Midtown Bridge, also known as the Salem Street Bridge and William C. Ryan Memorial Bridge, crosses over the

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the subur ...

between Hackensack and Bogota, in

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.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. The

through truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

bridge was originally a

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

built in 1900 for trolleys. It became a

road bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

in 1940 and its swing span was fixed in 1984. It was closed in 2017 and slated for replacement; the rebuilt bridge reopened in April 2018.

History

The bridge was built in 1900 by F.R. Long and Company as a trolley bridge for the Bergen County Traction Company, which had opened in 1896. Steel for the bridge was provided by the Passaic Rolling Mill Company of Paterson. The bridge's original design was a through

Pratt truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

swing span on a stone center

pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

. It carried two sets of tracks, part of line running to Edgewater where there was connecting ferry service across the Hudson River to Manhattan. Various lines were consolidated in 1900 into the New Jersey and Hudson River Railway Company and in 1910 were sold to the

Public Service Corporation The Public Service Corporation (PSC) was an energy and transportation company in New Jersey. It was formed to shore up financing and development of New Jersey's streetcar and power companies at a time when they were growing but exhausting capital ...

as part of the Bergen Division which ran service between the ferry and the Broadway Terminal in Paterson. Service was discontinued in 1938. The tracks were replaced with a steel deck and in 1940 the Midtown Bridge began carrying vehicular traffic. The swing span was closed for the passage of maritime vessels on February 4, 1978 and a in rehabilitation project in 1984 it was fixed in place and its machinery was removed. As of 2014,

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

rules required that the draw be made operable within 12 months after notification by the District Commander.

Designation

In 1980, the bridge was designated the "Ryan Memorial Bridge," after Bogota resident and U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant William C. Ryan, who was killed (MIA) during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

in 1969. It was designated the Lt. William C Ryan (USMC) Memorial Bridge during a re-dedication of the bridge on April 21, 2018.

Reconstruction

The Midtown Bridge was shut down for several weeks in 1998 by the Department of Public Works so that emergency repairs could be made to its steel joints, a situation described by county engineer Robert Mulder as "an ongoing problem that needs to be permanently fixed". A rehabilitation project closed the downriver Court Street Bridge from 2010 to 2012 and traffic diverted to the Midtown Bridge, which is believed to have suffered stresses due to the extra use. On October 17, 2013 the Midtown Bridge was temporarily shut down for emergency repairs again after Bogota’s Council President and Office of Emergency Management coordinator Tito Jackson noticed a large separation in the joints of bridge’s metal decking. As of 2017 the bridge was slated for replacement. It was closed on March 16 and expected to be completed in November 2017. It reopened on April 20, 2018.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Hackensack Street Cars/TrolleysRoad Warrior: Recalling an era when 'Big Red' was king
Hackensack, New Jersey Bogota, New Jersey Road bridges in New Jersey Bridges in Bergen County, New Jersey Swing bridges in the United States Bridges over the Hackensack River Bridges completed in 1900 Steel bridges in the United States Pratt truss bridges in the United States 1900 establishments in New Jersey

History

Designation

Reconstruction

See also

References

External links