PATH Lift Bridge

PATH Lift Bridge
PATH Lift Bridge in the foreground, with Harsimus Branch (Conrail), Wittpenn, and Lower Hack Lift bridges behind it
Carries	PATH
Crosses	Hackensack River
Locale	Connecting Kearny and Jersey City, New Jersey
Owner	PATH
Design	Lift bridge
Material	Steel
Opened	1900; 111 years ago (1900)
Coordinates	40°44′24″N 74°04′59″W / 40.740108°N 74.083048°W / 40.740108; -74.083048 (PATH Lift Bridge)Coordinates: 40°44′24″N 74°04′59″W / 40.740108°N 74.083048°W / 40.740108; -74.083048 (PATH Lift Bridge)

The PATH Lift is a lift bridge carrying the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rapid transit line across the Hackensack River between Kearny and Jersey City, New Jersey.

History

The bridge was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1900.^[1] It was part of the PRR main line that terminated at Exchange Place in Jersey City. Upon the opening of the PRR North River Tunnels to Manhattan in 1910, the main line traffic was routed on a new alignment to the tunnels, and the Exchange Place line tracks were made available to the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, a rapid transit line to lower Manhattan (later called PATH). Service on a new H&M line between the Manhattan Transfer station in Harrison, New Jersey and lower Manhattan began on October 1, 1911.^[2]

Use of the bridge was shared by the PRR and PATH system, until PRR ended its service to Exchange Place in 1961. Since that time the PATH Newark – World Trade Center line has used the bridge exclusively.^[3]

See also

• List of crossings of the Hackensack River

References

1. ^ Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society. "PRR Chronology, 1900." March 2005 Edition.
2. ^ "Improved Transit Facilities by Newark High Speed Line". New York Times. 1911-10-01. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D05E2D71531E233A25752C0A9669D946096D6CF. 
3. ^ Cudahy, Brian J. (2002). Rails Under the Mighty Hudson: The Story of the Hudson Tubes, the Pennsy Tunnels and Manhattan Transfer. Hudson Valley Heritage Series. 2 (2nd ed.). New York: Fordham University Press. pp. 62-63. ISBN 0-8232-2189-X.