Washington Bridge
| Washington Bridge | |
|---|---|
Main arch over Harlem River; secondary arch over Metro-North Railroad and Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx
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| Coordinates | 40°50′49″N 73°55′41″W / 40.84694°N 73.92806°WCoordinates: 40°50′49″N 73°55′41″W / 40.84694°N 73.92806°W |
| Carries | 6 lanes of roadway; two sidewalks |
| Crosses | Harlem River |
| Locale | Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City |
| Maintained by | New York City Department of Transportation |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| Total length | 2,375 feet (724 m) |
| Longest span | 510 feet (160 m) |
| Clearance below | 134 feet (41 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | December 1, 1888 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 57,011 (2012) |
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The Washington Bridge carries six lanes of traffic, as well as sidewalks on both sides, over the Harlem River in New York City between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, connecting 181st Street and Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan to University Avenue in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. Ramps at either end of the bridge connect to the Trans-Manhattan Expressway and the Cross-Bronx Expressway. The bridge is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation. It once carried U.S. Route 1, which now travels over the Alexander Hamilton Bridge.
The total length of the bridge, including approaches, is 2,375 feet (724 m). The parallel main spans of the steel arch bridge stretch 510 feet (160 m) over the Harlem River, providing 134 feet (41 m) of vertical clearance and 354 feet (108 m) of horizontal clearance. The tidal maximum (mean higher high water) is 4.9 ft (1.5 m) and extreme low water is -3.5 compared to mean lower low water.
This two-hinged arch bridge was designed by Charles C. Schneider and Wilhelm Hildenbrand, with modifications to the design made by the Union Bridge Company, William J. McAlpine, Theodore Cooper and DeLemos & Cordes, with Edward H. Kendall as consulting architect. The original design was pared down to bring the bridge's cost to $3 million. The bridge features steel-arch construction with two 510-foot-long (150m) main spans and masonry approaches. Construction began in 1886, and the bridge opened to pedestrian traffic on December 1, 1888. The plan had been to open the bridge to vehicular traffic on February 22, 1889 — Washington's Birthday and the centennial anniversary of the first Presidency — but the full opening was delayed until December 1889.
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