Newark Drawbridge

{{Short description|Railroad bridge on the Passaic River between Newark and Harrison, New Jersey, U.S.}}

{{Infobox bridge

| bridge_name = Newark Drawbridge

| native_name =

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| image = File:NewarkDraw (PassaicRiver).jpg

| image_size = 300px

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| other_name = Morristown Line Bridge

| carries = NJ Transit

| crosses = Passaic River

| locale = Newark and Harrison
Northeastern New Jersey

| owner = New Jersey Transit

| maint = NJT

| id = NJT 247

| architect =

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| engineering =

| design = Swing bridge

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| length = {{convert|870.1|ft|m}}

| width = {{convert|30.2|ft|m}}

| height =

| mainspan = {{convert|221.1|ft|m}}

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| below = {{convert|20|ft|m}} (low tide)

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| open = 1903

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| coordinates = {{coord|40.7474|-74.1659|type:landmark_region:US-NJ|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

|references =

}}

The Newark Drawbridge, also known as the Morristown Line Bridge, is a railroad bridge on the Passaic River between Newark and Harrison, New Jersey. The swing bridge is the 11th bridge from the river's mouth at Newark Bay and is {{convert|5.85|mi}} upstream from it.{{cite web

| title = Lower Passaic River Restoration Project Commercial Navigation Analysis (2nd Revision)

| publisher = United States Army Corps of Engineers

| date = July 2, 2010

| url = http://passaic.sharepointspace.com/Public%20Documents/2010-07-29%20USACE%20Lower%20Passaic%20River%20Commercial%20Navigation%20Analysis.pdf

| access-date = March 19, 2012}} Opened in 1903, it is owned and operated by New Jersey Transit.

History

File:Passaic River Morristown Line bridge jeh.jpg in the background]]

Rail service across the river was generally oriented to bringing passengers and freight from the points west over the Hackensack Meadows to Bergen Hill, where tunnels and cuts provided access to terminals on the Hudson River.

In 1836, the Morris and Essex Railroad established a right-of-way from the west at Orange to Newark, from where it used the New Jersey Rail Road at Centre Street to cross the river and travel east to its terminal at Paulus Hook on the waterfront in Jersey City. By 1855 it built its own bridge across the Passaic.{{citation | title = The Morris and Essex | newspaper = The New York Times | date = June 6, 1854 | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1854/06/06/75433641.pdf | access-date = August 5, 2012}}{{citation | title = Fatal Railroad Accident | newspaper = The New York Times | date = December 3, 1855 | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1855/12/03/80285129.pdf | access-date = August 5, 2012}} By the early 1860s, the railroad had established the alignment across the Kearny Meadows and began using the Long Dock Tunnel to Hoboken.

In the early 1900s railroad elevated the line approaching the river which previously ran at grade along Division Street in Newark and built the current bridge. Completed in an earlier phase, the bridge was later shifted {{convert|35|ft|m}} upstream on the new alignment.{{cite news| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1901/04/19/117961507.pdf| work=The New York Times | title=New Steel Bridge to Cross the Passaic | date=April 19, 1901}}

In 1945, the Morris and Essex Railroad officially merged into the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. DL&W merged with the Erie Railroad in 1960 to form the Erie Lackawanna Railroad, which was absorbed by Conrail in 1976; New Jersey Transit has operated all passenger service since 1983.

Operations

The lower {{convert|17|mi}} of the {{convert|90|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} long Passaic River downstream of the Dundee Dam is tidally influenced and navigable, but due to the limited maritime traffic the bridge is infrequently required to open. Since 1998 rules regulating drawbridge operations require a 24-hour notice.{{cite web | title =Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Passaic River, NJ (Coast Guard 33 CFR Part 117 [CGD01–97–020] RIN 2115–AE47 | work = Rules and Regulations | publisher = Federal Register /Vol. 63, No. 120 | date = June 23, 1998 | url = http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1998-06-23/pdf/98-16666.pdf | access-date = August 5, 2012}} The bridge at milepost 7.48 is used exclusively by New Jersey Transit rail operations for the Montclair-Boonton Line and both branches of the Morris and Essex Lines, the Morristown Line and the Gladstone Branch. It is situated just east of Newark Broad Street Station, the first stop after the lines travelling west from Hoboken Terminal and Secaucus Junction converge. In 2004, NJT contracted a study to determine the condition of the bridge and to begin long-term planning for its future replacement.{{cite press release | title = Newark Drawbridge Engineering Study Approved | publisher = New Jersey Transit | date = April 27, 2004 | url = http://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&PRESS_RELEASE_ID=1124 | access-date = August 5, 2012}}{{cite web | title = Transportation Capital Program Fiscal Year 2008 | publisher = NJDOT | date = | url = http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/capital/tcp08/ | access-date = August 5, 2012}} In 2009-2010, the bridge underwent $23 million project for maintenance and repairs, funded by the agency{{Cite web |url=http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/Jan%2017%202008.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=August 7, 2012 |archive-date=May 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522220447/http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/Jan%2017%202008.pdf |url-status=dead }} and performed by Skanska.{{Cite web|url=http://www.usa.skanska.com/Global/brochure/coasttocoast/Finals/C2C_10_no2.pdf|title = Skanska in the US}}

References

External links

{{Flickr|jag9889/1242839896/in/set-72157601661576045}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120524105914/http://bridgehunter.com/nj/essex/715150/ Passaic River Railroad Bridge] at Bridgehunter.com
[http://www.ronsaari.com/slideShow.php?gallery=newJersey&image=StickelBrdigeAndRailroadBridge.jpg William Stickel Memorial Bridge and NJ Transit Railroad Bridge] image by Ronald C. Saari

{{Crossings navbox

|structure = Crossings

|place = Passaic River

|bridge = Newark Drawbridge

|bridge signs = NJ Transit

|upstream = William A. Stickel Memorial Bridge

|upstream signs = 25px

|downstream = Bridge Street Bridge

|downstream signs = 25px

}}

Category:Bridges completed in 1903

Category:Bridges in Newark, New Jersey