Midtown Bridge (Hackensack River)

Midtown Bridge
Coordinates 40°52′57″N 74°02′09″W / 40.88241°N 74.03596°W / 40.88241; -74.03596Coordinates: 40°52′57″N 74°02′09″W / 40.88241°N 74.03596°W / 40.88241; -74.03596
Carries Salem Street
West Main Street
Crosses Hackensack River
Locale Hackensack and Bogota,
New Jersey
Other name(s) Salem Street Bridge
William C. Ryan Memorial Bridge
Owner Bergen County
Characteristics
Design Swing
(fixed 1984)
Material Steel
Total length 321.9 ft (98.1 m)
Width 21.7 ft (6.6 m)
Longest span 70.9 ft (21.6 m)
Number of spans 3
Clearance above 14.0 ft (4.3 m)
Clearance below 3 ft (0.91 m) mean high water
8 ft (2.4 m) mean low water
History
Constructed by R.F. Long and Company
Opened 1900
Closed 1998 (temporary)
2013 (temporary)
Midtown Bridge
On the Hackensack River 16.2 miles from the Newark Bay
References
[1][2][3]

Midtown Bridge, also known as the Salem Street Bridge and William C. Ryan Memorial Bridge, crosses over the Hackensack River between Hackensack and Bogota, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The through truss bridge was originally a swing bridge built in 1900 for trolleys. It became a road bridge in 1940 and its swing span was fixed in 1984.

History

The bridge was built in 1900 by F.R. Long and Company as a trolley bridge for the Bergen County Traction Company, which had opened in 1896. Steel for the bridge was provided by the Passaic Rolling Mill Company of Paterson. The bridge's original design was a through Pratt truss swing span on a stone center pier. It carried two sets of tracks, part of line running to Edgewater where there was connecting ferry service across the Hudson River to Manhattan. Various lines were consolidated in 1900 into the New Jersey and Hudson River Railway Company and in 1910 were sold to the Public Service Corporation as part of the Bergen Division which ran service between the ferry and the Broadway Terminal in Paterson.

Service was discontinued in 1938. The tracks were replaced with a steel deck and in 1940 the Midtown Bridge began carrying vehicular traffic.[4] The swing span was closed for the passage of maritime vessels on February 4, 1978 and a in rehabilitation project in 1984 it was fixed in place and its machinery was removed. As of 2014, Coast Guard rules required that the draw be made operable within 12 months after notification by the District Commander.[5]

In 1980, the bridge was designated the "Ryan Memorial Bridge," after Bogota resident and U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant William C. Ryan, who was killed (MIA) during the Vietnam War in 1969.[6][7][8]

Status

The Midtown Bridge was shut down for several weeks in 1998 by the Department of Public Works so that emergency repairs could be made to its steel joints, a situation described by county engineer Robert Mulder as "an ongoing problem that needs to be permanently fixed".[9] A rehabilitation project closed the downriver Court Street Bridge from 2010–2012 and traffic diverted to the Midtown Bridge, which is believed to have suffered stressed due to the extra use.[10] On October 17, 2013 the Midtown Bridge was temporarily shut down for emergency repairs again after Bogota’s Council President and Office of Emergency Management coordinator Tito Jackson noticed a large separation in the joints of bridge’s metal decking.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Uglybridges.com - Salem Street County Route 561, Bergen County, New Jersey". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Bridgehunter.com - Midtown Bridge". bridgehunter.com. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "Salem Street over Hackensack River" (PDF). Historic Bridge Survey (1991–1994). New Jersey Department of Transportation. 2001. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  4. ↑ Eid, Jr., Joseph F.; Gummere, Barker (2007). Streetcars of New Jersey: Metropolitan Northeast. Lulu.com. ISBN 9780980102628.
  5. ↑ "Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Hackensack River, Jersey City, NJ A Rule by the Coast Guard on 06/17/2014". Federal Register. June 6, 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2015. The draw of the New York Susquehanna and Western Railroad bridge, mile 16.3, and the Midtown bridge, mile 16.5, both at Hackensack, need not be opened for the passage of vessels, however, the draws shall be restored to operable condition within 12 months after notification by the District Commander to do so.
  6. ↑ "Midtown Bridge". BridgesNYC. June 25, 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  7. ↑ Miket (May 25, 2014). "Photo of the Day: William C. Ryan Memorial Bridge, Bogota, NJ". Boat Againist the Current. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Virtual Vietnam Veterans Wall of Faces - WILLIAM C RYAN JR - MARINE CORPS". Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Norman, Jim (October 22, 2013). "Span linking Bogota and Hackensack shut down due to structural issues.". The Record (Bergen County). Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  10. ↑ Cichowski, John (April 26, 2013). "Road warrior: Court Street Bridge to reopen but delays linger". The Record. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  11. ↑ Krulish, Mark (October 31, 2013). "Bogota's Midtown Bridge undergoing repairs". The Record. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
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