| Outerbridge Crossing |
The Outerbridge Crossing, seen from Tottenville, Staten Island. Perth Amboy, New Jersey is on the left; Staten Island, New York is on the right |
| Carries |
4 lanes of NJ 440/NY 440 |
| Crosses |
Arthur Kill |
| Locale |
Perth Amboy, New Jersey and southwestern Staten Island, New York |
| Maintained by |
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey |
| Design |
Steel Cantilever bridge |
| Longest span |
750 feet (229 m) |
| Total length |
10,140 feet (3,093 m)[1] |
| Width |
62 feet (18.9 m) |
| Vertical clearance |
14 feet (4.3 m) |
| Clearance below |
135 feet (41.1 m)[1] |
| AADT |
83,900[2] |
| Opening date |
June 29, 1928 |
| Toll |
$8.00 (eastbound) ($6.00 off-peak E-ZPass) |
The Outerbridge Crossing is a cantilever bridge which spans the Arthur Kill. The "Outerbridge", as it's commonly known, connects Perth Amboy, New Jersey with Staten Island, New York and carries NY-440 and NJ-440, each road ending at the respective state border.
The bridge was named for Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge, sometimes pronounced "ooterbridge," the first chairman of the then-Port of New York Authority and a resident of Staten Island.[3][1] Rather than call it the "Outerbridge Bridge" the span was labeled a "crossing," but many New Yorkers mistakenly assume the name comes from the fact that it is the most remote bridge in New York City.
Tolls are collected in the eastbound direction only. The cash toll is $8 for passenger vehicles. Users of E-ZPass pay a discounted toll of $6 during off-peak hours (outside of 6-9 am and 4-7 pm).
The Outerbridge Crossing carried 32,438,000 vehicles (both directions) in 2006, or approximately 90,000 each day.[4]
View from top of tower through truss work (photo: Dave Frieder)
It is a steel cantilever construction, designed by John Alexander Low Waddell and built under the auspices of the Port of New York Authority, now the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which currently operates it.
It opened simultaneously with the Goethals Bridge on June 29, 1928. Both spans have similar designs. Both bridges did not see high counts of traffic a day until the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1964. Traffic counts on both bridges were also suppressed due to the effects of the Great Depression and World War II.
In recent years, the bridge has undergone numerous repair jobs as a result of the high volume of traffic that crosses the bridge each day.
References
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