 West 42nd Street, located nearby.

[207] In 1966–1967, the Port Authority installed closed-circuit television systems to monitor and control the spacing of traffic in the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels.

[218] The repair work on the Lincoln Tunnel's center tube cost $2 million more than projected, and took five times as long as initially estimated, because repaving only occurred at night.

[222] After the September 11 attacks in 2001, drivers with no passengers were temporarily banned from going through the Lincoln Tunnel during weekday mornings, due to traffic gridlock that resulted from the collapse of the World Trade Center.

[226] On September 8, 1953, two armed men attempted to rob a home in South Orange, New Jersey, when they were chased off by residents, one of whom reported their car's license plate number.

A patrolman at the Lincoln Tunnel's tollbooth tried to stop the car, but the robbers shot at police, hitting a Port Authority policeman in the leg.

[231] Due to its status as one of the few connections between Manhattan and New Jersey, the Lincoln Tunnel is considered to be one of the most high-risk terrorist target sites in the United States.

[237] The city briefly held up plans for the Lincoln Tunnel's southernmost tube in 1951 and 1952 because it wanted the Port Authority to build part of the expressway, although this requirement was later dropped.

[247] However, the NYSDOT also published two "official descriptions of highway touring routes" in 2004 and 2017, in which it did not consider the Lincoln Tunnel within New York to be part of NY 495.

[252] In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all-electronic tolling was temporarily placed in effect for all Port Authority crossings, including the Lincoln Tunnel.

[256] In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all-electronic tolling was temporarily placed in effect for all Port Authority crossings, including the Lincoln Tunnel.