High Bridge (New York City)

For the nearby neighborhood, see Highbridge, Bronx

High Bridge
From Highbridge Park
Crosses	Harlem River
Locale	Manhattan and the Bronx, in New York City
Maintained by	New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
Design	Arch bridge
Vertical clearance	102 ft (31 m)
Opened	1848, 1928

The High Bridge (officially, the Aqueduct Bridge) is a steel arch bridge, with a height of almost 140 feet (40 m) over the Harlem River, connecting the New York City boroughs of The Bronx and Manhattan. The eastern end is located in The Bronx near the western end of West 170th Street, and the western end is located in Highbridge Park in Manhattan, roughly parallel to the end of West 173rd Street.

Although it has been closed to all traffic since the 1970s, it remains the oldest surviving bridge in New York City although most of the current bridge dates from only 1928.

The bridge is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Construction and history

Print of The High Bridge, 1900.

Interior staircase of the High Bridge Water Tower

Originally designed as a stone arch bridge, the High Bridge had the appearance of a Roman aqueduct. Construction on the bridge was started in 1837, and completed in 1848 as part of the Croton Aqueduct, which carried water from the Croton River to supply the then burgeoning city of New York some 10 miles (16 km) to the south. It has a length of well over 2,000 feet (600 m). It was designed by the aqueduct's engineering team, led by John B. Jervis. James Renwick, Jr., who later went on to design New York's landmark Saint Patrick's Cathedral on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, participated in the design.

The Croton Aqueduct had to cross the Harlem River at some point, and the method was a major design decision. A tunnel under the river was considered, but tunneling technology was in its infancy at the time, and the uncertainty of pursuing this option led to its rejection. This left a bridge, with the Water Commission, engineers and the public split between a low bridge and a high bridge. A low bridge would have been simpler, faster, and cheaper to construct. When concerns were raised to the New York Legislature that a low bridge would obstruct passage along the Harlem River to the Hudson River, a high bridge was ultimately chosen.

In 1928, in order to improve navigation in the Harlem River, all of the masonry arches of the central part of the bridge that spanned the river were demolished and replaced with a single steel arch of about 450 feet (135 m). Of the masonry arches of the original 1848 bridge, only one survives on the Manhattan side, while some ten survive on the Bronx side.

Officials were thinking of closing the bridge in the mid 1960s due to disrepair, then in 1970 a pedestrian threw a rock from the bridge onto a tour boat, and the bridge was closed.

In November 2006 it was announced that the bridge would reopen to pedestrians in 2009 (later postponed to 2013) after a $20 million renovation project. With the renovation, the arch will be stronger, staircases will be improved, cameras will be placed on both ends of the bridge, and boat beacon lights will be added, among other features. On January 11, 2013 the mayor's office announced the bridge would reopen for pedestrian traffic by 2014.

Three Harlem River bridges: High Bridge (showing the steel arch that replaced the original masonry spans), nearest; Alexander Hamilton Bridge (part of I-95); and the Washington Bridge, farthest. Washington Heights is left and the Bronx on right)

From the Bronx

Aqueduct

The High Bridge was part of the first reliable and plentiful water supply system in New York City. As the City was devastated by cholera (1832) and the Great Fire in 1835, the inadequacy of the water system of wells-and-cisterns became apparent. Numerous corrective measures were examined. In the final analysis only the Croton River, located in northern Westchester County was found to be sufficient in quantity and quality to serve the needs of the City. The delivery system was begun in 1837, and was completed in 1848.

The Old Croton Aqueduct was the first of its kind ever constructed in the United States. The innovative system used a classic gravity feed, dropping 13 inches (330 mm) per mile and running 41 miles (66 km) into New York City through an enclosed masonry structure crossing ridges, valleys, and rivers. University Avenue was later built over the southernmost mainland portion of the aqueduct, leading to the bridge. The High Bridge soars 138 feet (42 m) above the 620-foot (190 m)-wide Harlem River, with a total length of 1,450 feet (440 m). The bridge was designed with a pedestrian walkway atop the Aqueduct and was not used for vehicular traffic. Though the carrying capacity was enlarged in 1861-62 with a larger tube, the bridge, obsolete due to opening of the New Croton Aqueduct, ceased to carry water in 1917. In the 1920s the bridge's masonry arches were declared a hazard to ship navigation by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the City considered demolishing the entire structure. Local organizations called to preserve the historic bridge, and in 1927 five of the original arches across the river were replaced by a single steel span, the remaining arches were retained.

Restoration

In 2009 preliminary planning, funded by plaNYC, began for restoring the High Bridge. The High Bridge Coalition is raising funds and public awareness to restore High Bridge to pedestrian and bicycle traffic, joining Highbridge Parks in both Manhattan and The Bronx that together cover more than 120 acres (0.49 km²) of parkland, and providing a link in New York's greenway system. In early 2010 a contract was signed with Lichtenstein Consulting Engineers and Chu & Gassman Consulting Engineers (MEP sub-consultant) to provide designs for the restored bridge.

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in New York

References

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: High Bridge (New York City) or High Bridge Water Tower

• Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct
• New York City Department of Parks: High Bridge
• NYCRoads.com: High Bridge (Aqueduct Bridge)
• thehighbridge.org
• 2004 article about restoration plans
• High Bridge Documentary produced by The City Concealed
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NY-119, "Old Croton Aqueduct, Harlem River Crossing"