Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge

Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge
Arthur Kill Lift Bridge
Coordinates40°38′15″N 74°11′44″W / 40.637518°N 74.195486°W / 40.637518; -74.195486
CarriesConrail
CrossesArthur Kill
LocaleElizabeth, New Jersey and Staten Island, New York, United States
OwnerNew York City Economic Development Corporation[1][2]
Characteristics
DesignVertical-lift bridge
Height215 feet (66 m)
Longest span558 feet (170 m)[3]
Clearance below135 feet (41 m) open
31 feet (9.4 m) closed[4]
Rail characteristics
No. of tracks1
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Structure gaugeAAR
ElectrifiedNone
History
OpenedAugust 25, 1959;
reopened October 4, 2006
Location
Map
References
[5]
The bridge connects the western bulge in Staten Island, upper left, with the New Jersey mainland.

The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Railroad Bridge is a rail vertical-lift bridge connecting Elizabethport, New Jersey, and the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island, New York, United States. The bridge was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1959 to replace the Arthur Kill Bridge, a swing bridge opened in 1890.[6] It contains a single track that is used mainly to carry garbage out of New York City, as well as to transport freight to destinations in western Staten Island. The bridge parallels the Goethals Bridge, which carries Interstate 278. It has the longest lift span of any vertical-lift bridge in the world,[7] with two 215-foot (66 m) towers and a 558-foot (170 m) truss span that allows a 500-foot (152 m) channel. It clears mean high water by 31 feet (9.45 m) when closed and 135 feet (41 m) when lifted.[8]

  1. ^ Belson, Ken; Neuman, William (March 13, 2007). "City Hopes to Fix a Staten Island Railroad Bridge That Could, but Now Can't". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference HM2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge". Structurae. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  4. ^ "Chart 12333". NOAA. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  5. ^ "CRCX - Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge". Bridgehunter.com. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  6. ^ "Center of New Bridge Floated Across Arthur Kill on 4 Barges". The New York Times. June 1, 1959. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  7. ^ "Movable bridge". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  8. ^ Railway Age March 4, 1957 p36