Hell Gate Bridge
The Hell Gate Bridge, originally the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge or the East River Arch Bridge, is a 1,017-foot (310 m) steel through arch railroad bridge in New York City. Originally built for four tracks, the bridge now carries two tracks of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and one freight track across the Hell Gate, a strait of the East River, between Astoria in Queens and Randalls and Wards Islands in Manhattan.
Hell Gate Bridge | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40.7824°N 73.9217°W |
| Carries | Amtrak Northeast Corridor; CSX Y102 and P&W FPCH and CHFP freight trains |
| Crosses | Hell Gate of the East River |
| Locale | Queens and the Bronx in New York City via Randall's and Wards Islands |
| Owner | Amtrak |
| Maintained by | Amtrak |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Through arch bridge |
| Material | Nickel-manganese steel |
| Total length | 17,000 feet (3.2 mi; 5.2 km) |
| Width | 100 feet (30.5 m) |
| Longest span | 1,087.5 feet (331 m) |
| Clearance below | 135 feet (41.1 m) |
| Rail characteristics | |
| No. of tracks | 3
|
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Structure gauge | AAR |
| Electrified | 12.5 kV 60 Hz AC catenary (Northeast Corridor only) |
| History | |
| Designer | Gustav Lindenthal |
| Engineering design by | Harold W. Hudson |
| Constructed by | American Bridge Inc. |
| Fabrication by | American Bridge Company |
| Construction start | 1912 |
| Construction end | 1916 |
| Opened | March 9, 1917 |
| Location | |
The arch across the Hell Gate is the largest of three bridges that form the Hell Gate railroad viaduct. An inverted bowstring truss bridge with four 300-foot (91.4 m) spans crosses the Little Hell Gate, a former strait that is now filled in, and a 350-foot (106.7 m) fixed truss bridge crosses the Bronx Kill, a strait now narrowed by fill. Together with approaches, the bridges are more than 17,000 feet (3.2 mi; 5.2 km) long. The designs of the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, England and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in New South Wales, Australia were derived from the Hell Gate Bridge.