Look straight ahead for the wide, concrete mouth of the underpass with “HENRY E. KINNEY TUNNEL” stamped across the top, like a label on a very serious doorway.
This is the New River Tunnel’s official nameplate… and it’s here because Fort Lauderdale once had a bridge problem. Back in 1926, a drawbridge carried the route across the river-great for boats, not so great for people trying to get anywhere before dinner. When that old bridge had to open, traffic could stack up so badly that drivers sometimes crawled across in 45 minutes. A river crossing shouldn’t feel like a long-term commitment.
So the city argued it out-another bridge, or go underground? The tunnel won. Thorington Construction, led by Alfred Spear, built it, and when it opened in 1960 it was the ONLY public tunnel operating in Florida. In 1986, it was renamed for Henry E. Kinney, a newspaper editor who pushed hard to make this happen. Sometimes the pen really does beat the drawbridge.
When you’re set, Las Olas Boulevard is a 7-minute walk heading north.
