Newark Drawbridge | |
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.jpg) | |
| Coordinates | 40°44′51″N74°09′57″W / 40.7474°N 74.1659°W /40.7474; -74.1659 |
| Carries | NJ Transit |
| Crosses | Passaic River |
| Locale | Newark andHarrison Northeastern New Jersey |
| Other name | Morristown Line Bridge |
| Owner | New Jersey Transit |
| Maintained by | NJT |
| ID number | NJT 247 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Swing bridge |
| Total length | 870.1 feet (265.2 m) |
| Width | 30.2 feet (9.2 m) |
| Longest span | 221.1 feet (67.4 m) |
| Clearance below | 20 feet (6.1 m) (low tide)[1] |
| Rail characteristics | |
| No. oftracks | 2 |
| Electrified | 25 kV 60 Hz |
| History | |
| Opened | 1903 |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Newark Drawbridge | |
TheNewark Drawbridge, also known as theMorristown Line Bridge, is arailroad bridge on thePassaic River betweenNewark andHarrison,New Jersey. Theswing bridge is the 11th bridge from the river's mouth atNewark Bay and is 5.85 miles (9.41 km) upstream from it.[1] Opened in 1903, it is owned and operated byNew Jersey Transit.
Rail service across the river was generally oriented to bringing passengers and freight from the points west over theHackensack Meadows toBergen Hill, wheretunnels and cuts provided access toterminals on the Hudson River.
In 1836, theMorris and Essex Railroad established aright-of-way from the west atOrange to Newark, from where it used theNew Jersey Rail Road atCentre Street to cross the river and travel east to itsterminal at Paulus Hook on thewaterfront inJersey City. By 1855 it built its own bridge across the Passaic.[2][3] By the early 1860s, the railroad had established the alignment across theKearny Meadows and began using theLong Dock Tunnel toHoboken.
In the early 1900s railroad elevated the line approaching the river which previously ran at grade along Division Street in Newark and built the current bridge. Completed in an earlier phase, the bridge was later shifted 35 feet (11 m) upstream on the new alignment.[4]
In 1945, the Morris and Essex Railroad officially merged into theDelaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. DL&W merged with theErie Railroad in 1960 to form theErie Lackawanna Railroad, which was absorbed byConrail in 1976;New Jersey Transit has operated all passenger service since 1983.
The lower 17 miles (27 km) of the ninety-mile (140 km) long Passaic River downstream of theDundee Dam istidally influenced andnavigable, but due to the limited maritime traffic the bridge is infrequently required to open.[1] Since 1998 rules regulating drawbridge operations require a 24-hour notice.[5] The bridge atmilepost 7.48 is used exclusively byNew Jersey Transit rail operations for theMontclair-Boonton Line and both branches of theMorris and Essex Lines, theMorristown Line and theGladstone Branch. It is situated just east ofNewark Broad Street Station, the first stop after the lines travelling west fromHoboken Terminal andSecaucus Junction converge. In 2004, NJT contracted a study to determine the condition of the bridge and to begin long-term planning for its future replacement.[6][7] In 2009-2010, the bridge underwent $23 million project for maintenance and repairs, funded by the agency[8] and performed bySkanska.[9]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| Hoboken Division |  | |
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| Newark Division | ||
| Connections | ||
| Current rolling stock | ||
| Bridges and tunnels |
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| Stations and yards | ||
| Proposed lines | ||
| Other topics | ||
Crossings of thePassaic River | ||||
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