Mill Basin Bridge

Last updated

Mill Basin Bridge
Mill Basin Bridge construction jeh.jpg
Coordinates 40°36′17″N73°53′56″W / 40.6046°N 73.8988°W / 40.6046; -73.8988
CarriesPassenger vehicles
(via Belt Pkwy Shield free.svg Belt Parkway)
Pedestrians & cyclists
(via Jamaica Bay Greenway)
CrossesMill Basin
LocaleNew York City (Brooklyn)
Maintained by New York City Department of Transportation
ID number 2231471 [1]
Characteristics
Design Girder Bridge
MaterialSteel, Concrete
Clearance below 60 ft (18.3 m) above mean high waterline [2]
No. of lanes 7
History
Designer HNTB Corporation
Constructed byHalmar International
Construction startJune 2015 [3]
Construction endFebruary 28, 2019 [4]
OpenedAugust 30, 2017 [5]
ReplacesMill Basin Drawbridge (demolished)
Location
Mill Basin Bridge
Mill Basin Drawbridge
(demolished)
Coordinates 40°36′17″N73°53′56″W / 40.6046°N 73.8988°W / 40.6046; -73.8988
CarriesPassenger vehicles
Sidewalk
CrossesMill Basin
LocaleNew York City (Brooklyn)
Characteristics
Design Bascule Bridge
MaterialSteel, Concrete
Total length864 ft (263.3 m)
Longest span165 ft (50.3 m)
Clearance below 35 ft (10.7 m) above mean high waterline
No. of lanes 6
History
Designer Waddell & Hardesty
OpenedJune 29, 1940
Closed2017
Location
Mill Basin Bridge

The Mill Basin Bridge is a seven-lane, fixed girder bridge in Brooklyn. It is owned and maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) and spans Mill Basin inlet. Completed in February 2019, the span replaces a Bascule bridge originally constructed in 1940. The bridge carries passenger vehicles via the Belt Parkway and pedestrians and cyclists via the Jamaica Bay Greenway.

Contents

History

Background

The need for a crossing above Mill Basin inlet was first identified by early 20th-century proposals to build a grade-separated circumferential parkway around the southern and eastern borders of Brooklyn and Queens. In October 1938, the project was finally made possible by a $12 million grant from the federal Public Works Administration. Plans for construction of the 36-mile (58 km) roadway were finalized and voted on by the New York City Department of Parks that same month, [6] with Mill Basin being one of five waterways to be spanned along the western edge of Jamaica Bay by a subsection of the project known as the Shore Parkway. [7]

Due to the area's industrialized waterfront and large shipping infrastructure, Mill Basin saw a heavy volume of marine traffic in the early-to-mid 20th century. [8] : 37  This meant that a moveable bridge would be needed to maintain the channel's navigability.

Original bridge

The United States Department of War granted approval for the original Mill Basin Bridge in April 1939, and it first opened to the public on June 29, 1940. [9] [10] Drawn up by local firm Hardesty & Hanover, the $1.4 million design was a two-leaf bascule bridge with a total length of 864 ft (263 m) including a main span of 165 ft (50 m). The bridge provided 35 ft (11 m) of vertical clearance, a channel width of 131 ft (40 m), and carried two 34-foot (10 m) three-lane roadways in either direction between 6-foot (1.8 m) pedestrian sidewalks. [11]

After the bridge's first full year of operation, it had recorded at least 3,100 openings (roughly 8–9 times per day). That frequency steadily decreased, however, as the city experienced an overall reduction in commercial maritime activity through the latter half of the century. By 1953, the bridge recorded 2,173 openings (roughly 6 times per day), and shortly before its ultimate closure and replacement in 2017, the bridge would only open 210 times. [12]

Concurrent with the city's decrease in shipping, highway traffic was on the rise. Between 2000 and 2009, citywide car ownership had risen from 44% to over 46%, [13] and by 2013, the bridge was carrying an average of 148,000 cars per day. With a full open & close cycle of the bridge requiring no less than ten minutes, vehicle congestion induced along the Belt Parkway became a significant issue. [12]

Proposals to replace all of New York City's moveable bridges had been raised as far back as the 1970s, [14] but decades of underfunding made it difficult to keep the bridges in serviceable condition, let alone pay for replacements. [15] The drawbridge experienced extensive decay through the final decades of its life from at least 1990 onward. Regular inspections consistently revealed its deck and structures to be in "Poor" or "Serious" condition, [16] and the bridge became stuck open multiple times in the years leading up to its retirement. [17] [18] Furthermore, the two roadways were originally separated only by an 8-inch-high median. Police officers requested that the bridge receive a taller barrier in 1995. [19] Between then and 2002, there were five head-on collisions that killed four drivers and paralyzed another. This drove NYCDOT to install a 200-foot-long metal guardrail in 2003. [19] At the time, the original bridge was planned to be replaced beginning in 2004. [20]

Replacement

In October 2009, NYCDOT launched the first phase of a capital project to reconstruct seven obsolete bridges along the Belt Parkway. Driving the massive investment was a need for modernized highway safety standards like shoulders, median barriers, and superelevation. The new Mill Basin Bridge was scheduled for the project's third phase, with plans specifying a twin-span, fixed girder bridge providing nearly twice the clearance (60 ft; 18 m) of the existing drawbridge. The transition from a moveable bridge to a fixed design would reduce cost and eliminate delays for both maritime & vehicular traffic. Further improvements included wider vehicle lanes and a protected dual-purpose pedestrian/bicycle lane. [21]

To preserve normal vehicle traffic flow during the multi-year project, construction of the new spans began in June 2015 with brush clearing and erosion control at a site located just north of the original drawbridge. [3] Westbound traffic was shifted to the new bridge by August 30, 2017. [5] The old bridge was raised for the final time on December 12, 2017, [22] and demolished in late 2018. Segments of the former concrete towers were cast into the Atlantic Ocean among efforts to expand the artificial Hempstead Reef off the coast of Long Island. [23] [24] [25] Final construction of the new bridge was completed on February 28, 2019. [4]

Incidents

In January 1950, the original drawbridge suffered an electrical fire which damaged its understructure. [26] [27] The incident led to a weekend-long closure of the parkway. [28]

On June 7, 1971, a municipal strike action organized by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters resulted in nearly all of the city's moveable bridges being locked open and purposefully rendered inoperable. [14] The resulting gridlock caused massive city-wide traffic delays for more than a day. By Jun 8, United States Army Corps of Engineers teams were called in to advise city-employed scab workers on restoring bridge service. [29] Investigations found that along with 25 other bridges, the Mill Basin Drawbridge showed evidence of sabotage including missing fuses and rewired controls which took more than 14 hours to repair. [30]

In 2002, the bridge had to be closed for emergency repairs after a 6-inch (150 mm) wide hole was discovered in the deck. [31]

On the night of January 6, 2019, a New York City firefighter was killed after falling between the gap in the new bridge's twin spans while responding to a motor vehicle accident. [32] The bridge's design later drew criticism from engineers suggesting the gap should be barricaded to prevent such an incident. [33]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooklyn Bridge</span> Bridge in New York City

The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It was also the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its opening, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) and a deck 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water. The span was originally called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge or the East River Bridge but was officially renamed the Brooklyn Bridge in 1915.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 278</span> Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York

Interstate 278 (I-278) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York in the United States. The road runs 35.62 miles (57.32 km) from US Route 1/9 (US 1/9) in Linden, New Jersey, northeast to the Bruckner Interchange in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The majority of I-278 is in New York City, where it serves as a partial beltway and passes through all five of the city's boroughs. I-278 follows several freeways, including the Union Freeway in Union County, New Jersey; the Staten Island Expressway (SIE) across Staten Island; the Gowanus Expressway in southern Brooklyn; the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway (BQE) across northern Brooklyn and Queens; a small part of the Grand Central Parkway in Queens; and a part of the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx. I-278 also crosses multiple bridges, including the Goethals, Verrazzano-Narrows, Kosciuszko, and Robert F. Kennedy bridges.

The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), doing business as MTA Bridges and Tunnels, is an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that operates seven toll bridges and two tunnels in New York City. In terms of traffic volume, it is the largest bridge and tunnel toll agency in the United States, serving more than a million people each day and generating more than $1.9 billion in toll revenue annually as of 2017. As of 2018, its budget was $596 million, funded through taxes and fees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhattan Bridge</span> Bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York

The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The main span is 1,480 ft (451 m) long, with the suspension cables being 3,224 ft (983 m) long. The bridge's total length is 6,855 ft (2,089 m). It is one of four toll-free vehicular bridges connecting Manhattan Island to Long Island; the nearby Brooklyn Bridge is just slightly further downtown, while the Queensboro and Williamsburg bridges are to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belt Parkway</span> Highway in New York

The Belt Parkway is the name given to a series of connected parkways that form a belt-like circle around the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The Belt Parkway comprises three of the four parkways in what is known as the Belt System: the Shore Parkway, the Southern Parkway, and the Laurelton Parkway. The three parkways in the Belt Parkway are a combined 25.29 miles (40.70 km) in length. The Cross Island Parkway makes up the fourth parkway in the system, but is signed separately.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge</span> Bridge between Brooklyn and Queens, New York

The Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge in New York City, New York, that crosses Rockaway Inlet. The bridge, which opened on July 3, 1937, connects the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, with Flatbush Avenue to Floyd Bennett Field, Belt Parkway, and the Marine Park neighborhood in Brooklyn. The bridge is designated as New York State Route 901B, an unsigned reference route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge</span> Bridge in Queens, New York

The Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge is a toll bridge that carries Cross Bay Boulevard across Jamaica Bay in Queens, New York City, between Broad Channel and the Rockaway Peninsula.

The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel, officially the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel and commonly referred to as the Battery Tunnel or Battery Park Tunnel, is a tolled tunnel in New York City that connects Red Hook in Brooklyn with the Battery in Manhattan. The tunnel consists of twin tubes that each carry two traffic lanes under the mouth of the East River. Although it passes just offshore of Governors Island, the tunnel does not provide vehicular access to the island. With a length of 9,117 feet (2,779 m), it is the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnel in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williamsburg Bridge</span> Bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York

The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Completed in 1903, it was the longest suspension bridge span in the world until 1924.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross Island Parkway</span> Highway in New York

The Cross Island Parkway is a parkway in New York City, part of the Belt System running along the perimeter of the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. The Cross Island Parkway runs 10.6 miles (17.1 km) from the Whitestone Expressway in Whitestone past the Throgs Neck Bridge, along and across the border of Queens and Nassau County to meet up with the Southern State Parkway, acting as a sort of separation point which designates the limits of New York City. The road is designated as New York State Route 907A (NY 907A), an unsigned reference route, and bears the honorary name 100th Infantry Division Parkway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronx–Whitestone Bridge</span> Bridge between Queens and the Bronx, New York

The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City, carrying six lanes of Interstate 678 over the East River. The bridge connects Throggs Neck and Ferry Point Park in the Bronx, on the East River's northern shore, with the Whitestone neighborhood of Queens on the southern shore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 678</span> Highway in New York

Interstate 678 (I-678) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that extends for 14 miles (23 km) through two boroughs of New York City. The route begins at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jamaica Bay and travels north through Queens and across the East River to the Bruckner Interchange in the Bronx, where I-678 ends and the Hutchinson River Parkway begins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway Bridge (Manhattan)</span> Bridge in Manhattan, New York

The Broadway Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge across the Harlem River Ship Canal in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It connects the neighborhoods of Inwood on Manhattan Island and Marble Hill on the mainland. The bridge consists of two decks. The lower deck carries Broadway, which is designated as U.S. Route 9 at this location. The upper deck carries the New York City Subway's IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, serving the 1 train.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mill Basin, Brooklyn</span> Neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City

Mill Basin is a residential neighborhood in southeastern Brooklyn, New York City. It is on a peninsula abutting Jamaica Bay and is bordered by Avenue U on the northwest and the Mill Basin/Mill Island Inlet on its remaining sides. Mill Basin is adjacent to the neighborhood of Bergen Beach to the northeast, Flatlands to the northwest, Marine Park to the southwest, and Floyd Bennett Field and the former Barren Island to the southeast. Mill Basin also contains a subsection called Old Mill Basin, north of Avenue U.

The Macombs Dam Bridge is a swing bridge across the Harlem River in New York City, connecting the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. The bridge is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn)</span> Boulevard in Brooklyn, New York

Ocean Parkway is a 4.86-mile (7.82 km) boulevard in the west-central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is inventoried by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) as New York State Route 908H (NY 908H), an unsigned reference route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Department of Transportation</span> New York City government agency

The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation, and was appointed by Mayor Eric Adams on January 1, 2022. Former Commissioners have included Polly Trottenberg, Janette Sadik-Khan, and Iris Weinshall. Their Training Center is located at 140 General R W Berry Dr, Queens, NY 11359, off of Exit 32 of the Cross Island Parkway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Avenue Bridge (New York City)</span> Bridge between Manhattan and the Bronx, New York

The Third Avenue Bridge carries southbound road traffic on Third Avenue over the Harlem River, connecting the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx in New York City. It once carried southbound New York State Route 1A. The Third Avenue Bridge carries traffic south from the intersections of either Third Avenue and East 135th Street, or Bruckner Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue, in the Bronx. On the Manhattan side, the bridge funnels traffic into three locations: East 128th Street; the intersection of East 129th Street and Lexington Avenue; or the southbound Harlem River Drive in Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University Heights Bridge</span> Bridge between Manhattan and the Bronx, New York

The University Heights Bridge is a steel-truss revolving swing bridge across the Harlem River in New York City. It connects West 207th Street in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan with West Fordham Road in the University Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. The bridge is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bus lanes in New York City</span> Bus priority system

Since 1963, New York City has been using a system of bus lanes that are intended to give priority to buses, which contain more occupants than passenger and commercial vehicles. Most of these lanes are restricted to buses only at certain days and times, but some bus lanes are restricted 24/7. As of May 2021, there are 138.4 miles (222.7 km) of bus lanes within New York City.

References

  1. ↑ "NYC DOT Bridges & Tunnels Annual Condition Report 2019" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation . Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Belt Parkway Press Release, Oct 2015". Facebook . Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "ASHE 2019 National Conference Presentation: Belt Parkway Project" (PDF). American Society of Highway Engineers. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Belt Parkway Press Release, Feb 2019". Facebook . Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Cuba, Julianne. "New Mill Basin Bridge lanes open • Brooklyn Paper". www.brooklynpaper.com. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  6. ↑ Mathieu, George M. (October 2, 1938). "Circle Link is Certain" (PDF). The New York Times . p. 176. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  7. ↑ "City to Start Work on Shore Parkway" (PDF). The New York Times . November 8, 1938. p. 25. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  8. ↑ Black, Frederick R. (1981). "Jamaica Bay: A History" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 5, 2017.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ↑ Associated Press (April 19, 1939). "Brooklyn Span Approved; War Department Sanctions Bridge Across Mill Basin" (PDF). The New York Times . p. 46. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  10. ↑ "NYC DOT – Bridges over Smaller Waterways". www1.nyc.gov. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Bids for Span Opened; Figures Submitted for Parkway Bridge Over Mill Basin" (PDF). The New York Times . July 7, 1939. p. 11. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  12. 1 2 NYC DOT Bridges & Tunnels Annual Condition Report (PDF). New York City: New York City Department of Transportation. 2014. p. 69. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  13. ↑ "New York's Car Ownership Rate Is on The Rise". Streetsblog New York City. April 6, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  14. 1 2 Ferretti, Fred (June 8, 1971). "For Bridge Operator: Fear, Frustration and Boredom" (PDF). The New York Times . p. 20. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  15. ↑ Sharif, Mo (May 15, 2005). "Protecting New York City's Bridge Assets". Public Roads Magazine. 68– via FHWA.
  16. ↑ "BridgeReports.com | RTE 907C over MILL BASIN, Kings County, New York". bridgereports.com. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Drawbridge Back Open After Getting Stuck Earlier". NBC New York. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Mill Basin drawbridge malfunction snarls Belt Parkway traffic on Mother's Day". PIX11. May 10, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  19. 1 2 Donohue, Pete (March 13, 2003). "Finally, a Safer Bridge Divider to Be Built on Mill Basin Span". New York Daily News. p. 1. ProQuest   305769280.
  20. ↑ Donohue, Pete (September 12, 2002). "Deadly B'klyn Span to Get Center Guardrail". New York Daily News. p. 2. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Reconstruction of Seven Bridges on the Belt Parkway" (PDF). nyc.gov. Retrieved May 24, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ↑ "Old Mill Basin Bridge in its Final Position". Facebook . December 12, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ↑ "ASHE 2019 National Conference Presentation: Belt Parkway Project" (PDF). American Society of Highway Engineers. Retrieved May 24, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ↑ "Governor Cuomo Launches Historic Artificial Reef Expansion with Rail Car Drop to Hempstead Reef". www.governor.ny.gov. September 16, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ↑ "DEC Announces Deployment of Mill Basin Drawbridge Materials to Enhance Hempstead's Artificial Reef – NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation". www.dec.ny.gov. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Part of Belt Parkway Closed by Bridge Fire" (PDF). The New York Times . January 29, 1950. p. 43. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Belt Parkway Bridge Is Afire 4 Times in Day: Fire Dept. Tires of Pouring City Water; Fireboats Stay and Pump Up Jamaica Bay". New York Herald Tribune. January 29, 1950. p. 29. ProQuest   1325859473.
  28. ↑ "Belt Parkway Reopened" (PDF). The New York Times . January 30, 1950. p. 14. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  29. ↑ Johns, Steven (March 17, 2015). "New York City municipal workers' strike, 1971".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ↑ Lindsey, Robert (June 9, 1971). "City Is Checking Signs Of Sabotage on Bridges" (PDF). The New York Times . p. 27. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  31. ↑ Lueck, Thomas J. (December 18, 2002). "Hole in Mill Basin Bridge Closes Two Lanes". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  32. ↑ "FDNY Firefighter Dies After Falling Off Mill Basin Bridge". www.ny1.com. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  33. ↑ WABC (January 8, 2019). "Investigation underway after firefighter falls through gap on roadway in Brooklyn". ABC7 New York. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.