Alexander Hamilton Bridge

Bridge between Manhattan and the Bronx, New York

40°50′44″N 73°55′43″W / 40.8456°N 73.9287°W / 40.8456; -73.9287Carries8 lanes of

I-95 / US 1CrossesHarlem RiverLocaleManhattan and The Bronx in New York CityMaintained byNYSDOTCharacteristicsDesignOpen-spandrel deck arch bridgeTotal length2,375 feet (724 m)Width^[1]Longest span555 feet (169 m)Clearance below103 feet (31 m)HistoryOpenedJanuary 15, 1963^[2]StatisticsDaily traffic177,853 (2016)^[3]TollnoneLocation Map

The Alexander Hamilton Bridge is an eight-lane steel arch bridge that carries traffic over the Harlem River between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx in New York City. The bridge connects the Trans-Manhattan Expressway in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan with 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 (ADT) volume in both directions of 182,174, having reached a peak ADT of 192,848 in 1990.^[4]

Design

The total length of the bridge, including approaches, is 2,375 feet (724 m). Its parallel main spans are 555 feet (169 m) long and provide 103 feet (31 m) of vertical clearance over the Harlem River at the center and 366 feet (112 m) of horizontal clearance.^[5]

The bridge design included a set of spiraling ramps (officially known as the Highbridge Interchange and 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.^[5]

History

After the George Washington Bridge, which connects Manhattan and 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.^[6] 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.^[5]^[7] With the Interstate designation, 90% of the $21 million in construction costs were covered by the federal government. The bridge opened on January 15, 1963.^[2]

Starting in 2009, the bridge underwent a full renovation at an estimated cost of $400 million.^[8] 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.^[9] In July 2014, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the bridge renovation was complete.^[10]

References

^ "2011 New York City Bridge Traffic Volumes" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. October 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
^ ^a ^b "New Bridge Completes L.I.-to-Jersey Bypass" (PDF). The New York Times. April 14, 1963. p. 528. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
^ "New York City Bridge Traffic Volumes" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. 2016. p. 9. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
^ "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.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Compact NYSDOT Highway Record Plans: Beginning 1900". State of New York. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
^ "Cross-city Tunnel Opens Tomorrow; Manhattan's First East-West Drive Goes Under Heights From Washington Bridge" (PDF). The New York Times. June 26, 1940. p. 25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
^ Ingraham, Joseph C. (August 26, 1962). "Double-deck Span; George Washington Bridge Expansion Is Keystone of Vast Road Project Double-deck Span" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 372. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
^ 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.
^ Wander, Erik (July 30, 2012). "GWB Traffic Getting Worse, Analysis Shows". Patch Media. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
^ "Governor Cuomo Announces Completion of Alexander Hamilton Bridge Rehabilitation". Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. September 28, 2014. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexander Hamilton Bridge.

New York State Department of Transportation - Alexander Hamilton Bridge Project
NYC Roads: Alexander Hamilton Bridge
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NY-302, "Alexander Hamilton Bridge, Spanning Harlem River between Bronx & Manhattan, Bronx, Bronx County, NY", 1 photo, 1 photo caption page
Alexander Hamilton Bridge at Structurae
Bridge and Tunnel Club pictures of the Alexander Hamilton Bridge
Nautical Chart #12342^{[permanent dead link]} NOAA.

Bridges and tunnels in New York City

Vehicular

Bridges	Alexander Hamilton Bayonne Broadway Brooklyn Bronx–Whitestone Carroll Street City Island Cross Bay Grand Street George Washington Goethals 1928–2017 Greenpoint Avenue Henry Hudson Joseph P. Addabbo Kosciuszko Macombs Dam Madison Avenue Manhattan Mill Basin Marine Parkway Outerbridge Park Avenue Viaduct Pelham Pulaski Queensboro (Ed Koch) Rikers Island Robert F. Kennedy (Triborough) Roosevelt Island Third Avenue Throgs Neck Union Street University Heights Verrazzano-Narrows Washington Williamsburg Willis Avenue 145th Street
Tunnels	Battery Park Holland Brooklyn–Battery (Hugh L. Carey) Lincoln Queens–Midtown Park Avenue

Bridges

Tunnels

Pedestrian only

Bridges	Bow High Hook Creek Squibb Park Wards Island West Street

Railroad
and subway

Bridges	Arthur Kill Broadway Harlem River Hell Gate Manhattan Pelham Bay South Channel Spuyten Duyvil Williamsburg
Tunnels	14th Street 53rd Street 60th Street 63rd Street 149th Street Clark Street Concourse Cranberry Street Downtown Hudson Tubes East River Freedom Joralemon Street Lexington Avenue Montague Street North River Park Avenue Rutgers Street Steinway Uptown Hudson Tubes

Operators

v t e Alexander Hamilton
8th Senior Officer of the United States Army (1799–1800) 1st Secretary of the Treasury (1789–1795) Delegate to the Congress of the Confederation (1782–1783, 1788–1789)
United States founding events	A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress (1774) The Farmer Refuted (1775) Delegate, 1786 Annapolis Convention Delegate, 1787 Constitutional Convention The Federalist Papers New York Circular Letter
Secretary of the Treasury	First Bank of the United States Revenue Marine (U.S. Coast Guard) U.S. Customs Service Hamiltonian economic program Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Funding Act of 1790 Tariff of 1790 Bank Bill of 1791 Tariff of 1791 Tariff of 1792 Coinage Act of 1792 U.S. Mint Whiskey Rebellion Jay Treaty Reports "First Report on the Public Credit" "Second Report on Public Credit" "Report On Manufactures" "Report on a Plan for the Further Support of Public Credit" Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures
Military career	New York Provincial Company of Artillery Washington's aide-de-camp Battles Harlem Heights White Plains Trenton Princeton Brandywine Germantown Monmouth Siege of Yorktown
Other events	Founder, Federalist Party Federalist Era Founder, Bank of New York Bank of North America Pacificus-Helvidius Debates Advisor, George Washington's Farewell Address President General of the Society of the Cincinnati Founder, New-York Evening Post Hamilton College Hamilton–Reynolds affair Rutgers v. Waddington Relationship with slavery Burr–Hamilton duel
Depictions	Trumbull portrait Ceracchi bust Central Park statue U.S. Treasury statue Columbia University statue Boston statue Chicago statue U.S. postage stamps Greenbacks U.S. $10 bill
Memorials	Boyhood home and museum Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Alexander Hamilton Bridge Alexander Hamilton High School (Los Angeles) Fort Hamilton Hamilton Grange National Memorial Hamilton Hall (Columbia University) Hamilton Hall (Salem) Hamilton Heights, Manhattan Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton College USS Alexander Hamilton PS Alexander Hamilton Trinity Church Cemetery
Popular culture	Hamilton (1917 play) Alexander Hamilton (1931 film) Liberty! (1997 documentary series) Liberty's Kids (2002 animated series) Alexander Hamilton (2004 book) John Adams (2008 miniseries) Hamilton (2015 musical, 2020 film) Washington (2020 miniseries)
Related	Founders Online Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society Liberty Hall (N.J.) New York Manumission Society African Free School "American System" economic plan American School American Revolution patriots
Family	Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (wife) Philip Hamilton (son) Angelica Hamilton (daughter) Alexander Hamilton Jr. (son) James Alexander Hamilton (son) John Church Hamilton (son) William S. Hamilton (son) Eliza Hamilton Holly (daughter) Philip Hamilton (son) Schuyler Hamilton (grandson) Alexander Hamilton Jr. (grandson) Allan McLane Hamilton (grandson)
Category