Route 3 Bridge refers to a pair of vehicular bridges over the Hackensack River in Secaucus and East Rutherford, New Jersey. Located in the immediate vicinity of the Meadowlands Sports Complex at milepost 8.50 of New Jersey Route 3, the downstream bridge carries eastbound traffic while the upstream bridge carries westbound traffic. [1] The bridges are often congested, due in part to the distance from other crossings of the river. [2]
Route 3 (eastbound) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates | 40°47′55″N74°8′14.35″W / 40.79861°N 74.1373194°W |
| Carries | New Jersey Route 3 |
| Crosses | Hackensack River |
| Locale | Secuacus and East Rutherford |
| Owner | New Jersey Department of Transportation |
| Maintained by | NJDOT |
| ID number | 0204151 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Pratt Truss |
| Material | Concrete and steel |
| Total length | 1,552.2 feet (473.1 m) |
| Width | 60 feet (18 m) (deck) |
| Height | 17.2 feet (5.2 m) |
| Longest span | 185 feet (56 m) |
| No. of spans | 14 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1934 |
| Location | |
 | |
The bridge (NJ ID number 0204152) [3] is camelback through truss with a total length of 1,552.2 feet (473.1 m) and a deck width of 60 feet (18 m). [4] It is 7.7 mies from the river's mouth. [5] It was built circa 1934 as a bascule bridge, raised with a fixed span in 1964, [6] and rehabilitated in 2011. [7] [8]
The bridge, using National Bridge Inventory standards, is 'structurally deficient' and is slated to be replaced. In 2022, state transportation commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti described the then-88-year-old bridge as being "in the worst condition of any in the state." Funding for the $143 million new span is in part funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The project will incorporate provision for a potential future expansion of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, ostensibly between Secaucus Junction rail hub and the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Announced in January 2022, construction is projected to begin in 2024. [9] [10]
40°48′02″N74°04′01″W / 40.800678°N 74.067058°W
The bridge (NJ ID number 0204151) [3] is also dedicated as the Medgar Evers Bridge. It was built in 1963 and rehabilitated in 2011. [7]
Route 3 is a state highway in the northeastern part of New Jersey. The route runs 10.8 miles (17.38 km) from US 46 in Clifton, Passaic County, to US 1/9 in North Bergen, Hudson County. The route intersects many major roads, including US 46, which takes travelers to I-80 west for commuting out of the city-area, the Garden State Parkway and Route 21 in Clifton, Route 17 and the Western Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) in East Rutherford, the Eastern Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike in Secaucus, and Route 495 in North Bergen, for traffic going to the Lincoln Tunnel into New York City. Route 3 serves as the main artery to the Lincoln Tunnel from I-80, in conjunction with a portion of US 46 and Route 495. Portions of the route are not up to freeway standards; with driveways serving businesses and bus stops. Despite this, many construction projects have been underway over the years to alleviate this issue. Route 3 also provided access to Hoffmann La Roche's former American headquarters in Nutley, the Meadowlands Sports Complex and American Dream in East Rutherford. The road inspired a story in The New Yorker in 2004 by Ian Frazier due to its views of the Manhattan skyline. Route 3 was originally the Lincoln Tunnel Approach and ended at the state line in the Hudson River, though it was scaled back following the construction of I-495; which is now Route 495 due to also not meeting interstate highway standards.
The Pulaski Skyway is a four-lane bridge-causeway in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey, carrying a freeway designated U.S. Route 1/9 (US 1/9) for most of its length. The structure has a total length of 3.502 miles (5.636 km). Its longest bridge spans 550 feet (168 m). Traveling between Newark and Jersey City, the roadway crosses the Passaic and Hackensack rivers, Kearny Point, the peninsula between them, and the New Jersey Meadowlands.
NJ Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of NJ Transit. It operates commuter rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered on transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark. NJ Transit also operates rail service in Orange and Rockland counties in New York under contract to Metro-North Railroad. The commuter rail lines saw 57,179,000 riders in 2023, making it the third-busiest commuter railroad in North America and the longest commuter rail system in North America by route length.
The Bergen County Line is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line loops off the Main Line between the Meadowlands and Glen Rock, with trains continuing in either direction along the Main Line. It is colored on NJT system maps in grey, and its symbol is a cattail, which are commonly found in the Meadowlands where the line runs.
Paterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey. The route, originally laid in the colonial era, connects the city of Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront. It has largely been superseded by Route 3, but in the many towns it passes it has remained an important local thoroughfare, and in some cases been renamed.
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The Wittpenn Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that carries New Jersey Route 7 over the Hackensack River in Jersey City and Kearny, in Hudson County, New Jersey. It is named after H. Otto Wittpenn, a former mayor of Jersey City. The bridge has an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of nearly 50,000 vehicles, including about 2,000 trucks. In 2005, the bridge was raised 80 times to accommodate boats passing underneath. The original span opened in 1930; its replacement opened in 2021.
Hackensack River Greenway, once known as the Hackensack RiverWalk, a is partially constructed greenway along the Newark Bay and Hackensack River in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.
The Winant Avenue Bridge is a vehicular movable bridge spanning the Hackensack River in Bergen County, New Jersey 14 miles (23 km) from its mouth at Newark Bay. Built in 1934, it is also known as the Route 46 Hackensack River Bridge and S46 Bridge, it carries U.S. Route 46 (US 46) in Little Ferry and Ridgefield Park. Owned and operated by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), the double leaf bascule bridge is located on a navigable reach. While there have been no requests since 1978, the Code of Federal Regulations last amended in 1999 requires 24-hour notice to be opened. The bridge has been minimally altered since its construction and is eligible for individual listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
The Lincoln Highway Hackensack River Bridge is a vehicular vertical lift bridge crossing the Hackensack River at a point 1.8 mi (2.9 km) from the river mouth at Newark Bay in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The bridge, along the route of the Lincoln Highway, carries U.S. Route 1/9 Truck and the East Coast Greenway between the West Side of Jersey City and Kearny Point in Kearny. The most recent of many crossings at the location, the current bridge was completed in 1954. It is owned by and operated by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), and is required by the Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations to open on signal for maritime traffic. In 2007 it was designated the Shawn Carson and Robert Nguyen Memorial Bridge.
The Lincoln Highway Passaic River Bridge is a vehicular moveable bridge crossing the Passaic River at a point 1.8 mi (2.9 km) from the river mouth at Newark Bay in northeastern New Jersey, United States. The vertical lift bridge, along the route of the Lincoln Highway, carries U.S. Route 1/9 Truck and the East Coast Greenway between the Ironbound section of Newark and Kearny Point in Kearny. Opened in 1941, it is owned by and operated by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and required by the Code of Federal Regulations to open on 4-hour notice for maritime traffic.
Little Ferry Yard is a railyard and intermodal terminal in the Port of New York and New Jersey served by the CSX River Subdivision (CSXT), New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW), Norfolk Southern Railway and Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CRCX).
Gregory Avenue Bridge, earlier known as the Main Avenue Bridge, is road bridge over the Passaic River in northeastern New Jersey, United States. It is the 7th bridge to be built at the river crossing. Originally built in 1905 as a moveable bridge, it has been in a fixed closed position since 1985. A four lane road carries traffic between Passaic & Wallington at the Passaic and Bergen county line.
Midtown Bridge, also known as the Salem Street Bridge and William C. Ryan Memorial Bridge, crosses over the Hackensack River between Hackensack and Bogota, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The through truss bridge was originally a swing bridge built in 1900 for trolleys. It became a road bridge in 1940 and its swing span was fixed in 1984. It was closed in 2017 and slated for replacement; the rebuilt bridge reopened in April 2018.
The Straight Street Bridge is a vehicular bridge over the Passaic River in Paterson, New Jersey, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Arch Street Bridge is Parker truss bridge over the Passaic River in Paterson, New Jersey. It was built in 1907 and rehabilitated in 1997. It was the third structure built at the location within a few years; the prior bridges were destroyed by floods in 1902 and 1903.
The Essex–Hudson Greenway is a planned state park and greenway in the northerneastern New Jersey counties of Essex and Hudson. It will follow an abandoned railroad right of way (ROW) across the New Jersey Meadowlands, over the Hackensack and Passaic rivers, as well pass through densely-populated neighborhoods. The nearly 9-mile (14 km) long shared-use linear park/rail trail will encompass about 135 acres (55 ha) and will average 100 feet (30 m) in width. Running between Jersey City and Montclair it will pass through Secaucus, Arlington in northern Kearny, North Newark, Belleville, Bloomfield and Glen Ridge. The initial phase in Newark and Kearny is expected to open in late 2025
The bridge carries a 4-lane one-directional highway over a major river in the Meadowlands. The viaduct is composed of a rivet-connected Pratt thru truss main span and 13 deck plate girder approach spans all supported on concrete piers. The entire superstructure was raised by concrete extensions to the piers in 1963. The truss span was constructed at that time to replace a double leaf bascule span.