Alexander Hamilton Bridge

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)

Alexander Hamilton Bridge
From the south, showing truck traffic
Carries	8 lanes of I-95 / US 1
Crosses	Harlem River
Locale	Manhattan and the Bronx, in New York City
Maintained by	New York State Department of Transportation
Design	Arch bridge
Total length	2,375 feet (724 m)
Longest span	555 feet (169 m)
Vertical clearance	103 ft (41 m)
Opened	January 15, 1963
Toll	none
Daily traffic	189,598 (2008)[1]
Coordinates	40°50′44″N 73°55′43″W / 40.8455°N 73.9287°W / 40.8455; -73.9287 (Alexander Hamilton Bridge)Coordinates: 40°50′44″N 73°55′43″W / 40.8455°N 73.9287°W / 40.8455; -73.9287 (Alexander Hamilton Bridge)

From the Bronx

The Alexander Hamilton Bridge carries eight lanes of traffic over the Harlem River in New York City between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, connecting the Trans-Manhattan Expressway in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan and the Cross-Bronx Expressway, as part of Interstate 95. The bridge opened to traffic on January 15, 1963, the same day that the Cross-Bronx Expressway was completed. For 2008, the New York City Department of Transportation, which operates and maintains the bridge, reported an average daily traffic volume in both directions of 189,598; having reached a peak ADT of 192,848 in 1990.^[1]

The total length of bridge, including approaches, is 2,375 feet (724 m). The parallel main spans of the steel arch bridge stretch 555 feet (169 m) long over the Harlem River and provide 103 ft (31 m) of vertical clearance at the center and 366 ft (112 m) of horizontal clearance.

History

After completion of the George Washington Bridge in 1931, traffic off that bridge into the Bronx would travel over the Washington Bridge, which crosses the Harlem River just north of the present Alexander Hamilton Bridge. The Alexander Hamilton Bridge was planned in the mid-1950s to connect to Robert Moses' proposed Trans-Manhattan and Cross-Bronx Expressways and to accommodate the additional traffic resulting from the addition of the six-lane lower level to the George Washington Bridge. With the Interstate designation, 90% of the $21 million in construction costs were covered by the federal government. The bridge design included a set of spiraling ramps (colloquially known as "The Corkscrew") to connect to and from the Major Deegan Expressway (completed in 1964) and a viaduct ramp connecting to the Harlem River Drive, both of which are over 100 feet (30 m) below the level of the Bridge, and access to Amsterdam Avenue.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alexander Hamilton Bridge

• New York State Department of Transportation
• NYC Roads: Alexander Hamilton Bridge
• Alexander Hamilton Bridge at Structurae
• Bridge and Tunnel Club pictures of the Alexander Hamilton Bridge
• Nautical Chart #12342 NOAA.

Crossings of the Harlem River Upstream Washington Bridge Alexander Hamilton Bridge Downstream High Bridge