Friday, September 21, 2007

The Broadway Bridge

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Spans - Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
View of the Harlem River from the Broadway Bridge.
This is more accurately the Harlem River Ship Channel as it is a man-made canal that was constructed in 1895.
The MTA, Marble Hill Station is in the foreground on the North side of the channel, the Circle Line is passing to the South, and the Henry Hudson Bridge is visible in the distance to the West.
Marble Hill is a truly strange example of NYC redistricting. The Harlem river originally passed to the North of the community, making it part of the island of Manhattan. When the channel was dug to facilitate the passing of larger ships, the area was cut off from the island, and the old river route filled in.
Marble Hill is still legally part of the borough of Manhattan.

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View of the actual bridge crossing.
The subway runs on the upper level.

Type of bridge: Moveable - Vertical lift
Construction started: April 1, 1959
Opened to rail traffic: December 26, 1960
Opened to vehicular traffic: July 1, 1962
Length of main span: 304 feet
Total length of bridge and approaches: 557 feet
Number of traffic lanes: 6 lanes
Number of subway tracks: 3 tracks
Clearance over mean high water (closed position): 25 feet
Clearance over mean high water (open position): 136 feet
Steel used in structure: 2,500 tons
Cost of original structure: $13,400,000

Bridge statistics from nycroads.com


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