Raritan Bay Drawbridge

Raritan Bay Drawbridge
Raritan Bay Drawbridge
	In the open position in early summer 2011
Coordinates	40°29′46″N 74°16′52″W / 40.496°N 74.281°W
Carries	New York and Long Branch (to 1976); Conrail; North Jersey Coast Line
Crosses	Raritan River
Locale	Perth Amboy and South Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey
Other name(s)	River Draw
Owner	New Jersey Transit
ID number	NJT 400
Characteristics
Design	Swing bridge
Longest span	331 feet (101 m)
No. of spans	30
History
Constructed by	Pennsylvania Steel Company; McCullen and McDermott
Construction end	1908
Location

The Raritan Bay Drawbridge, also known as River-Draw, Raritan Bay Swing Bridge, and Raritan River Railroad Bridge, is a railroad swing bridge crossing the Raritan River 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from where it empties into the Raritan Bay in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It connects Perth Amboy to the north and South Amboy to the south.^[3]

History

The bridge was built in 1908 to replace one that had been built at the crossing in 1875 to serve the New York and Long Branch Railroad, jointly operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) and Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR).^[1] Near the end of its construction, the bridge was sabotaged by a dynamite blast.^[2] A few years after completion, the bridge was damaged in a severe winter storm.^[4] The bridge has been owned by several different parties since the CNJ/PRR era: Penn Central (1968–1971), the New Jersey Department of Transportation (to 1983), and New Jersey Transit (NJT).

Operations

The bridge is used by NJT commuter rail on its North Jersey Coast Line and for Conrail-Norfolk Southern rail freight operations. Federal regulations require the bridge to be open on signal except during rush hour or when a train has passed the home signal for it.^[3]

Replacement

The bridge was scheduled to be replaced after suffering structural damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012.^[5] The bridge was overwashed by the storm surge, struck by two tugboats, and had to be realigned before low-speed service could resume a month later. A $446 million federal grant, announced in 2014, will fund construction of a new bridge while trains continue using the existing bridge.^[6]^[7] A groundbreaking ceremony was held September 15, 2020, with completion projected for 2026.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "New Raritan Bridge Opens for Travel" (PDF). The New York Times. April 22, 1908. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
^ ^a ^b "Dynamiters Wreck New Railway Bridge" (PDF). The New York Times. March 26, 1908. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
^ ^a ^b "§ 117.747 Raritan River". US Code of Regulations. July 1, 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-15. § 117.747 Raritan River. (a) The draw of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations Railroad Bridge at mile 0.5 shall open on signal; except that, from 6 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays, the bridge need not open. (b) The bridge owner shall provide and keep in good legible condition two clearance gauges with figures not less than 12 inches high designed, installed and maintained according to the provisions of § 118.160 of this chapter. (c) Trains and locomotives shall be controlled so that any delay in opening the draw span shall not exceed ten minutes. However, if a train moving toward the bridge has crossed the home signal for the bridge before the signal requesting opening of the bridge is given, the train may continue across the bridge and must clear the bridge interlocks before the bridge may be opened.
^ "Railroad Crash as Storm Abates" (PDF). The New York Times. January 6, 1914. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
^ "Raritan River Bridge Replacement Project" (PDF). Federal Transit Administration and New Jersey Transit Corporation. June 2017. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
^ Higgs, Larry (September 19, 2014). "NJ Transit Raritan River bridge is Sandy's latest casualty". NJ Advance Media. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
^ Seasly, John (February 8, 2017). "NJ Transit pushing ahead to replace Sandy-damaged bridge". The North Jersey Record. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
^ Andrews, Phil (September 15, 2020). "Murphy, NJ Transit Break Ground At Raritan River Bridge Site". New Jersey News Network. Retrieved 2020-11-27.

External links

Photograph of Raritan Bay Drawbridge from RailPictures.net
Photograph of Raritan Bay Drawbridge from RailPictures.net
Photograph of Raritan Bay Drawbridge from RailPictures.net
Video of towboat and barge transiting the Raritan River Railroad Bridge (pilothouse perspective)

This article about a bridge in New Jersey is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[newraritan-1] "New Raritan Bridge Opens for Travel" (PDF). The New York Times. April 22, 1908. Retrieved 2018-06-14.

[dynamite-2] "Dynamiters Wreck New Railway Bridge" (PDF). The New York Times. March 26, 1908. Retrieved 2018-06-14.

[fedregs-3] "§ 117.747 Raritan River". US Code of Regulations. July 1, 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-15. § 117.747 Raritan River. (a) The draw of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations Railroad Bridge at mile 0.5 shall open on signal; except that, from 6 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays, the bridge need not open. (b) The bridge owner shall provide and keep in good legible condition two clearance gauges with figures not less than 12 inches high designed, installed and maintained according to the provisions of § 118.160 of this chapter. (c) Trains and locomotives shall be controlled so that any delay in opening the draw span shall not exceed ten minutes. However, if a train moving toward the bridge has crossed the home signal for the bridge before the signal requesting opening of the bridge is given, the train may continue across the bridge and must clear the bridge interlocks before the bridge may be opened.

[4] "Railroad Crash as Storm Abates" (PDF). The New York Times. January 6, 1914. Retrieved 2020-11-27.

[5] "Raritan River Bridge Replacement Project" (PDF). Federal Transit Administration and New Jersey Transit Corporation. June 2017. Retrieved 2020-11-27.

[6] Higgs, Larry (September 19, 2014). "NJ Transit Raritan River bridge is Sandy's latest casualty". NJ Advance Media. Retrieved 2015-03-05.

[7] Seasly, John (February 8, 2017). "NJ Transit pushing ahead to replace Sandy-damaged bridge". The North Jersey Record. Retrieved 2020-11-27.

[8] Andrews, Phil (September 15, 2020). "Murphy, NJ Transit Break Ground At Raritan River Bridge Site". New Jersey News Network. Retrieved 2020-11-27.

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v t e NJ Transit Rail Operations
Hoboken Division	Bergen County Line Main Line Meadowlands Rail Line Montclair-Boonton Line Morris & Essex Lines ( Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch) Pascack Valley Line Port Jervis Line
Newark Division	Atlantic City Line North Jersey Coast Line Northeast Corridor Line Princeton Branch Raritan Valley Line
Connections	Aldene Connection Harold Interlocking Lehigh Line Connection Kearny Connection Montclair Connection Port Morris Junction Secaucus Junction Waterfront Connection
Current rolling stock	EMD GP40PH-2 ALP-46 ALP-45DP PL42AC Comet coaches Comet V MultiLevel coaches Arrow multiple units
Bridges and tunnels	Beach Bridge Bergen Tunnels Brielle Draw Connecting Railway Bridge DB Draw Delair Bridge Dock Bridge East River Tunnels HX Draw Lower Hack Lift Lyndhurst Draw Morgan Draw Morrisville–Trenton Railroad Bridge Newark Drawbridge North River Tunnels Oceanport Draw Portal Bridge Rahway River Bridge Raritan Bay Drawbridge Raritan River Bridge Roseville Tunnel Shark River Draw Upper Hack Lift WR Draw
Stations and yards	List of stations Historic stations County Yard Morrisville Yard Sunnyside Yard
Proposed lines	Lackawanna Cut-Off Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line West Trenton Line
Other topics	Access to the Region's Core Atlantic City Express Service Glassboro–Camden Line Gateway Program Mid-Line Loop Northern Branch Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Sawtooth Bridges Train to the Game Former stations Proposed stations

History

Operations

Replacement

See also

References

External links