Gregory Avenue Bridge Explained

Bridge Name:Gregory Avenue Bridge
Other Name:Main Avenue Bridge
Locale:Passaic & Wallington
New Jersey
Owner:Passaic County and
Bergen County
Maint:Passaic and Bergen
Id:1600002
Design:Swing
Through truss
Material:Steel
Length:288feet
Width:28.8feet
Spans:2
Builder:Owego Bridge Company
Begin:1906
Preceded:1741–66
1766–76 (rebuilt)-1788
1788–1835
1835–65
1863–90
1890–1904
Coordinates:40.8543°N -74.1196°W
References:[1] [2]

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.

Location and operations

The lower of the 90adj=midNaNadj=mid 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]

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[9] A second wooden bridge built from 1766 and was burned during Washington's 1776 Great Retreat from Fort Lee during the American Revolution.[10] [11] [12] [13] 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.[9]

Paterson Plank Road

Paterson Plank Road was completed over the crossing in 1841.[14] The company which built the Paterson and New York Plank Road, as it was called, received its charter on March 14, 1851.[15] 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.[16]

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.[9]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bridgehunter.com - Gregory Avenue Bridge. bridgehunter.com. 28 September 2015.
  2. Web site: Gregory Avenue Bridge over Passaic River . Historic Bridge Survey (1991–1994) . New Jersey Department of Transportation . 2001 . 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. Web site: Lower Passaic River Restoration Project Commercial Navigation Analysis 2nd Revision . United States Army Corps of Engineers . July 2, 2010 . 2015-05-21.
  4. Web site: Drawbridge Schedules . NJDOT . April 12, 2012 . 2012-08-21.
  5. Web site: Section 117.739 – Passaic River. . Code of Federal Regulations Title 33 – Navigation and Navigable Waters Volume: 1 . Government Publishing Office . July 1, 2002 . PDF.
  6. Web site: 33 CFR 117.739 – Passaic River. . Code of Federal Regulations . Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security . 2015-05-21 . updated 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140812205238/http://cfr.vlex.com/vid/117-passaic-river-19757052 . 2014-08-12 .
  7. Web site: Section 117.739 - Passaic River. . Code of Federal Regulations Title 33 - Navigation and Navigable Waters Volume: 1 . Government Publishing Office . July 1, 2002 . PDF . 2015-05-21.
  8. Web site: Passaic River restoration master plan East Rutherford/Wallington. gpo.gov. 28 September 2015.
  9. News: Main Avenue Bridge . NYC Bridges . 2012 . 2015-05-26 . 2015-03-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150319072204/http://bridgesnyc.com/postcards/exhibits/show/then-and-now/passaic-river/main-avenue . dead .
  10. Web site: Masonry and Metal The Historic Bridges of Bergen County, New Jersey . Richard Grubb and Associates . 2008 . 2012-08-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120710033930/http://www.richardgrubb.com/Masonry%20and%20Metal%20Brochure.pdf . 2012-07-10 .
  11. Web site: Scott, William W. How Washington's Retreat Became Stabilized at Passaic Passaic County Historical Publication September 1, 1931 . September 28, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151219010949/http://www.lambertcastle.org/Passaicvictory.html . December 19, 2015 . dead .
  12. Web site: Passaic, New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites - Passaic Historic Sites. revolutionarywarnewjersey.com. 28 September 2015.
  13. Web site: Full text of "Washington and his army at Acquackanonk : an incident of the retreat of 'seventy-six". archive.org. 28 September 2015.
  14. Web site: Wallington,nj - History. wallingtonnj.org. 28 September 2015.
  15. https://books.google.com/books?id=3bf_dYwJ11MC Laws of the State of New Jersey
  16. Web site: Modal . Eric . The plank in the Paterson Plank Road . Journeys into New Jersey . New Jersey News Room . August 18, 2010 . 2012-11-08 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140827140148/http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/style/the-plank-in-the-paterson-plank-road . August 27, 2014 .

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