BAYONNE BRIDGE

The 'Bayonne Bridge' is the third longest steel arch bridge in the world, and was the longest in the world at the time of its completion. It connects Bayonne, New Jersey with Staten Island, New York, spanning the Kill Van Kull.
The bridge was designed by the master bridge-builder Othmar Ammann and the architect Cass Gilbert. It was built by the Port of New York Authority and opened on November 15, 1931. The primary purpose of the bridge was to allow vehicle traffic from Staten Island to reach Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel.
Ammann, the master bridge builder and chief architect of the Port Authority, chose the steel arch design after rejecting a cantilever and suspension design as expensive and impractical for the site.
The eventual design of the bridge called for a graceful parabolic arch that soars 226 feet (69 m) above the Kill Van Kull and supports a road bed for 1,675 feet (511 m) without intermediary piers. The total length of the bridge is 8,640 feet (2,633 m) with a mid-span clearance above the water of 150 feet (46 m).
The design of the steel arch is based on the Hell Gate Bridge designed by Ammann's mentor, Gustav Lindenthal. Gilbert had designed an ornamental granite sheathing over the steelwork as part of the original proposal, but as in the case of the George Washington Bridge, the stone sheathing was eliminated in order to lower the cost of the bridge, leaving the steel trusses exposed.
Construction of the bridge began in 1928. The eventual cost of construction was 13 million dollars. When it opened it 1931, it was the longest steel arch bridge in the world. It was deliberately built two feet (0.6 m) longer than the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which opened the year after.
The presence of the Bayonne Bridge ultimately led to the discontinuation of the Bergen Point Ferry.
The supported roadway carries two lanes of traffic in each direction. The roadway deck could accommodate an expansion for either two traffic lanes or two light-rail lanes. A pedestrian walkway, cantilevered from the roadway, currently provides the only access by foot to Staten Island. The Port Authority also permits bicycle traffic, however the sidewalk ends abruptly at descending stairs on the New Jersey side. Due to safety concerns, bicycle riders are required to walk their bicycles across the bridge.
Tolls are collected on vehicles travelling into Staten Island (there is no toll for vehicles travelling into New Jersey). The car toll is $6.00, though discounts are available for E-ZPass subscribers.
Beginning in Fall 2007, NYC Transit will offer local bus service over the bridge between Staten Island and the 34th Street Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Station in Bayonne. This will be the first interstate bus service offered by the MTA.^[2]
As of 2003, the bridge carried approximately 20,000 vehicles per day.
The span presents an increasingly difficult obstacle to large container ships passing under it on the way to and from Newark Bay, and as a result the Port Authority is considering modifing its design. The 151-foot height above mean water level means that some of today's ships must fold down antenna masts or wait for low tide to pass through. Current ships feature a height above water level of 175 feet and present a major challenge.^[3]

Contents

Appearances in Media

References

Sources

External links

Appearances in Media

★ The bridge was featured in the 2001 film ''A Beautiful Mind''.

★ The bridge has appeared in the HBO prison drama ''Oz''.

★ The bridge was featured in the 2005 science fiction film, ''War of the Worlds'' starring Tom Cruise, where most of the film took place in Bayonne, the bridge is shown seveal times, the main character's home was also located under the bridge. It was destroyed in an attack by aliens.

References

1. 2005 NYSDOT Traffic Data Report: AADT Values for Select Toll Facilities
2. Press Release, ''MTA'', July 16, 2007
3. Once mighty span is now a tight squeeze for ships: inadequate height has become a costly issue for Port Authority, ''Staten Island Advance'', May 28, 2006

Sources

★ Shanor, Rebecca Read (1995),''The Encyclopedia of New York City'', Kenneth T. Jackson, ed. (Yale Univ.Press, New Haven)

★ "Most liquor licenses? Bumpiest town? Local municipalities hold unusual distinctions,"''Union City Reporter'', August 27, 2006.

External links

★ Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: Bayonne Bridge

★ Bayonne Bridge (NY 440 and NJ 440)

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★ Bridgepros: Bayonne Bridge