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PATH - Hackensack River Bridge

Hudson County, New Jersey

Photos 

Photo taken by Geoff Hubbs in March 1979

Enlarge

BH Photo #444143

Map 

Street View 

Description 

This structure is one of a series of bridges constructed in the early twentieth century to carry railroad lines through northern New Jersey towards New York City. It is a skewed vertical lift bridge, built so that water borne commerce along the Hackensack River would not be impeded by the railroad line. One of the approach spans is a Pratt through truss with inclined end-posts. This is a good example of movable bridge technology developed by American engineers in the early twentieth century.

-- Historic American Engineering Record

Facts 

Overview
Through truss lift bridge over Hackensack River on Railroad
Location
Kearny, Hudson County, New Jersey
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1930
Builders
- Arthur McMullen Co. of New York City, New York (Riverine Substructure)
- Bethlehem Steel Co. of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (Superstructure)
- Frederick Snare, Inc (Concrete Deck)
- J. Rich Steers, Inc (East Approach Substructure)
- Senior & Palmer, Inc. of New York, New York (West Approach Substructure)
Railroads
- Hudson & Manhattan Railroad (H&M)
- Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)
- Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH)
- Rapid Transit
- Subway
Design
Through truss
Vertical lift
Also called
PRR - Hackensack River Passenger Line Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+40.74026, -74.08357   (decimal degrees)
40°44'25" N, 74°05'01" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
18/577375/4510327 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Jersey City
Inventory number
BH 57016 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Arthur McMullen Co. (4)
Bethlehem Steel Co. (128)
Built 1930 (1,688)
Built during 1930s (11,351)
Deck girder (5,317)
Deck truss (1,630)
Frederick Snare, Inc (3)
Girder (9,509)
HAER documented (1,103)
Hackensack River (20)
Have street view (25,854)
Hudson & Manhattan Railroad (5)
Hudson County, New Jersey (98)
J. Rich Steers, Inc (1)
Jersey City, New Jersey (30)
Kearny, New Jersey (21)
 New Jersey (1,372)
Open (38,695)
Owned by railroad (11,556)
Parker through truss (1,256)
Parker truss (1,628)
Pennsylvania Railroad (719)
Plate girder (7,306)
Port Authority Trans-Hudson (7)
Railroad (14,816)
Rapid Transit (110)
Senior & Palmer, Inc. (2)
Subway (19)
Through truss (14,335)
Truss (31,629)
Warren deck truss (587)
Warren truss (6,339)

Update Log 

  • March 2, 2019: New photo from Geoff Hubbs
  • April 25, 2018: Updated by Luke: Added builders from Railway Age, Volume 91
  • March 17, 2014: New photo from Douglas Butler
  • July 6, 2013: Updated by Luke Harden: Added categories "Railroad", "Hackensack River", "Norfolk Southern Railway"
  • July 6, 2013: Added by Dave King

Related Bridges 

Sources 

  • Dave King - DKinghawkfan [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • Douglas Butler
  • HAER NJ-44 - Path Transit System Bridge, Spanning Hackensack River, Kearny, Hudson County, NJ
  • Luke
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Comments 

PATH - Hackensack River Bridge
Posted December 12, 2018, by Jim Fetchero (jfetch [at] aol [dot] com)

Here are some pictures of the PATH Hackensack Life Bridge, all taken on March 15, 1996 when I was able to visit the bridge.