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Driscoll Bridge

Middlesex County, New Jersey

Photo 

Driscoll Bridge

Photo taken by Adam Elmquist

View this photo at panoramio.com

BH Photo #259850

Map 

Street Views 

Description 

This bridge carries 15 lanes of traffic, which makes it (unofficially) the widest bridge (traffic only) in the world.

The design and construction oversight of the Driscoll Bridge was the result of a collaboration between three groups of engineers: the New Jersey Highway Authority staff, the consultants to the Authority for the overall Garden State Parkway project, and the bridge design firm of D.B. Steinman of New York City.

Harold W. Griffin, chief engineer of the New Jersey Highway Authority, carried overall responsibility for the Driscoll Bridge project and was assisted by Harry A. Hartman, supervisor of construction. The firm of Parsons, Brinkerhoff, Hall & McDonald served as general consultants for the Parkway project, and Morris Goodkind served as consulting bridge engineer for the Parkway's bridges. Goodkind was chief bridge engineer at the New Jersey State Highway Department at the time and had been responsible for the design of the Edison Bridge fourteen years earlier.

Facts 

Overview
Girder bridge over Raritan River Smith Street on Garden State Parkway
Location
Sayreville, Middlesex County, New Jersey
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1954; rehabilitated 1969 and 2009
Design
Girder
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 250.0 ft.
Total length: 4,392.3 ft. (0.8 mi.)
Deck width: 123.4 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+40.50833, -74.30167   (decimal degrees)
40°30'30" N, 74°18'06" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
18/559165/4484413 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Perth Amboy
Average daily traffic (as of 2009)
253,441
Inventory number
BH 45543 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of November 2009)
Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 52.2 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Built 1954 (309)
Built during 1950s (3,490)
Continuous (2,162)
Girder (8,714)
Have street view (24,314)
Middlesex County, New Jersey (52)
New Jersey (1,255)
 Open (37,739)
Owned by bridge authority (214)
Raritan River (4)
Sayreville, New Jersey (7)
Span length 250-500 feet (1,092)
Structurally deficient (17,668)
Total length over 2500 feet (793)

Update Log 

  • April 13, 2018: Updated by Amanda: Added category "Raritan River"
  • July 15, 2013: Updated by Dave King: Added photo, link & added to description
  • June 24, 2010: Updated by Cliff Darby: Edited Description

Sources 

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Comments 

Driscoll Bridge
Posted July 4, 2010, by Nathan Holth (form3 [at] historicbridges [dot] org)

As long as we are talking about wide bridges, its interesting to note that the George Washington Bridge carries only one less lane than this bridge, but GWB is a double-deck bridge so its not nearly as wide. Both this Driscoll Bridge and GWB clearly have some of the largest ADTs for bridges in the country. http://www.bridgehunter.com/ny/new-york/george-washington/

Driscoll Bridge
Posted June 24, 2010, by Cliff Darby (clif30 [at] hotmail [dot] com)

I figured it wasn't "by the book measurement" widest, but 15 lanes is impressive nonetheless.

Driscoll Bridge
Posted June 24, 2010, by Nathan Holth (form3 [at] historicbridges [dot] org)

This bridge might be the widest bridge that only carries vehicular lanes, but "Big Bridge" in Lockport, New York is the widest bridge I know of at 400 feet wide, which is over three times the width of Discoll Bridge: http://www.bridgehunter.com/ny/niagara/main-street/