The Newark Bay Bridge, officially the Vincent R. Casciano Memorial Bridge, is a steel

through arch bridge A through arch bridge, also known as a through-type arch bridge, is a bridge that is made from materials such as steel or reinforced concrete, in which the base of an arch structure is below the deck but the top rises above it. It can either be lo ...

that is

continuous Continuity or continuous may refer to: Mathematics * Continuity (mathematics), the opposing concept to discreteness; common examples include ** Continuous probability distribution or random variable in probability and statistics ** Continuous ...

across three spans. It crosses Newark Bay and connects the cities of

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

(in Essex County) and Bayonne (in

Hudson County Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...

) in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States. It was completed April 4, 1956, as part of the New Jersey Turnpike's Newark Bay (Hudson County) Extension, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

Robert B. Meyner Robert Baumle Meyner (July 3, 1908 – May 27, 1990) was an American Democratic Party politician and attorney who served as the 44th governor of New Jersey from 1954 to 1962. Before being elected governor, Meyner represented Warren County in t ...

. The main span is , with a clearance over water to allow marine access to

Port Newark A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

. The bridge is similar in design to the

Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge The Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge is a four-lane, steel through arch bridge crossing the Delaware River between Burlington Township, Burlington County, New Jersey and Bristol Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. As a part of Interstat ...

, and is similar in length to the Francis Scott Key Bridge at Baltimore's Outer Harbor. It runs parallel to the earlier built

Lehigh Valley Terminal Railway The Lehigh Valley Terminal Railway was a Lehigh Valley Railroad company organized in 1891 through the consolidation of the companies that formed the Lehigh Valley's route from South Plainfield through Newark to Jersey City via its bridge acr ...

Upper Bay Bridge The Upper Bay Bridge, or the Lehigh Valley Railroad Bridge, is a vertical lift bridge spanning the Newark Bay in northeastern New Jersey. It is used by CSX Transportation travelling through the North Jersey Shared Assets Area of the United Stat ...

. This bridge is also known as "The Turnpike Bridge" and "The Turnpike Extension Bridge". It carries traffic on a toll regulated section of

Interstate 78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States, running from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and northern New Jersey and terminating at the Holland T ...

along the New Jersey Turnpike to interchanges 14 through 14A. It provides access from the New Jersey Turnpike's main roadway to Hudson County, New Jersey and the

Holland Tunnel The Holland Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River that connects the New York City neighborhood of Hudson Square in Lower Manhattan to the east with Jersey City in New Jersey to the west. The tunnel is operated by the Port Author ...

. The turnpike route creates the border between Bayonne and Jersey City and then runs northward along

Port Jersey Port Jersey, officially the Port Jersey Port Authority Marine Terminal and referred to as the Port Jersey Marine Terminal, is an intermodal freight transport facility that includes a container terminal located on the Upper New York Bay in the ...

Liberty State Park Liberty State Park (LSP) is a park in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City opposite Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations and is operated a ...

, and

Downtown Jersey City Downtown is an area of Jersey City, New Jersey, which includes the Historic Downtown and the Waterfront. Historic Downtown Historic Downtown was an area of mostly low-rise buildings to the west of the waterfront, but by the 2000s a number of hi ...

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

is just north of the entrance to

which continues to Lower Manhattan in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. From March 2014 until May 2019, during certain hours, the eastbound

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...

of the Turnpike Extension (including the bridge) was opened for normal traffic (by green arrows above, instead of red Xs), for a total of 5 lanes (3 eastbound, 2 westbound). This system was discontinued on May 20, 2019. There is a long-term capital improvements project to build a new bridge. File:Newark Bay Bridge at night time.jpg, The bridge at night File:Bottom of the Newark Bay Bridge.jpg, Under the bridge 2014-05-07 16 26 18 View of the Newark Bay Bridge from an airplane heading for Newark Airport-recropped

2014-05-07 16 26 18 View of the Newark Bay Bridge from an airplane heading for Newark Airport-recropped

References

Notes

External links

*
Newark Bay Bridge Historic Overview
{{New Jersey Turnpike Authority Bridges completed in 1956 Toll bridges in New Jersey Bridges in Hudson County, New Jersey Transportation in Bayonne, New Jersey Tolled sections of Interstate Highways Interstate 78 Transportation in Newark, New Jersey New Jersey Turnpike Continuous truss bridges in the United States Road bridges in New Jersey Through arch bridges in the United States Bridges on the Interstate Highway System Steel bridges in the United States 1956 establishments in New Jersey

See also

References

External links