Tuesday, November 29, 2022

1948,1973,2009 I-280 Stickel and 1903 NJTR/DL&W Bridges over Passaic River at Newark, NJ

Stickel: (Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

DL&W = Delaware, Lackawanna & Western

Any Interstate highway that still has a movable bridge is worthy of note.

The double-deck NJTR swing bridge is in the foreground and the I-280 lift bridge is in the background. The railroad was originally the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, but I used the rrErie label because that is more informative than rrMisc. The lower level of the DL&W bridge was for freight, and it has been abandoned. [BridgeHunter-NJTR]

Street View

This photo is a better view of the swing bridge.
River Rail Photo posted
A Weathered Engine. On Friday, January 26, 2024, NJ TRANSIT Train 6238 was led by "the model engine", NJTR ALP45-DP 4503 (Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc. 100th Anniversary). After being bottled up on the Raritan Valley Line since its release, the social wrap locomotive has made its way out of captivity across the Newark Division this week. The consist is seen crossing the Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey just after departing the Newark Broad Street Station. A cycle of snow, ice, and rain have made it difficult to keep the white of the engine clean, but isn't this the look that the modelers want?

IEW
In addition to replacing the floor system, the $36m 2009 rehabilitation included "replacing the counterweight wire rope system and overhauling of all mechanical systems that cause the bridge to open to allow the passage of ships on the Passaic River."

"The bridge is named in honor of William A. Stickel, a civil engineer from Newark who served as the Essex County engineer for over 20 years." [wikiwand]
Jonathan Konopka posted
This is the William A. Stickel Memorial Bridge in Newark, NJ. It is a vertical lift bridge that was built in 1949 and carries Interstate 280 across the Passaic River.
Lyle Merdler: This bridge is seen in a few Sopranos episodes.

They do give you some advance warning that there is a stop sign ahead on an Interstate highway. Given the traffic in the oncoming lanes, this bridge is heavily used. (In fact, 90,000 vehicles per day. [IEW]) The bridge has narrow lanes and tight ramps and suffers from a high accident rate. Because of that accident rate, the speed limit is just 40mph. [wikiwand]
Street View

One advantage of working on bridges that cross navigation channels is that it is easier to use cranes during the construction.
IEW

"For this project, NJDOT utilized innovative construction methods which results in significant cost savings and increased the life expectancy of the bridge deck by replacing the existing cast-in-place concrete deck slab with a concrete-filled steel grid deck. This replacement method eliminates the long delay times awaiting the concrete to cure/harden and obtain the significant strength to allow traffic to ride on its surface." The work was divided into five stages to maintain two travel lanes in each direction. The contract allowed a maximum of 15 detour days. [NJDOT]

A Flickr photo (source)
Bob Bahrs: From this angle one can clearly see where the original swing bridge use to be. For those that don't already know, I'll mention that this bridge once had a track on its lower level. where just a walkway is now. It lead to the lower Freight yard in Newark, just past where the large concrete silos are. It came back up and met the main near Harrison Station on the near side of the photo. Great Shot Mark.

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