Dock Bridge is a pair of

vertical lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swin ...

s crossing the

Passaic River Passaic River ( ) is a river, approximately long, in Northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, ...

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

, Essex County and Harrison, Hudson County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States, used exclusively for railroad traffic. It is the seventh crossing from the river's mouth at

Newark Bay Newark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jersey, t ...

and is upstream from it. Also known as the Amtrak Dock Vertical Lift, it carries

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

, and

PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desire p ...

trains. It is listed on the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

registers of historic places.

History

The bridge was built by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

(PRR) for its main line. The west span carries three tracks and opened in 1935 along with the west half of

Newark Penn Station Pennsylvania Station (also known as Newark Penn Station) is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, ...

. The lift span is over bearings (clear channel ), the longest three-track lift span in the world when built. The east spans opened in 1937 when the

Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) is a rapid transit system in the northeastern New Jersey cities of Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken, as well as Lower and Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is operated as a wholly owned subsid ...

(H&M, later called PATH) shifted its

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

trains from the Centre Street Bridge to the newly built station. With the opening of the eastern span, the PRR closed

Manhattan Transfer station Manhattan Transfer was a passenger station, passenger interchange station, transfer station in Harrison, New Jersey, east of Newark (New Jersey), Newark, west of New York Penn Station on the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) main line, now Amtrak's No ...

in the

Kearny Meadows Kearny may refer to: People *Cresson Kearny (1914–2003, American author and researcher **Kearny fallout meter ** Kearny air pump * Eleanor Kearny Carr (1840–1912), American planter and political hostess, First Lady of North Carolina *Jillian ...

, where previously steam and electrical trains were changed and passengers could transfer to trains to

New York Penn Station Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station, is the main inter-city rail, intercity railroad station in New York City and the List of busiest railway stations in North America, busiest transportation facilit ...

on the PRR or to

Hudson Terminal Hudson Terminal was a rapid transit station and office-tower complex in the Radio Row neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Opened during 1908 and 1909, it was composed of a terminal station for the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad (H&M), ...

on the H&M.

Description

The west span carries three tracks exclusively used by Amtrak and NJ Transit for

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

intercity and commuter traffic between Newark and New York City. The east span carries two PATH tracks used by PATH's Newark-World Trade Center service and one NEC track shared by Amtrak and NJ Transit. Due partly to its use of the Dock Bridge, PATH is legally a commuter railroad under the jurisdiction of the

Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail saf ...

even though it has long operated as a

system. The lower downstream of the long Passaic River below the Dundee Dam is tidally influenced and

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against dir ...

. When closed the bridge has a vertical clearance of above mean high water and opens to clear .U.S. Coast Guard, New York, NY (May 28, 2009)
">"Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Passaic River, Harrison, NJ, Maintenance. Notice of temporary deviation from regulations."
''Federal Register,'' . It is infrequently lifted and, prior to 2014, had not received a request for a river traffic opening since 2004. In 2011 regulations were changed so that it need not be open on demand (as it previously had) but with a 24-hour notice. During four-year removal of dredged materials from the Passaic the bridge is expected to open upwards of 10 times per day. In 2020 Amtrak requested that bridge remain in closed position until such time as it can be rehabilitated.

References

External links

Dock Bridge
at Bridges & Tunnels
Dock Drawbridge and Interlocking Tower
at Wikimapia {{National Register of Historic Places Bridges completed in 1935 Bridges in Hudson County, New Jersey Buildings and structures in Hudson County, New Jersey Bridges in Newark, New Jersey Harrison, New Jersey Transportation in Newark, New Jersey Railroad bridges in New Jersey Vertical lift bridges in New Jersey Amtrak bridges PATH (rail system) Pennsylvania Railroad bridges NJ Transit bridges Railroad bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Bridges over the Passaic River National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Hudson County, New Jersey Drawbridges on the National Register of Historic Places Rapid transit bridges New Jersey Register of Historic Places 1935 establishments in New Jersey

History

Description

See also

References

External links