ARTHUR KILL VERTICAL LIFT BRIDGE

The 'Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Railroad Bridge' was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1959 to replace an older swing span. The single track bridge connects Elizabeth, New Jersey and Staten Island, and has the distinction of being the largest vertical lift bridge in the world, with two towers of 215 feet each, and a truss span of 135 feet in height and 558 feet in length.

Contents

Decline of rail traffic

Re-opening the bridge

External link

Decline of rail traffic

As soon as the bridge opened, rail traffic that went over the bridge began to decline. The reason rail traffic declined was due to major manufacturing facilities on Staten Island closing. Bethlehem Steel closed in 1960, U.S. Gypsum closed in 1972, U.S. Lines-Howland Hook Marine Terminal closed in 1986, and Proctor and Gamble closed in 1991. In addition to this, there was a shift to truck traffic, which caused a substantial decline of rail traffic to go over the bridge. Also, the North Shore branch of rail service went through a series of owners. The 3 companies that owned the North Branch were B&O Railroad, CSX and the Delaware-Otsego Corporation. These companies saw the bridge as an excess property. The last freight train went over the Arthur Kill Lift Bridge in 1990, at which time the North Shore branch of rail service was abandoned.

Re-opening the bridge

In 1994, the New York City Economic Development Corporation purchased the Arthur Kill Railroad Lift Bridge and the North Shore branch of rail service from CSX. On December 15, 2004, the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced a joint $72 million project to rehabilitate the bridge and reactivate freight rail service on Staten Island. Some of the repairs done to the bridge include repainting the steel and rehabilitating the lift mechanism. The rehabilitation project was completed in June 2006.
On October 4, 2006, a train crossed the bridge for the first time in 16 years. It consisted of just a single locomotive which will take on switching duties at the New York Container Terminal, also known by its old name, Howland Hook.
On April 2, 2007, normal operations involving garbage removal started, which will result in an estimated 40,000 truck loads diverted from the nearby Goethals Bridge.

External link

★ Arthur Kill Railroad Lift Bridge at NYCRoads.com