List of crossings of the Lower Passaic River

The Lower Passaic River in New Jersey is the section of the Passaic River below the Great Falls which flows over the Dundee Dam to the river mouth at Newark Bay in the northeastern part of the state. Its midpoint generally delineates the Essex-Hudson and Passaic-Bergen county lines. Numerous spans, mostly moveable bridges, have been built over of the lower reaches of the river, which is tidally influenced to the dam at about mile point (MP) 17.4 and channelized to about MP 17. 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. While requests have significantly diminished since the mid-late 20th century, the bridge at MP 11.7 and those downstream from it are required by federal regulations to open with advance notice, with the exception of the first at MP 1.8, which is manned and opens on demand.

The NX, Clay Street, and Stickel bridges are seen in this view looking downstream, or south, to Newark Gateway.

Five bridges over the Passaic River at Newark.

Early fixed crossings included turnpikes, sometimes built as plank roads. Wood, and later, metal bridges were constructed by competing railroads to access railyards, carfloat operations, passenger terminals, and ferries on the Hudson Waterfront. Rail lines led to further industrialization, urbanization-suburbanization, and the construction of vehicular bridges and streetcar lines. The advent of automobile age in the early and mid 20th century saw the building of highway bridges.

The Acquackanonk Bridge was dismantled in 1776 as George Washington retreated from Fort Lee. Another with the same name at the crossing was lost to flooding in 1903. The first railroad swing bridge in the United States was built in 1833. Numerous bridges have been demolished or fallen into disuse, while others have had their swing spans removed, replaced or immobilized. The first new bridge to be built since 2002, the Passaic River Crossing, opened in 2014.[1]

Crossings

MP	Crossing	Image	Open	Carries/Carried	Locale/Connecting	NBI	Coordinate	Notes	Reference
1.2	PD Draw (unused-swing span removed)		1869 1912	Newark and New York Railroad (CNJ)	Kearny Point & Newark Ironbound		40°43′22″N 74°07′14″W	Swing span shifted to new alignment	[2][3][4]
	Portway Bridge (proposed)			Doremus Avenue to Central/Pennsylvania Aves	Kearny Point & Port Newark		alignment undetermined	NJDOT to Wittpenn Bridge replacement	[5][6]
1.8	Lincoln Highway Passaic River Bridge		1941	US 1-9 Truck milepoint 0.67 Lincoln Highway	Kearny Point & Newark Ironbound	0705151	40°43′57″N 74°07′04″W	East Coast Greenway Raymond Boulevard NJRHP	[7][8][9][10][11]
	Newark Plank Road (removed)	1795 original 1941 last		Lincoln Highway PS			40°43′58″N 74°07′04″W	Ferry Street Communipaw Ave	[10]
2.0	Pulaski Skyway		1932	US 1/9		0901150 (Hudson)[12] 0704150 (Essex)[13]	40°44′06″N 74°07′03″W	no trucks, bicycles, or peds NJRHP & NRHP	[7][8]
2.6	Point-No-Point Bridge			Conrail Passaic and Harsimus Line (CSX) (NS)	Kearny Meadows & Newark Ironbound		40°44′30″N 74°07′16″W	PRR	[2][14]
2.7	Chaplain Washington Bridge		1952	NJ Turnpike Eastern Spur I-95		W107870	40°44′31″N 74°07′22″W	no bicycles or pedestrians	[7][8][15]
2.7	Harry Laderman Bridge		1970	NJ Turnpike Western Spur I-95		E107880	40°44′31″N 74°07′23″W	no bicycles or pedestrians	[7][8][15]
4.6	Jackson Street Bridge		1903	Jackson Street Frank E. Rodgers Blvd	Harrison & Newark Ironbound	0700H02	40°44′02″N 74°09′19″W	NJRHP	[7][8][16]
	Market Street Bridge (removed)		1868 1899	NJRR PRR	Harrison & Newark Penn		40°44′09″N 74°09′43″W	Swing span shifted to new alignment	[17]
5.0	Dock Bridge (2 spans)		1935 (west) 1937 (east)	Northeast Corridor Amtrak Northeast Corridor Line (NJT) North Jersey Coast Line (NJT) Raritan Valley Line (NJT) PATH			40°44′10″N 74°09′41″W	PRR & H&M NJRPH & NRHP	[2]
	Centre Street Bridge (removed)		1834 1911	New Jersey Railroad PRR H&M Route 158	Harrison & Downtown Newark Park Place Station		40°44′28″N 74°09′51″W	Upper level added Converted from rail to vehicular bridge 1927
5.6	Bridge Street Bridge		1913	Bridge Street & Harrison Avenue CR 508	Harrison & Downtown Newark	0700H03	40°44′43″N 74°09′57″W	NJRHP	[7][8][18]
5.85	Newark Drawbridge		1903	Montclair-Boonton Line (NJT) Morristown Line (NJT) Gladstone Branch (NJT)	Harrison & Newark Broad Street Station		40°44′51″N 74°09′57″W	Morris and Essex Railroad (DL&W)	[2][7][19]
5.9	William A. Stickel Memorial Bridge		1949	I-280	Harrison & Newark	0731161	40.7480°N 74.1659°W		[7][8][20]
6.0	Clay Street Bridge		1908 1976 rehab	Central Avenue Clay Street	East Newark & Newark Broadway	0700H01	40°45′04″N 74°09′55″W		[7][8][21]
6.35	NX Bridge (abandoned)		1922	Newark Branch (Erie)	Harrison/East Newark & Newark		40°45′16″N 74°09′51″W	Fixed open position	[2][22]
8.1	WR Draw (unused)		1897	New York & Greenwood Lake (Erie) Boonton Line (NJT)	Arlington, Kearny & North Newark		40°46′36″N 74°09′01″W	Kearny Riverbank Park	[2][23]
	Passaic Avenue			Passaic Avenue CR 699	Arlington, Kearny	0900029	40°46′36″N 74°09′01″W	branch of Passaic	[8][7]
8.9	Belleville Turnpike Bridge		1790 1841 1914 2002	Route 7 (Belleville Turnpike)	Arlington, Kearny & Belleville	0208150	40°47′11″N 74°08′51″W		[7][8][24]
10.7	Avondale Bridge		1905 1986 rehab	Park Avenue to Kingsland Avenue	Nutley & Lyndhurst	NJ 0700B01 NJ 020032A	40°48′40″N 74°08′19″W	aka DeJessa Memorial Bridge or Park Avenue Bridge	[7][8][25]
11.7	Lyndhurst Draw		1903	Main Line (NJT) NS	Clifton Delawanna & Lyndhurst		40°49′14″N 74°07′36″W	DL&W & Erie Boonton Branch NJRHP	[2][7][26]
	Route 3 Passaic River Crossing Dual bridges		2014	Route 3 milepoint 4.95	Clifton & Rutherford/Lyndhurst	1601155 1601164	40°49′23″N 74°07′26″W	NJDOT	[7][8][27]
11.8	Old Route 3 Passaic River Bridge (demolished)		1949 demolished 2013		Clifton & Rutherford		40°49′23″N 74°07′26″W		[28]
13.2	Union Avenue Bridge	1896 Bridge 2002 Bridge	1896 2002 replace	Union Avenue	Route 21 Passaic & Rutherford	1600022	40°50′29″N 74°07′22″W	aka Douglas O. Mead Bridge Swing removed and reconstructed (2002)	[7][8][29]
	BE Draw (removed)		1833 1897	Paterson and Hudson River Railroad (Erie) MP 10.22	Passaic-Passaic Park & Rutherford/Wallington Carlton Hill		40°50′49″N 74°07′16″W	Erie Main Line until 1963	[2][30][31][32][33]
14.0	Gregory Avenue Bridge		1906	Gregory Avenue to Paterson Avenue	Passaic & Wallington	1600002	40°51′15″N 74°07′11″W	aka Slomiany Memorial Bridge Fixed closed position (1986) NJRHP	[7][8][34]
	Acquackanonk Bridge (removed)		1741 1776 1835 1863 1890 1905	Paterson Plank Road Paterson, Passaic and Rutherford Electric Railway			40°51′18″N 74°07′12″W	burned 1776 destroyed in flood 1903	[35][36][37][38]
14.7	Market Street Bridge aka Second Street Bridge		1930 2002	Market Street Bridge		1600003	40°51′36″N 74°06′58″W	Fixed closed position (1977) swing removed & reconstructed (2002)	[7][8]
15.3	Eighth Street Bridge		1915	Eighth Street Main Avenue		1600004	40°51′19″N 74°06′34″W	Fixed closed position (1976) NJRHP	[7][8][39]
	Passaic Street Bridge		1898 1976 rehab	Wall Street Passaic Street	Passaic & Garfield	020021C	40°51′53″N 74°06′36″W	NJRHP	[7][8][40]
	Bergen County Short-Cut		1881 original	Dundee Spur (Erie) New York and Greenwood Lake Railway (1996)			40°52′07″N 74°06′44″W	connections to NS/Bergen County Line (NJT)	[2][41]
	Monroe Street Bridge		1908	Monroe Street		02000I6 020021D	40°52′08″N 74°06′45″W	1875-1878 bridge lost to flooding	[7][8][42][43]
	Passaic Branch[44] (removed)		1885	Passaic and New York Railroad (NYS&W)			40°52′23″N 74°06′54″W	Passaic Junction (rail yard) Botany Mills
	Veterans Bridge			Ackerman Avenue Outwater Lane	Clifton & Garfield	020021E	40°52′47″N 74°07′12″W	aka Robertsford Bridge Dundee Canal Industrial Historic District	[7][8]
17.4	Dundee Dam Lock (water navigation)		1861	n/a			40°53′01″N 74°07′36″W
17.4	Dundee Canal Lock		1861	n/a			40°53′01″N 74°07′36″W	lock head gate	[45]

Abbreviations

• CNJ=Central Railroad of New Jersey
• CSXT=CSX Transportation
• DL&W=Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
• Erie=Erie Railroad
• H&M=Hudson and Manhattan Railroad
• NRHP=National Register of Historic Places
• NJDOT=New Jersey Department of Transportation
• NJRHP=New Jersey Register of Historic Places
• NJT=New Jersey Transit
• NYS&W=New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
• NS=Norfolk Southern Railway
• PATH=Port Authority Trans-Hudson
• PRR=Pennsylvania Railroad
• PS=Public Service Railway

See also

• List of crossings of the Upper Passaic River
• Timeline of Jersey City area railroads
• List of bridges, tunnels, and cuts in Hudson County, New Jersey
• List of crossings of the Hackensack River
• List of NJT moveable bridges
• List of fixed crossings of the North River (Hudson River)

Notes

1. Grant, Meghan. "Expanded Route 3 bridge reopened". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
2. "New Jersey Coverage Map". Bridgehunter. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
3. "CNJ - PD Draw". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
4. "An Unusual Bridge-Moving Operation", Popular Mechanics Magazine, Hearst Magazines, p. 26, July 1912, retrieved August 8, 2012
5. "Portway-Passaic River Crossing" (PDF). FY 2010-2011 Studies and Development. NJDOT. Retrieved August 8, 2012. This project will study Doremus Avenue, Passaic River Crossing and Central Avenue over Route 1&9T as one project because of their connectivity. The areas of the project service industrial and commercial facilities in a section of Newark and the southern section of Kearny. The purpose of the proposed improvement is to create a connection with NJ Turnpike at Interchange 15E and Route 1&9T, and/or another variation of the two. The improved section will serve to improve access to/from trucking distribution facilities along Doremus Avenue and the NJ Turnpike and will help reduce truck traffic on Route 1&9T. It will range from replacing the existing Route 1&9T bridge to providing dual bridge structures. The reconfiguration of Central Avenue/Route 1&9T interchange may provide four 12-foot travel lanes and two 12-foot shoulders to improve flow and safety. The proposed geometry will primarily follow the existing alignment except at the interchange. Sidewalks could be provided within the proposed berm. A rail crossing on the same facility will also be investigated as part of this project.
6. "Lower Passaic River Restoration Project Commercial Navigation Analysis 2nd revision" (PDF). United States Army Corps of Engineers. July 2, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2012. The abutments of a formerly utilized railroad freight bridge (Central Railroad of NJ) lie at approximately RM 1.2. These abutments limit channel width to 145 feet. However, NJDOT is currently investigating the feasibility of a new Lower Passaic River Bridge within the existing alignment of the former railroad freight bridge. If construction of the new bridge was to move forward, the derelict structure at RM 1.2 would be removed and would be replaced with a structure designed with adequate horizontal and vertical clearance for typical vessel traffic on the Lower Passaic River
7. "Interim Bridge Report" (PDF). NJDOT. August 9, 2007. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
8. "National Bridge Inventory NJ2015". Federal Highway Administration. 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
9. "Passaic River Bridge". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
10. "To Close Road, Open New Span". The New York Times. January 23, 1941. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
11. "U.S. Route 1-9 Truck straight line diagram" (PDF). NJDOT. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
12. Federal Highway Administration (2012). "NBI Structure Number: 0901150". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration.
13. Federal Highway Administration (2012). "NBI Structure Number: 0704150". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration.
14. "CRCX - Point No Point Bridge". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
15. Staff. "Route 700 Straight Line Diagram" (PDF). NJDOT. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
16. "Jackson Street Bridge". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
17. "Civil Engineering Feat Old Bridge Removed and New One Substituted in 18 1/2 Minutes Crosses the Passaic" (PDF), The New York Times, July 24, 1899, retrieved August 25, 2012
18. "Bridge Street Bridge". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
19. "NJT - Newark Draw". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
20. "Stickel Bridge -". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
21. "Clay Street Bridge". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
22. "Erie - NX Bridge". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
23. "NJT - WR Draw". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
24. "Belleville Turnpike Bridge". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
25. "Avondale Bridge". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
26. "NJT - Lyndhurst Draw". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
27. "Route 3 straight line diagram" (PDF). NJDOT. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
28. "Masonry and Metal: The Historic Bridges of Bergen County, New Jersey" (PDF). Richard Grubb and Associates. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
29. "Passaic River Bridge". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
30. "EL - Passaic River Bridge". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
31. Bianculli, Anthony J. (2001). Trains and Technology: The American Railroad in the Nineteenth Century. 4. University of Delaware Press. ISBN 9780874138030. The first railroad drawbridge in the United States was built by the Paterson and Hudson River Railroad across the Passaic River in New Jersey in 1832
32. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/11/18/95497819.pdf
33. Brydon, Norman F. (December 2006). "Passaic County's Covered Bridges (Extracted frcm Of Time, Ftre and the River:The Story of New Jersey's Covered Bridges)" (PDF). Vol. 6. The Fassaie County Historical Society by Norman F. Brydon). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2017. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
34. "Gregory Avenue Bridge". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
35. "Masonry and Metal The Historic Bridges of Bergen County, New Jersey" (PDF). Richard Grubb and Associates. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
36. Scott, William W. How Washington's Retreat Became Stabilized at Passaic Passaic County Historical Publication September 1, 1931 Archived December 19, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
37. "Passaic, New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites - Passaic Historic Sites". revolutionarywarnewjersey.com. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
38. "Full text of "Washington and his army at Acquackanonk : an incident of the retreat of 'seventy-six"". archive.org. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
39. http://bridgehunter.com/nj/passaic/1600004/
40. https://bridgehunter.com/nj/bergen/passaic-river/
41. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1885/07/10/103630028.pdf
42. "Monroe Street Bridge". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
43. http://www.bridgesnyc.com/tag/monroe-street/
44. "THE BRIDGE TORN DOWN; THE ERIE'S PROPERTY DESTROYED BY ITS RIVAL'S WORKMEN. FIVE HUNDRED HUNGARIANS PLUNGE INTO THE CANAL AFTER THE FLOATING TIMBER--A COMPROMISE.", The New York Times, July 11, 1885
45. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 5, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Sources

• "Lower Passaic River Restoration Project Commercial Navigation Analysis" (PDF). (2nd Revision). United States Army Corps of Engineers. July 2, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
• "Historic Bridge Survey (1991-1994)". NJDOT. 2001. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
• "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places". NJ DEP - State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
• "Masonry and Metal The Historic Bridges of Bergen County, New Jersey" (PDF). Richard Grubb and Associates. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
• "33 CFR 117.739 - Passaic River". Code of Federal Regulations. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2012. updated to July 1, 2010
• "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 August 21, 2012.
• Report of the Assembly Committee Appointed to Inquire into the Condition of the Bridges over the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in the Counties of Union, Essex, Hudson (Report). Trenton: New Jersey Assembly. 1865.
• "Bridges over the Passaic River". Passaic River Basin. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
• "Drawbridge Schedules". NJDOT. April 12, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
• "Bridgehunter: Passaic River". Retrieved August 21, 2012.
• "Bridgesnyc". Retrieved August 21, 2012.
• "FAQS about Recreational Boating on the Lower Passaic River". Passaic River Boat Club. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
• Jag9889. "Passaic River Bridges". Flickr. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
• "National Bridge Inventory Database". Retrieved August 21, 2012.
• "Passaic River, New Jersey" (PDF). Report of Channel Conditions 100 to 400 Feet Wide (ER 1130-2-306). US Army Corps of Engineers. September 14, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
• "Route 3 Passaic River Crossing". NJDOT. August 11, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
• "Acquakanonk Bridge". Revolutionary War in New Jersey. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
• Olsen, Kevin K. (2008), A Great Conveniency A Maritime History of the Passaic River, Hackensack River, and Newark Bay, American History Imprints, ISBN 9780975366776
• DeLeuw, Cather and Company Engineering Science, Inc. (prepared for NJ Transit and NJDPA) (1991). Historic Railroad Bridge Survey (Report).CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Survey, U. S. Coast and Geodetic (May 8, 1918). "United States Coast Pilot: Atlantic Coast, Section B, Cape Cod to Sandy Hook". U.S. Government Printing Office – via Google Books.

External links

Ensslin, John C. (September 30, 2012), Many Bergen County bridges nearing end of lifespan, retrieved October 3, 2012

• "Passaic River". BridgesNYC. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
• "Bridges On The Passaic". www.urbanindustrialimaging. Retrieved December 8, 2016.