High Bridge (New York City)

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Coordinates: 40 ° 50 ′ 32 "  N , 73 ° 55 ′ 49"  W.

High bridge
High bridge
High Bridge from Highbridge Park (2008)
use footbridge
Crossing of Harlem River
place New York City
Entertained by New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
construction Arch bridge
overall length 440 m
Longest span 140 m
Clear height 42 m
start of building 1837
completion 1848
opening June 2015 (new opening)
planner John B. Javis and James Renwick, Jr.
closure 1970s
location
High Bridge (New York City) (New York City)
High Bridge (New York City)

The High Bridge (originally: Aqueduct Bridge ) is the oldest bridge in New York City . Originally built as an aqueduct in 1848 , it reopened as a pedestrian bridge in 2015 after being closed for 40 years. The 42 meter high and 440 meter long arch bridge spans the Harlem River and connects the two New York boroughs of Bronx and Manhattan .

The bridge was completed in 1848 as a stone arch bridge. During renovations in 1928 it was partially replaced by a steel arch. The bridge was closed to all traffic in the 1970s. Restoration work began in 2009 and the bridge was finally reopened for pedestrians and cyclists on June 9, 2015.

The bridge is administered and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation .

history

Photograph by William England , 1859
High Bridge, High Bridge Water Tower and Highbridge Reservoir in 1871
Reopening, June 2015

The bridge was originally designed as a stone arch bridge and resembled a Roman aqueduct in appearance . Construction began on the bridge in 1837. It was completed in 1848 as part of the Croton Aqueduct . This was supposed to supply the city with water from the Croton River about 16 kilometers north. The approximately 440 meter long bridge was designed by John B. Javis and James Renwick, Jr .; the latter was also responsible for the construction of St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan .

The Croton Aqueduct had to cross the Harlem River, and the method of crossing the river raised some ideas. One idea was to tunnel under the river, but at the time the technology was still in its infancy, which is why this idea was discarded. Other suggestions included the construction of a low, but faster to build, cheaper bridge or a high bridge . When concerns were expressed that the navigability of the Harlem River, which connects the Hudson River with the East River , could be restricted, the decision was finally made to build a high bridge.

To make navigation on the Harlem River easier, the five arches that spanned the river were blown up in 1928 and replaced by a single steel arch approximately 140 meters long. Wall arches of the original bridge from 1848 were preserved on land (one on Manhattan, about 10 in the Bronx).

On December 15, 1949, the bridge was finally shut down for the water supply.

In 1954, the New York Times reported concerns from the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity over maintenance issues and vandalism . Robert Moses assumed responsibility for the bridge in 1955 and placed it under the administration of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. In 1957 and 1958 there were again incidents involving pedestrians throwing sticks, stones and bricks at passengers on the Circle Line excursion boats passing under the bridge . Concerning similar incidents, the bridge was closed in 1960, while other sources report it was closed in the early 1970s in the wake of rising crime during the New York financial crisis.

aqueduct

The High Bridge was part of the first reliable and efficient water supply system in New York City. After the city was badly affected by a cholera epidemic in 1832 and by the Great Fire of New York in 1835 , the previously used water supply systems from wells and cisterns proved to be inadequate. Numerous solutions were considered, with a feeder to the Croton River from northern Westchester County being the best option. Construction work on the pipeline system began in 1837 and was completed in 1848.

The old Croton Aqueduct was the first of its kind in the United States . This innovative system used a gravity pipeline for water transport, negotiating 330mm of height over a total length of 41 miles (66 kilometers) per mile. The High Bridge was built with a sidewalk on the aqueduct. This was closed to motorized traffic, although reinforcements were made to the bridge in 1861/62. With the opening of the new Croton Aqueduct in 1917, the High Bridge became obsolete, and demolition was considered as early as 1920, as the USACE viewed the bridge's masonry as a threat to shipping on the Harlem River. Local groups insisted on preserving the historic bridge, and in 1927 five of the original stone arches over the river were finally replaced by a large steel arch. The remaining arches were preserved.

restoration

In November 2006, the Department of Parks and Recreation announced that the bridge would reopen to pedestrians in 2009. This date has been postponed several times. A planned renovation of US $ 20 million would require reinforcement of the steel arch, improvement of the staircases, the installation of cameras and the installation of a navigation light .

Planning for the renovation of the High Bridge began in 2009, financed as part of the PlaNYC urban development concept , which was launched in 2007 by then Mayor Michael Bloomberg . The aim was to reopen the High Bridge for pedestrians and cyclists and to enable the connection to the Highbridge Parks in Manhattan and the Bronx. In 2010, contracts were signed with Lichtenstein Consulting Engineers and Chu & Gassman Consulting Engineers and design proposals for the renovated bridge were obtained.

On January 11, 2013, the city administration announced the opening of the bridge for 2014, but in August 2014 this date was postponed to spring 2015. The High Bridge was officially reopened on June 9, 2015 and made accessible to the people of New York from 12 noon.

gallery

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Corinne Ramey: Pedestrian High Bridge over Harlem River to reopen . In: Wall Street Journal . June 8, 2015, ISSN  0099-9660 ( wsj.com ).
  2. ↑ a b High Bridge Project. NYC parks. In: nycgovparks.org. Retrieved August 30, 2015 .
  3. ^ A b Kristen Artz: Mayor Bloomberg Breaks Ground On Project to Restore the High Bridge Over Harlem River and Reopen It to Pedestrians and Bicyclists. In: nyc.gov. The Official Website of the City of New York, January 11, 2013, accessed August 30, 2015 .
  4. ↑ a b High Bridge reopens to bikes, pedestrians. (No longer available online.) In: myfoxny.com. MyFox TV, archived from the original on July 28, 2015 ; accessed on August 30, 2015 .
  5. ↑ Lawrence O'Kane: Span is 'Swapped' on City Boat Ride . In: The New York Times . July 8, 1954, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com ).
  6. ^ River Landmarks to be Park Units; Plan Board Transfers Span and Tower at High Bridge From Water Department . In: The New York Times . January 20, 1955, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com ).
  7. ^ Boys Stone Boat, Hurt Sight-Seers; 4 on Excursion Craft Hit as Youths Hurl Objects From High Bridge in Bronx . In: The New York Times . April 21, 1958, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com ).
  8. ^ CJ Hughes: Home of the Bronx Roar . In: The New York Times . May 20, 2007, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com ).
  9. ↑ The High Bridge & Highbridge Parks ( Memento of the original from October 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on nycgovparks.org (PDF) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nycgovparks.org
  10. ^ High Bridge Restoration Off and Running. In: streetsblog.org. Streetsblog New York City, February 11, 2010, accessed August 30, 2015 .
  11. ↑ High Bridge's Reopening Slated for Spring ( Memento from December 5, 2014 in the web archive archive.today )