Eighth Street Bridge (Passaic River)

Eighth Street Bridge is a road bridge over the Passaic River in northeastern New Jersey, United States. It connects the City of Passaic in Passaic County with the Borough of Wallington in Bergen County and is jointly owned by both counties. The bridge connects Eighth Street in Passaic with County Route 507 in Wallington.

Eight Street Bridge
1914 bridge replaced in 2017-2019
Coordinates40.8206°N 74.1267°W / 40.8206; -74.1267
Carries8th Street
CrossesPassaic River
LocalePassaic and Wallington
New Jersey
OwnerPassaic County and
Bergen County
Maintained byPassaic and Bergen
ID number1600004
Preceded by1915
Characteristics
Designbasule
pony truss
MaterialSteel
Total length282 feet (86 m)
Width32.2 feet (9.8 m)
Longest span85 feet (26 m)
No. of spans3
History
DesignerStrauss Bascule Bridge Company
Constructed byF.R. Long - W.G. Broadhurst Company (builder)
Construction start1914
Opened2019
Location
References
[1]

Originally opened in 1915 as a bascule bridge, the bridge was fixed in place in 1977. The Eighth Street Bridge was closed to traffic permanently on July 24, 2017 so work could begin on its replacement, which was completed in 2019.

Location and operations

Eighth Street Bridge passes over the Passaic 11.7 miles (18.8 km) from the river mouth at Newark Bay, at the Passaic and Bergen county line.

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.[2] 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 original bridge had been in fixed closed position in 1977. Only bridge at MP 11.7 and those downstream from it are required by federal regulations to open.[3][4][5] [6]

Design and construction of first bridge

Built in 1914, the Eight Street Bridge was a Warren pony truss bridge, originally a bascule bridge. The total length 282 feet (86 m) with a deck width was 32.2 feet (9.8 m). The length of largest span: 85 feet (26 m) It followed the design of Strauss Bascule Bridge Company of Chicago and was fabricated by the F.R. Long - W.G. Broadhurst Company of Hackensack. The main span was an 85 feet (26 m) long is a Strauss articulated overhead counterweight single leaf bascule span. The entire bridge is supported on a concrete substructure. It originally was composed of built-up members as were the trunnion columns, braced counterweight tower, and counterweight linkages that permitted the counterweight to pivot and move parallel to itself during operation of the bridge.

The bridge was significantly rehabilitated 1965, when a steel grid deck was installed. Between 1976 and 1979 the bridgeman's shanty was demolished and operating controls for the electric-motor powered span were removed and the bridge was fixed in the closed position. The gear sets and shafts were left in place as was the chain-operated manual operation. The original metal sidewalk railings are intact.[1] The 300-ton counterweight, used to open the bridge, began to crumble onto passing cars and had to be removed.[7]

The bridge carried a two-lane road, two sidewalks, and a utility pipe from 8th Street in Passaic to Main Avenue in Wallington. As of 2014, was used by about 6,500 vehicles per day.

The State Historic Preservation Office determined in that Eighth Street Bridge was of historical and engineering merit to be included in the state (ID#3426) and federal register of historic places.[8]

Replacement

The 1914 bridge had seriously deteriorated and as of 2015 was in a state of severe disrepair and considered to be structurally deficient and fracture critical. There were 13 ton, 19 ton and 30 ton weight restrictions.[9] Plans to replace the bridge had been in place since 2012. Funding was provided by state and federal sources.[7][10] Land acquisition of parcels in the vicinity of the bridge has been mired in legal eminent domain battles have hampered replacement.[11]

After delays of several months, the bridge was closed to traffic on July 24, 2017.[12]

The new 290-foot (88 m) Eighth Street Bridge with two lanes of traffic in each direction was completed in August 2019 with the assistance of $15 million in aid from the federal government[13] [14]

See also

References
  1. "Eighth Street Bridge over Passaic River" (PDF). Historic Bridge Survey (1991–1994). New Jersey Department of Transportation. 2001. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  2. "Lower Passaic River Restoration Project Commercial Navigation Analysis 2nd Revision" (PDF). United States Army Corps of Engineers. July 2, 2010. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  3. "Drawbridge Schedules". NJDOT. April 12, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  4. "Section 117.739 – Passaic River" (PDF). Code of Federal Regulations Title 33 – Navigation and Navigable Waters Volume: 1. Government Publishing Office. July 1, 2002.
  5. "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
  6. "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.
  7. Zach Patberg. "Crumbling bridge over Passaic River soon to be replaced". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  8. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Passaic County". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2015-05-22. The 1915 Strauss overhead articulated counterweight bascule bridge designed by the Strauss Bascule and Concrete Bridge Company of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the few examples of the technologically important bridge type remaining in the state. Despite the fact that it was once the most popular moveable bridge type in the country in the early 20th century, about six built between 1907 and 1938 remain in the entire state. Because of the diminishing number, each example that retains the technologically innovative patented articulated counterweight detail are considered as technologically and historically important ... While the superstructure is complete, the operating controls and equipment was removed c. 1977. The operator's house was removed after that. The gearing remains. Although altered, the span retains enough of its original fabric to maintain its technological significance as a rare example of an important moveable type ... This example is altered, but not to the degree that the technologically significant elements have been lost. The span was fixed about 1976, and the operators house and controls were removed by 1979. Despite the loss of the operator's house, the superstructure survives in a remarkably complete state of preservation making this bridge one of the most important of its type in New Jersey. Much of the gearing and the counterweight linkage survive as does the uncommon chain-driven manual operation. A machinery plan for the bridge survives, so how the operating mechanism was arranged is well documented.
  9. FY 2013 TRANSPORTATION CAPITAL PROGRAM New Jersey Department of Transportation Projects
  10. RICHARD COWEN. "Passaic County to take properties for bridge rebuilding project". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  11. JOHN C. ENSSLIN. "Legal fight stalls plan to replace Passaic-Wallington bridge". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2018-01-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. Sobko, Katie. "After years of construction, Passaic bridge to Bergen County finally reopens", The Record, August 9, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2022. "Although replacing the century-old Eighth Street Bridge had been on the drawing board for decades, it wasn't until 2012 that the federal government allocated the $15 million to do the project.... The Eighth Street Bridge connects the heavily industrial lower Dundee section of Passaic with Wallington, which is more residential. Before it closed, about 6,300 vehicles a day crossed the bridge.... The plan calls for a 290-foot bridge with two lanes on both sides and a left-hand turning lane onto Main Avenue in Wallington."
  14. "New Eighth Street Bridge opens to traffic in N.J." 4 September 2019.
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