Editing Hell Gate Bridge (section)

{{Short description|Bridge in New York City}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox bridge
| bridge_name = Hell Gate Bridge
| image = Hell Gate Bridge (60275p).jpg
| image_size = 300
| caption = The main span above Hell Gate
| official_name =
| also_known_as =
| carries = [[Northeast Corridor]] and [[New York Connecting Railroad]]
| crosses = [[Hell Gate]], [[Little Hell Gate]], [[Bronx Kill]]
| locale = 
[[Queens]], [[Randall's and Wards Islands]], and [[the Bronx]]<br/>[[New York City]], U.S.
| map_image =
| map_width =
| coordinates = {{Wikidatacoord|Q1035131|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| mapframe-zoom = 13
| owner = [[Amtrak]]
| maint = Amtrak
| id =
| architect = [[Henry Hornbostel]]
| designer = [[Gustav Lindenthal]]
| engineering =
| design = {{bulleted list
 |[[Through arch bridge]] (main span)
 |Inverted bowstring truss (Little Hell Gate span)
 |[[Truss bridge]] (Bronx Kill span)
 }}
| material = Steel
| mainspan = {{cvt|1017|ft|m|0}}
| length = {{cvt|17000|ft|mi km|1}} (including approaches)
| width = {{cvt|100|ft|m|1}}
| clearance =
| below = {{cvt|135|ft|m|1}}
| num_track = '''3'''{{bulleted list|2 for Amtrak Northeast Corridor|1 for [[CSX]], [[Canadian Pacific Railway|CP]], and [[Providence and Worcester Railroad|P&W]]}}
| track_gauge = {{Track gauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| structure_gauge = [[Loading gauge#North America|AAR]]
| electrification = [[Electrification of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad|12.5 kV 60 Hz AC]] [[Overhead line|catenary]] (Northeast Corridor only)
| builder = [[American Bridge Company]]
| fabricator = [[American Bridge Company]]
| begin = 1912
| complete = 1916
| traffic =
| open = {{Start date and age|1917|03|09}}<ref name="nrhs1917" />
| closed =
| toll =
}}

The '''Hell Gate Bridge''' (originally the '''New York Connecting Railroad Bridge''') is a railroad bridge in New York City. The bridge carries two tracks of [[Amtrak]]'s [[Northeast Corridor]] and one freight track between [[Astoria, Queens]], and [[Port Morris, Bronx]], via [[Randalls and Wards Islands]]. Its main span is a {{convert|1017|ft|m|0|adj=on}} [[through arch bridge|steel through arch]] across [[Hell Gate]], a [[strait]] of the [[East River]] that separates Wards Island from [[Queens]]. The bridge also includes several approach viaducts and two spans across smaller waterways; including these spans, the bridge is {{Convert|17000|ft}} long. It is one of the few rail connections from [[Long Island]], of which Queens is part, to the [[continental United States]].{{Efn|name=mainland}}

The [[New York Connecting Railroad]] (NYCR) was formed in 1892 to build the bridge, linking [[New Jersey]] and the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] (PRR) with [[New England]] and the [[New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad|New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad]] (NH). A [[cantilever bridge]] across Hell Gate was proposed in 1900, but the plan was changed to a through-arch bridge after repeated delays. Construction was overseen by the engineers [[Gustav Lindenthal]], [[Othmar Ammann]], and [[David B. Steinman]] and architect [[Henry Hornbostel]]. The bridge was dedicated on March 9, 1917, and was the world's [[List of longest arch bridge spans|longest steel arch bridge]] until the [[Bayonne Bridge]] opened in 1931. Various proposals to modify the bridge in the 1920s were unsuccessful. The bridge was renovated in the 1990s following three decades of deterioration.

The main span is a [[Hinged arch bridge|two-hinged arch]] flanked by stone towers on either bank of Hell Gate. Northwest of the Hell Gate span, the viaduct is carried on plate-girder spans along the east side of Wards and Randalls Islands. A four-span inverted [[Tied arch bridge|bowstring truss bridge]], measuring {{Convert|1154|ft}}, carries the railroad tracks across Little Hell Gate, a former stream between Randalls and Wards Islands. Further north is a {{Convert|350|ft|adj=on}}, two-span truss bridge across [[Bronx Kill]], a small strait separating Randalls Island from [[the Bronx]]. There are also steel-and-concrete approach viaducts in the Bronx and Queens. In addition to the three existing tracks on the bridge, there was a fourth track used by freight trains until the 1970s. The passenger tracks have been [[Railway electrification|electrified]] since {{Circa}} 1918, and the freight tracks also had electrification from 1927 to 1969. The Hell Gate Bridge has received commentary both for its design and its impact on Long Island's commerce, and its design inspired that of the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]].