Gregory Avenue Bridge

Gregory Avenue Bridge, earlier known as the Main Avenue Bridge, is road bridge over the Passaic River in northeastern New Jersey, United States. It is the 7th bridge to be built at the river crossing. Originally built in 1905 as a moveable bridge, it has been in a fixed closed position since 1985. A four lane road carries traffic between Passaic & Wallington at the Passaic and Bergen county line.

Gregory Avenue Bridge
Coordinates40°51′15″N 74°07′10″W
Carries CR 601 / CR 120
CrossesPassaic River
LocalePassaic & Wallington
New Jersey
Other name(s)Main Avenue Bridge
OwnerPassaic County and
Bergen County
Maintained byPassaic and Bergen
ID number1600002
Preceded by1741–66
1766–76 (rebuilt)-1788
1788–1835
1835–65
1863–90
1890–1904
Characteristics
DesignSwing
Through truss
MaterialSteel
Total length288 feet (88 m)
Width28.8 feet (8.8 m)
No. of spans2
History
Constructed byOwego Bridge Company
Construction start1906
Location
References
[1][2]

Location and operations

The lower 17 miles (27 km) of the 90-mile-long (140 km) Passaic River downstream of the Dundee Dam is tidally influenced and channelized.[3] Once one of the most heavily used waterways in the Port of New York and New Jersey, it remains partially navigable for commercial marine traffic. The bridge has been in fixed closed position since 1977 and only bridge at MP 11.7 and those downstream from it are required by federal regulations to open.[4][5][6] [7]

Acquackanonk Bridge

The City of Passaic was originally part of Acquackanonk, and the area which would become Wallington, across the Passaic River, was a plantation owned by Walling Van Winkle.[8][9]

The first Acquackanonk Bridge, built sometime before 1741 during the colonial era, was a foot bridge that crossed from Passaic just upstream of the location of the Gregory Avenue Bridge[10] A second wooden bridge built from 1766 and was burned during Washington's 1776 Great Retreat from Fort Lee during the American Revolution.[11][12][13][14] A nearby tavern was Washington's headquarters.

Another replacement was built in 1776, followed by three others which existed in the periods 1835–65, 1863–90, and 1890–1904.[10]

Paterson Plank Road

Paterson Plank Road was completed over the crossing in 1841.[15] The company which built the Paterson and New York Plank Road, as it was called, received its charter on March 14, 1851.[16] Over time it was upgraded and at one point had streetcar lines on its entire length operated by the Public Service Railway as the 15 Passaic, 17 Hudson, and 35 Secaucus.[17][18]

Panoramic map showing the trolley system that largely followed the Paterson Plank Road over the Hackensack and Passaic

Design, construction, adaptions

The Main Avenue (or Gregory Avenue) Bridge was built in 1906 by the Oswego Bridge Company. It is a swing bridge thru truss rim-bearing swing bridge that rests on ashlar abutments, and carries two vehicular lanes and two sidewalks. Most of the bridge is riveted together, but the center tower uses eyebars in its construction. In 1985 both the operator's house on the bridge and the machinery below it were removed. The bridge deck was also replaced at the same time.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Bridgehunter.com - Gregory Avenue Bridge". bridgehunter.com. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  2. "Gregory Avenue Bridge over Passaic River" (PDF). Historic Bridge Survey (1991–1994). New Jersey Department of Transportation. 2001. Retrieved 2012-08-21. The thru truss rim-bearing swing span bridge on an ashlar substructure was erected in 1906 by the Owego Bridge Co. It is of riveted construction with the exception of the center tower, which has pinned top chords composed of stamped eye bars. The bridge has been altered. In 1985 the operating machinery and operator's house located above the roadway were removed. The flooring system was replaced, and additional section was bolted onto some verticals and diagonals. However, the changes do not preclude the individual eligibility of this structure for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C as a representative example of a through truss rim-bearing span. All of the key visual elements of the bridge - the trusses by the Owego Bridge Company, the center pier, the wheels that run on a track making it a rim - bearing span, and the ashlar abutments retain integrity.
  3. "Lower Passaic River Restoration Project Commercial Navigation Analysis 2nd Revision" (PDF). United States Army Corps of Engineers. July 2, 2010. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  4. "Drawbridge Schedules". NJDOT. April 12, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  5. "Section 117.739 – Passaic River" (PDF). Code of Federal Regulations Title 33 – Navigation and Navigable Waters Volume: 1. Government Publishing Office. July 1, 2002.
  6. "33 CFR 117.739 – Passaic River". Code of Federal Regulations. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2015-05-21. updated 2010
  7. "Section 117.739 - Passaic River" (PDF). Code of Federal Regulations Title 33 - Navigation and Navigable Waters Volume: 1. Government Publishing Office. July 1, 2002. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  8. Scott, William Winfield (1922), History of Passaic and Its Environs. 1922. Reprint. London: Forgotten Books, 2013. Print. ((2013 Reprint) ed.), London: Forgotten Books, archived from the original on 2015-09-28, retrieved 2015-09-28
  9. "Passaic River restoration master plan East Rutherford/Wallington". gpo.gov. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  10. "Main Avenue Bridge". NYC Bridges. 2012. Retrieved 2015-05-26.
  11. "Masonry and Metal The Historic Bridges of Bergen County, New Jersey" (PDF). Richard Grubb and Associates. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  12. "Scott, William W. How Washington's Retreat Became Stabilized at Passaic Passaic County Historical Publication September 1, 1931". Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  13. "Passaic, New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites - Passaic Historic Sites". revolutionarywarnewjersey.com. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  14. "Full text of "Washington and his army at Acquackanonk : an incident of the retreat of 'seventy-six"". archive.org. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  15. "Wallington,nj - History". wallingtonnj.org. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  16. Laws of the State of New Jersey, 1811, pp. 337-340
  17. Modal, Eric (August 18, 2010). "The plank in the Paterson Plank Road". Journeys into New Jersey. New Jersey News Room. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
  18. Eid, Jr, Joseph F.; Gummere, Barker (2007), Streetcars of New Jersey: Metropolitan Northeast, Lulu.com, ISBN 9780980102628
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