Donald and Morris Goodkind Bridges

Parallel bridges crossing the Raritan River in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA

40°29′33″N 74°24′47″W / 40.492623°N 74.413124°W / 40.492623; -74.413124Carries

US 1
Bicycles and pedestriansCrossesRaritan RiverLocaleNew Brunswick and Edison, Middlesex County, New JerseyOther name(s)College Bridge^[1]Named forMorris Goodkind, Chief Bridge Engineer and designer
Donald Goodkind, son of Morris and designer of steel bridgeMaintained byNJDOTNJ Bridge IDNJ 1203150^[2]Preceded byAlbany Street Bridge

Followed byBasilone Bridge

CharacteristicsDesignOpen spandrel deck arch^[1]MaterialReinforced concrete (Morris)
Steel (Donald)^[3]Total length1,902 feet (580 m)^[2]Width49.9 feet (15.2 m)^[2]^[1]Longest span202.1 feet (61.6 m)^[2]^[1]No. of spans15Clearance below100 feet (30 m)^[1]HistoryArchitectMorris Goodkind^[1]DesignerMorris GoodkindConstructed byParker and Graham Inc.^[1]Opened1929 (1929) (Morris)
1976 (1976) (Donald)StatisticsDaily traffic55,658 (2013)^[2]Location Map

The Donald and Morris Goodkind Bridges are a pair of bridges on U.S. Route 1 in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The bridges cross the Raritan River, connecting Edison on the north bank with New Brunswick on the south.

The northbound span, a concrete arch bridge, is named after its designer, New Jersey Highway Department engineer Morris Goodkind. This span was completed in 1929 and reflects the Art Deco styling of the time. Along both sides of the bridge, there are historical plaques that read of the site's significance to both the Lenape Indians and the American colonists. Originally named the College Bridge, it was renamed the Morris Goodkind Bridge on April 25, 1969.^[4] Morris had a son, Donald, who also became an architect and engineer for the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Donald designed the southbound bridge, a steel span bridge built in 1974, which was named after him in 2004.^[5]

In popular culture

In the 1983 musical film Eddie and the Cruisers, fictional rock band leader Eddie Wilson was believed to have drowned when his 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air went off the Morris Goodkind Bridge on March 15, 1964.

In The Sopranos episode "Nobody Knows Anything," Detective Vin Makazian leaps to his death from the Donald Goodkind Bridge.^[6]^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "New Jersey Historic Bridge Survey" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Bureau of Environmental Services, State of New Jersey. 12 November 2012. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Morris Goodkind Bridge". Bridge Hunters. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
^ Steven Hartsite (25 July 2012). "Bridges of sighs". STEVENHARTSITE. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
^ New Jersey Historic Bridge Data: Middlesex^{[permanent dead link]}, accessed March 30, 2007
^ "Bill names Rt. 1 bridge after designer". dailytargum.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011.
^ nj.com blog, accessed July 26, 2007
^ Ugoku. "The Sopranos location guide - Donald Goodkind Bridge". sopranos-locations.com.