Alexander Hamilton Bridge

The Alexander Hamilton Bridge carries eight lanes of traffic over the Harlem River in New York City between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, connecting the Trans-Manhattan Expressway in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan and the Cross-Bronx Expressway, as part of Interstate 95 and U.S. 1. The bridge opened to traffic on January 15, 1963, the same day that the Cross-Bronx Expressway was completed. For 2011, the New York City Department of Transportation, which operates and maintains the bridge, reported an average daily traffic volume in both directions of 182,174; having reached a peak ADT of 192,848 in 1990.[3]

Looking west

Alexander Hamilton Bridge
From the south, showing truck traffic
Coordinates40.8456°N 73.9287°W / 40.8456; -73.9287
Carries8 lanes of I-95 / US 1
CrossesHarlem River
LocaleManhattan and the Bronx, in New York City
Maintained byNYSDOT
Characteristics
DesignArch bridge
Total length2,375 feet (724 m)
Width[1]
Longest span555 feet (169 m)
Clearance below103 feet (31 m)
History
OpenedJanuary 15, 1963
Statistics
Daily traffic177,853 (2016)[2]
Tollnone
Alexander Hamilton Bridge
Location in New York City

The total length of bridge, including approaches, is 2,375 feet (724 m). The parallel main spans of the steel arch bridge stretch 555 feet (169 m) long over the Harlem River and provide 103 feet (31 m) of vertical clearance at the center and 366 feet (112 m) of horizontal clearance.

History

After the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey was completed in 1931, vehicles traveling between New Jersey and the Bronx would travel over the Washington Bridge, which crosses the Harlem River just north of the present Alexander Hamilton Bridge. The Alexander Hamilton Bridge was planned in the mid-1950s to connect Robert Moses' proposed Trans-Manhattan and Cross-Bronx Expressways and to accommodate the additional traffic resulting from the addition of the six-lane lower level to the George Washington Bridge. With the Interstate designation, 90% of the $21 million in construction costs were covered by the federal government. The bridge design included a set of spiraling ramps (colloquially known as "The Corkscrew") to connect to and from the Major Deegan Expressway (completed in 1964) and a viaduct ramp connecting to the Harlem River Drive, both of which are over 100 feet (30 m) below the level of the bridge, and access to Amsterdam Avenue.

The bridge underwent a full renovation from 2009 to 2014. The construction estimate was $400 million. By mid-2012, one of the eastbound lanes of the bridge had been closed to accommodate construction vehicles.[4] While the traffic jams created from the construction had not been as bad as local officials had anticipated, inbound delays at the Hudson River crossings increased after the project began.[5] In July 2014, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the bridge renovation was complete.[6] The renovation of the bridge was the premise of The Weather Channel show Iron Men.

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See also
  •  Transport portal
  •  Engineering portal
  •  New York (state) portal
  •  New York City portal
  • List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in New York (state)

References
  1. "2011 New York City Bridge Traffic Volumes" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. October 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  2. "New York City Bridge Traffic Volumes" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. 2016. p. 9. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  3. "2011 New York City Bridge Traffic Volumes" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. March 2010. p. 74. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  4. Schweber, Nate (July 15, 2012). "Bracing for Big Traffic Jam That Didn't Come on Day 1". The New York Times. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  5. Wander, Erik. "GWB Traffic Getting Worse, Analysis Shows". Patch Media. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  6. "Governor Cuomo Announces Completion of Alexander Hamilton Bridge Rehabilitation". Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. September 28, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
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