Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge
Carries CSX and M&E rail lines
Crosses Arthur Kill Locale Elizabeth, New Jersey and Staten Island, New York
Design Vertical lift bridge
Longest span 558 feet (170 m)
Width 1 track
Height 215 feet (66 m)
Clearance below 135 feet (41 m)
Opening date August 25, 1959, reopened October 4, 2006
Decline of rail traffic
As soon as the new bridge opened, rail traffic over the route began to decline due to major manufacturing facilities on Staten Island closing. Bethlehem Steel closed in 1960, U.S. Gypsum in 1972, U.S. Lines-Howland Hook Marine Terminal in 1986, and Procter and Gamble in 1991. A shift to truck traffic also caused a substantial decline of rail traffic over the bridge, and the North Shore branch of rail service went through a series of owners. The three companies that owned the North Branch were B&O Railroad, CSX and the Delaware Otsego Corporation. They saw the bridge as an excess property. The last freight train went over the Arthur Kill Lift Bridge in 1991, at which time the North Shore branch of rail service was abandoned.
Re-opening the bridge
In 1994, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) purchased the Arthur Kill Railroad Lift Bridge and the North Shore branch of rail service from CSX. On December 15, 2004, NYCEDC and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced a joint $72 million project to rehabilitate the bridge and reactivate freight rail service on Staten Island. Repairs include repainting the steel and rehabilitating the lift mechanism. The bridge was painted royal blue in an homage to the B&O. The rehabilitation project was completed in June 2006.
On October 4, 2006, a train crossed the bridge for the first time in 16 years. It consisted of just a single locomotive which will take on switching duties at the New York Container Terminal, also known by its old name, Howland Hook. On April 2, 2007, normal operations involving garbage removal started, which will result in an estimated 40,000 truck loads diverted from the nearby Goethals Bridge.
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