Upper Hack Lift

Bridge in Secaucus and Lyndhurst, New Jersey
40°46′41″N 74°05′24″W / 40.778015°N 74.089906°W / 40.778015; -74.089906 (Upper Hack Lift Bridge)CarriesOne track of NJ Transit Main LineCrossesHackensack RiverLocaleSecaucus and Lyndhurst, New JerseyOfficial nameUpper Hack BridgeOther name(s)Upper Hackensack Lift, Erie Lift, West Secaucus BridgeMaintained byNJ TransitCharacteristicsDesignLift bridgeLongest span127 feetClearance below8 ft (lowered); 110 ft (raised)HistoryOpenedMarch 1959LocationMap

Upper Hack Lift is a lift bridge carrying the New Jersey Transit Main Line across the Hackensack River at mile 6.9 between Secaucus, New Jersey and Lyndhurst.

History

It was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1958 and completed in March 1959[1] to serve the Boonton Branch and replaced an older swing span from 1901 on the site, which had been damaged by shifting currents. The new single-track lift bridge cost $5.5 million,[2] financed through a five-year bank loan.[3]

Following a 1963 route realignment, Erie Main Line service began using the bridge, with Erie Lackawanna, NJDOT and later NJ Transit Main Line commuter service continuing to use the route. It was repainted in 1994 to its current turquoise blue color.

Upper Hack is the only single-track lift bridge in New Jersey (excluding the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge connecting to Staten Island). It is visible to motorists on the New Jersey Turnpike's western spur between Interchanges 15W and 16W.

Remnants of the older swing span are visible just to the north of the current lift span, as concrete abutments and piers remain.[4]

The current drawbridge schedule at Upper Hack (as stated by U.S. Coast Guard, 33 CFR 117.723) allows the bridge to open on signal unless the bridge tender is at the nearby HX Draw on the Bergen County Line upstream.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, 1958 Annual Report http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/el/before/dlw-ar-58.html
  2. ^ Taber, Thomas Townsend; Taber, Thomas Townsend III (1980). The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the Twentieth Century. Vol. 1. Muncy, PA: Privately printed. p. 139. ISBN 0-9603398-2-5.
  3. ^ Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad 1958 Annual Report
  4. ^ Wong, Kevin (1999). "Abutment for former Lackawanna swing span by Upper Hack." Photograph.
  5. ^ (2)

External links

  • Movable Railroad Bridges of New Jersey-photo catalog
  • Movable Railroad Bridges of New Jersey
  • Upper Hack Lift photo gallery
  • U.S. Government Printing Office: DRAWBRIDGE OPERATION REGULATIONS-Hackensack River (Code of Federal Regulations 33 CFR 117.723)
  • Erie Lift (Upper Hack) photos and notes
Upstream
HX Draw
New Jersey Transit
Upper Hack Lift
New Jersey Transit
Downstream
DB Draw (decommissioned)
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