South Front Street Bridge
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South Front Street Bridge is
vehicular A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...
bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...
over the Elizabeth River in Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. Located at river's mouth at the Arthur Kill, it is the first fixed crossing. Opened in 1923, it is the last surviving vehicular
moveable bridge A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical d ...
in Union County. The bridge is intact but has been out of operation since 2011 and closed to all traffic.


Construction and design

The South Front Street Bridge is a Strauss trunnion bascule bridge along the designs of the
Strauss Bascule Bridge Company Joseph Baermann Strauss (January 9, 1870 – May 16, 1938) was an American structural engineer who revolutionized the design of bascule bridges. He was the chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge, a suspension bridge. Life, beginnings and death ...
, headed by Joseph Strauss. Construction began in 1920; it opened to traffic in 1922. It is a heel trunnion, which is a variation on the design, and is the only remaining road-carrying bridge of its type in New Jersey. The bridge’s substructure and counterweight are made of concrete. A small brick bridge house, located adjacent to the bridge, house the controls. The machinery which operates the bridge is above the road; original gears and electric motors which were added in 1940. The bridge had a wooden roadway, which was replaced with a steel deck in 1956. The pedestrian walkway is wood, though not the original. The bridge underwent significant repairs in 1974-1976. The
state historic preservation office The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is a state governmental function created by the United States federal government in 1966 under Section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The purposes of a SHPO include surveying an ...
has determined that the building is eligible for listing.


Operations

Under normal conditions the bridge would be required to open for maritime traffic. South Front Street Bridge has been closed to road traffic since March 4, 2011, due to severe deterioration of the superstructure stringers and floor beams.


See also

* List of crossings of the Elizabeth River * Chemical Control Superfund Site


References


External links

*{{cite web, url=http://ltvsquad.com/2015/09/09/south-front-street-bridge-elizabeth-nj/, title=South Front Street Bridge, Elizabeth, NJ, date=9 September 2015, publisher= LTV Squad Bridges in Union County, New Jersey Bascule bridges in the United States Road bridges in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Elizabeth, New Jersey Transportation in Elizabeth, New Jersey