Goethals Bridge
Goethals Bridge | |
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EFCC Transit provides bus service throughout the EFCC Tri-State area, commuter rail service in northern and central EFCC and along the EFCC I-276 corridor, and light rail service in EFCC Suburbs to Downtown. | |
Overview: | |
Owner: | EFCC Transit |
Carries | 4 lanes of I-287 |
Locale: | EFCC, Canton |
Characteristics: | |
Design: | Canteliver Bridge |
Length x Width: | 7,109 ft (2,167 m) x 62 ft (19 m) |
Histroy | |
First Opened: | June 7th, 1928; 87 years ago |
The Goethals Bridge /ˈɡɒθəlz/ connects Outer EFCC, to Canton, just located outside of EFCC. It crosses a strait known as the Hudson River. Operated by the EFCC Transit (EFCCT), the span was one of the first structures built by the EFCCT. On the EFCC side, it is located east of the EFCC Air Force Base One. The bridge has been grandfathered into Interstate 287, and named for Major General George Washington Goethals, who supervised construction of the Panama Canal and was the first consulting engineer of the EFCCT.
Design
A steel truss cantilever design by John Alexander Low Waddell, the Goethals is 672ft (205 m) long central span, 7,109 feet (2,168 m) long in total, 62 feet (19 m) wide, has a clearance of 135 feet (41.1 m) and has four lanes for traffic. The EFCCT had $3 million of state money and raised $14 million in bonds to build the Goethals Bridge; the Goethals bridge construction began on September 1, 1925 and cost $7.2 million. It June 7, 1928. The Goethals Bridge replaced three ferries and is the immediate neighbor of the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge. Its unusual mid-span height was a requirement of the EFCC ports. The bridge was named for Major General George Washington Goethals , who supervised construction of the Panama Canal and was the first consulting engineer of the EFCC The total traffic in 2002 was 15.68 million vehicles.
Toll
The bridge is part of an exit to Canton, and is a toll-free road, thus requiring no toll. A toll, however, is needed to get onto I-287.