Raritan River Bridge

NEC Raritan River Bridge
Coordinates40°30′04″N 74°26′28″W / 40.50112°N 74.44119°W / 40.50112; -74.44119
CarriesNortheast Corridor
CrossesRaritan River
LocaleNew Brunswick and Highland Park, Middlesex County, New Jersey
OwnerNew Jersey Transit
Characteristics
DesignClosed-spandrel arch
MaterialStone, concrete
Total length1,428 feet (435 m)
No. of spans21
History
Construction end1903
Location
Map

The Raritan River Bridge is a rail bridge over the Raritan River, in New Brunswick and Highland Park in Middlesex County, New Jersey, U.S. The arch bridge carries the Northeast Corridor (NEC) at MP 30.92. It used by Amtrak, including Northeast Regional service, and New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line.[1] It also crosses over New Jersey Route 18.

The bridge was constructed in 1903 by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR).[2] It consists of 21 spans of stone arches, the clear spans varying from 51 feet to 72 feet each and has a total length of 1,428 feet (435 m). The line was electrified by 1933 and between 1948-1950 the bridge was encased in concrete.[3]

The bridge was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in 1977.[4] It is contributing property of the unlisted Pennsylvania Railroad New York to Philadelphia Historic District (ID#4568), designated in 2002 by the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference bridgehunter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Listokin, David; Berkhout, Dorothea; Hughes, James W. (June 14, 2016). New Brunswick, New Jersey: The Decline and Revitalization of Urban America. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813575582. Retrieved November 2, 2017 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Christopher T. Baer. "A GENERAL CHRONOLOGY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY ITS PREDECESSORS AND SUCCESSORS AND ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT" (PDF).
  4. ^ HAER NJ-40
  5. ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved December 5, 2017.