The Details
Outbridge Crossing is a cantilever bridge built in 1928. The bridge crosses the Arthur Kill strait between the Perth Amba port, New Jersey and Staten Island. The crossing carries New York 440 and New Jersey 440 Highways. It is interesting to note that both roads connect close to the center of the bridge.
Outbridge Crossing is one of three transportation bridges that connect New Jersey with Staten Island. It is operated and maintained by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The other two bridges that connect the state are the ‘Bayonne’ Bridge and the ‘Goethals’ Bridge.
How Outbridge Crossing originated
Many projects are refered to famous heroes of that time. And the Outbridge Crossing is no exception. It was named after Eugene Harvey Outerbridge, who was the first chairman of New York Port Authority. From the very first, the bridge was refered to as a crossing.
To increase capacity, the Outbridge Crossing, aka the Eugene Harvey Outerbridge, was regularly repaired and improved. As of 2006, more than 90,000 vehicles pass through the Eugene Harvey Outerbridge every day. Approximate annual traffic is more than 32 million cars, motorcycles and other kinds of transport.
Outbridge Crossing Characteristics
Marked steel was chosen as the main material of the bridge. The bridge was designed by John Alexander Low Waddell. The bridge was put into service at the same time as the ‘Goethals’ Bridge. The two bridges had a similar design until the ‘Goethals’ Bridge was upgraded becoming a cable-stayed bridge in 2018.
Outbridge Crossing characteristics:
total length of the bridge - 3 thousand m;
width - 18.9 m;
long span - 229 m;
clearance - above / below - 4.3 m, 43.6 m, respectively.
The fare is collected through the electronic payment system E-ZPass. For those who do not have transponders, there is another payment alternative - the camera takes a photo of the number plate, sends an invoice for the fare to e-mail.