Industrial History: 1895,1904,1980,2005 Washington Street Bridge over Jersey City Reservoir and 1904 Dam at Boonton, NJ

Tuesday, October 6, 2026

1895,1904,1980,2005 Washington Street Bridge over Jersey City Reservoir and 1904 Dam at Boonton, NJ

Bridge: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Metrotrails posted and HistoricBridges

Historic early 1900s postcard image the old Washington Street bridge in Boonton, New Jersey, a rare example of a pin-connected Pratt deck truss bridge built in 1895 by the Canton Bridge Company of Ohio.

The northern span of the bridge was replaced in 1988 with two stringer spans.

This bridge was closed to all but pedestrian traffic in 2005 when the new route 202 Washington Street Bridge opened to traffic.

Steven Monarque: We used to jump off that bridge all the time back in High School.

cdk007, Aug 2024

HistoricBridges
"This is a rare example of a highway pin-connected truss that is mostly a deck truss, but with trusses that are outside of the deck edges rather than under the deck, and are partially positioned above the roadway elevation, although most of the trusses remain below the elevation of the roadway. Sway bracing is positioned as a deck truss. The trusses are deep, and have an unusual horizontal member running through the middle of the trusses likely for additional stability."

Compare this photo to the one above where the boys are jumping off the bridge. It shows some of the revisions that were done to strengthen the bridge. In the foreground, a rolled beam has been added to the truss. And in the lower-right corner, bolts have been added. The rivets confuse me. They are too new for 1895 and too old for 1980. There must have been additional rehabilitations. (I found below a 1904 rehabilittion.)