Editing Hell Gate Bridge (section)

==Development<span class="anchor" id="History"></span>==

=== Planning ===
At the end of the 19th century, there was no direct rail connection between [[New England]] and [[New Jersey]],<ref name="In 2024 q032">{{cite web |last=Oviatt-Lawrence |first=Alice |date=February 22, 2024 |title=Engineering History |url=https://www.structuremag.org/?p=778 |access-date=February 27, 2024 |website=Structure magazine |archive-date=February 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227012755/https://www.structuremag.org/?p=778 |url-status=live}}</ref> nor between [[Long Island]] and the rest of the [[continental United States]].<ref name="n142012554">{{Cite news |date=April 24, 1892 |title=A Connecting Railroad |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-a-connecting-ra/142012554/ |access-date=February 24, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=20 |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224214546/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-a-connecting-ra/142012554/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Trains traveling between any of these locations had to use barges,<ref name="n142012554" /> which traversed New York City's congested waterways.<ref name="In 2024 q032" /> This spurred efforts to link the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] (PRR), which operated to New Jersey and other states, with the [[New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad|New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad]] (New Haven; NH), which operated to New England. At the time, the NH had a freight terminal in [[Port Morris, Bronx]], where [[car float]]s transported railroad cars down the [[East River]] to Manhattan or New Jersey.<ref name="n142012554" /> Although the PRR's [[North River Tunnels]] and [[East River Tunnels]] (completed in 1910<ref>{{cite web |date=September 9, 1910 |title=Day Long Throng Inspects New Tube; 35,000 Persons Were Carried on the First Day of Pennsylvania's Tunnel Service |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1910/09/09/archives/day-long-throng-inspects-new-tube-35000-persons-were-carried-on-the.html |access-date=May 22, 2018 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523095412/https://www.nytimes.com/1910/09/09/archives/day-long-throng-inspects-new-tube-35000-persons-were-carried-on-the.html |url-status=live}}</ref>) allowed passenger trains to travel between Long Island and New Jersey, no railroad line yet existed between Long Island and New England.<ref name="p1114484502">{{cite news |date=January 10, 1932 |title=Bridge Over Hell Gate Is 1,017 Feet in Length: Span Used by Railroads Cost $12,000,000 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=K23 |id={{ProQuest|1114484502}}}}</ref> Passengers traveling along the modern-day [[Northeast Corridor]] had to take a ferry from New Jersey and walk across [[Manhattan]] to [[Grand Central Terminal]], or vice versa, to continue their journey.<ref name="Barron 2017 y5212">{{cite web |last=Barron |first=James |date=March 3, 2017 |title=Hell Gate Bridge, a Good Place to Hide From Zombies, Turns 100 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/nyregion/hell-gate-bridge-a-good-place-to-hide-from-zombies-turns-100.html |access-date=March 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308222426/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/nyregion/hell-gate-bridge-a-good-place-to-hide-from-zombies-turns-100.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 1890s progress ====
The [[New York Connecting Railroad]] (NYCR), headed by Oliver W. Barnes, was incorporated in April 1892 to build the bridge.<ref name="n142012554" /><ref>{{cite book |author=New York (State). Legislature. Senate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_5MlAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA448 |title=Documents of the Senate of the State of New York |year=1914 |page=448 |access-date=August 3, 2018 |issue=v. 8 |archive-date=April 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404034742/https://books.google.com/books?id=_5MlAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA448#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Throughout the 1890s, the [[New York State Legislature]] considered various bills that would give the NYCR a franchise to construct a bridge from Long Island to the U.S. mainland, but to no avail.<ref name="p574566055">{{cite news |date=February 7, 1899 |title=Ward's Island Bridge Scheme: Reappearance of a Well-known Measure at Albany |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=4 |id={{ProQuest|574566055}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=February 7, 1899 |title=For a Bridge Over Hell Gate. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1899/02/07/archives/for-a-bridge-over-hell-gate.html |access-date=February 24, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224193439/https://www.nytimes.com/1899/02/07/archives/for-a-bridge-over-hell-gate.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The NYCR planned for the bridge to carry a line from Manhattan to [[Brooklyn]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 5, 1898 |title=The All-rail Plan Takes on New Life |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-the-all-rail-pl/142010254/ |access-date=February 24, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=7 |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224211517/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-the-all-rail-pl/142010254/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In March 1898, U.S. representative [[John H. Ketcham]] proposed legislation to allow the NYCR to erect a bridge with two or more tracks across the [[Bronx Kill]], [[Little Hell Gate]], and [[Hell Gate]] waterways, connecting [[the Bronx]] (on the U.S. mainland) with [[Randalls and Wards Islands|Randalls Island, Wards Island]], and Long Island.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 4, 1898 |title=New Bridge Proposed |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-new-bridge-proposed/142009560/ |access-date=February 24, 2024 |work=The Standard Union |pages=8 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224214548/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-new-bridge-proposed/142009560/ |url-status=live}}; {{cite news |date=March 4, 1898 |title=New East River Bridge Proposed: a Bill Introduced in the House by Mr. Ketchan |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=2 |id={{ProQuest|574426863}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=March 4, 1898 |title=East River Bridge Bill; Introduced in the House by Representative Ketchum of New York. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1898/03/04/archives/east-river-bridge-bill-introduced-in-the-house-by-representative.html |access-date=February 24, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224193441/https://www.nytimes.com/1898/03/04/archives/east-river-bridge-bill-introduced-in-the-house-by-representative.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="n142024268">{{Cite news |date=March 4, 1898 |title=Introduction of the Bridge Bill in Congress |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-introduction-of/142024268/ |access-date=February 24, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=16 |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224233126/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-introduction-of/142024268/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Although the [[federal government of the United States]] required that the [[clearance below]] any bridge across the East River (of which the Hell Gate was part) be {{Convert|150|ft}} above [[mean high water]], the bill permitted a bridge as low as {{Convert|140|ft}} above mean high water.<ref name="n142024268" />

By the beginning of 1899, the NYCR had received estimates for a bridge connecting Port Morris in the Bronx, Randalls Island, Wards Islands, and [[Astoria, Queens|Astoria]] in Long Island.<ref name="nyt-1899-01-03">{{Cite news |date=January 3, 1899 |title=News of the Railroads; Franchises and Estimates Secured for a Bridge and Viaduct from Port Morris to Astoria. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1899/01/03/archives/news-of-the-railroads-franchises-and-estimates-secured-for-a-bridge.html |access-date=February 24, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224211435/https://www.nytimes.com/1899/01/03/archives/news-of-the-railroads-franchises-and-estimates-secured-for-a-bridge.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The {{convert|800|ft|m|-long|adj=mid}}, {{convert|150|ft|m|-high|adj=mid}} bridge was to connect the [[New York Central Railroad]] and NH lines in the Bronx with the [[Long Island Rail Road]] (LIRR) and [[South Brooklyn Railway]] lines on Long Island.<ref name="nyt-1899-01-03" /><ref name="n142011995">{{Cite news |date=March 1, 1898 |title=Railway Connecting Link |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-railway-connect/142011995/ |access-date=February 24, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=13 |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224214539/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-railway-connect/142011995/ |url-status=live}}</ref> A state senator introduced a bill in February 1899 to incorporate the Wards Island Bridge Company to construct the bridge.<ref name="p574566055" /> The following month, the NYCR's directors held a meeting with New York Central's directors about the construction of the line.<ref name="n142011995" /> The New York Central expressed interest in the planned Hell Gate Bridge, as the railroad intended to use it for both passenger and freight traffic.<ref name="p570854593">{{cite news |date=May 6, 1900 |title=Pennsylvania Gets L. I.: Control of the Insular Line Passes to a Great System |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|570854593}}}}</ref>

==== Cantilever plan ====
The New York State Legislature passed a bill in April 1900, authorizing the NYCR to build a bridge from the Port Morris station in the Bronx to the [[Bushwick Junction (LIRR station)|Bushwick Junction]] station in Queens,<ref>{{cite news |date=April 24, 1900 |title=To Connect L. I. And N. Y. C.: Bill for a Bridge Over Hell Gate Before the Mayor |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=10 |id={{ProQuest|570822938}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=April 24, 1900 |title=Bridge Over Hell Gate; The Bill Accepted – To Connect New York Central and Long Island Roads. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/04/24/archives/bridge-over-hell-gate-the-bill-accepted-to-connect-new-york-central.html |access-date=February 24, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224233126/https://www.nytimes.com/1900/04/24/archives/bridge-over-hell-gate-the-bill-accepted-to-connect-new-york-central.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and New York governor [[Theodore Roosevelt]] signed the bill the next month.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 5, 1900 |title=Hell Gate Bridge Bill Signed. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/05/05/archives/hell-gate-bridge-bill-signed.html |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225191738/https://www.nytimes.com/1900/05/05/archives/hell-gate-bridge-bill-signed.html |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=May 5, 1900 |title=Control of the Long Island |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-control-of-the-long-isl/142074429/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |pages=16 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225191738/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-control-of-the-long-isl/142074429/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="n142074167">{{Cite news |date=May 4, 1900 |title=Trunk Railroad Bridge Assured |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-trunk-railroad-bridge-assure/142074167/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=1 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225191739/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-trunk-railroad-bridge-assure/142074167/ |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Alfred P. Boller]] drew up plans for a [[cantilever bridge]].<ref name="In 2024 q032" /><ref name="Thrall Billington 2008 p. 6">{{harvnb|Thrall|Billington|2008|ps=.|page=6}}</ref> The cantilever span was to measure {{convert|1448|ft}} long, {{convert|30|ft}} wide, and {{convert|136|ft}} high; the project, including {{Convert|7|mi}} of approach tracks, was to cost $5.5 million.{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1900|value=5.5|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="p570918041">{{cite news |date=October 4, 1900 |title=East River Bridge Project Hearing: Chance for All Interested to Speak on Connecting Railroad Company's Plan |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=4 |id={{ProQuest|570918041}}}}</ref> The cantilever design was selected because it was cheaper than a [[suspension bridge]] of the same length.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 22, 1902 |title=No Low Drawbridge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-no-low-drawbrid/142083573/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=2 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225203732/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-no-low-drawbrid/142083573/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Construction of the bridge was to have begun in September 1900 and be completed in five years.<ref name="n142074167" /><ref>{{cite news |date=April 25, 1900 |title=Hell Gate Railroad Bridge: New-York Central Expected to Obtain Facilities in Long Island as a Result |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=12 |id={{ProQuest|570809112}}}}</ref> Merchants from Brooklyn supported the bridge, saying it would reduce the cost of delivering goods to that borough.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 20, 1900 |title=To Connect L. I. And N. Y. C.: Bill for a Bridge Over Hell Gate Before the Mayor |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=10 |id={{ProQuest|570822938}}}}</ref> The bridge would also enable passenger trains from [[upstate New York]] and New England to travel to New Jersey via the East River and North River tunnels.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 12, 1901 |title=Pennsylvania to Enter City: Tunnels Under North and East Rivers and Manhattan Island to Long Island Road |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|571129200}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite magazine |date=January 12, 1907 |title=The Pennsylvania and New Haven Connecting Railroad |magazine=Scientific American |page=22 |volume=XCVI |issue=2 |id={{ProQuest|126796918}}}}</ref><ref name="p535410650">{{Cite news |date=April 16, 1911 |title=$20,000,000 N. Y. Bridge: Work Begins on Foundations for Big Hell Gate Structure |work=The Sun |page=6 |id={{ProQuest|535410650}}}}</ref><ref name="Ammann pp. 1654–1656">{{harvnb|Ammann|1918|ps=.|pages=1654–1656}}</ref> Freight traffic would still be required to use car floats, as trains would not be able to fit into the tunnels;<ref name="Ammann pp. 1654–1656" /> the car-float operation would be shifted south to [[Bay Ridge, Brooklyn]], where trains would be floated across the [[New York Bay]] to [[Greenville, Jersey City]].<ref name="p535410650" /><ref name="Newspapers.com 1909 x719" />

By October 1900, grading of land for the bridge and its approach viaducts had commenced, and public hearings about the bridge were being hosted.<ref name="p570918041" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 27, 1900 |title=To Join Railroad Lines by Tunnels and Bridges |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-to-join-railroa/142078065/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=16 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225191740/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-to-join-railroa/142078065/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Initially, the PRR did not intend to use the bridge, and the crossing was to connect with the trackage of the LIRR.<ref name="p570854593" /> After the PRR's acquisition of the LIRR in 1900, the PRR began contemplating taking control of the Hell Gate Bridge.<ref name="Ammann p. 1659">{{harvnb|Ammann|1918|ps=.|page=1659}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=March 6, 1901 |title=Local P. R. R. Improvements: Control of New Hell Gate Bridge One of the Plans Proposed |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=2 |id={{ProQuest|570933874}}}}</ref> Ultimately, in 1901,<ref name="n142082222">{{Cite news |date=June 24, 1901 |title=Belt Around Manhattan |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-belt-around-manhattan/142082222/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |pages=1 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225203739/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-belt-around-manhattan/142082222/ |url-status=live}}</ref> the PRR and NH bought the NYCR.<ref name="Ammann p. 1659" /><ref name="nyt-1902-04-12">{{Cite news |date=April 12, 1902 |title=New York and Connecting Road; Announcement that Work Upon Is to be Started Soon. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/04/12/archives/article-1-no-title-new-york-and-connecting-road-announcement-that.html |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225203731/https://www.nytimes.com/1902/04/12/archives/article-1-no-title-new-york-and-connecting-road-announcement-that.html |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=April 12, 1902 |title=Work on Connecting Road |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-work-on-connecting/142082455/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Citizen |pages=1 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225203749/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-work-on-connecting/142082455/ |url-status=live}}</ref> This was part of a larger plan to improve rail infrastructure in the New York City area, including a "belt line" for freight (now the [[Fremont Secondary]] and [[Bay Ridge Branch]]), of which the bridge was to be a part.<ref name="n142082222" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=January 27, 1903 |title=Pennsylvania's Proposed Work in New York |magazine=The Street Railway Journal |page=168 |volume=27 |issue=4 |id={{ProQuest|610738488}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=December 15, 1901 |title=Pennsylvania R. R. Plans to Cost Over $70,000,000 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-pennsylvania-r/142081066/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=5 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225203731/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-pennsylvania-r/142081066/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=December 12, 1901 |title=Jacobs' Tunnel Plan Solves the Problem |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-jacobs-tunnel-plan-solves-t/142082143/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=1 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225203735/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-jacobs-tunnel-plan-solves-t/142082143/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="n142092848">{{Cite news |date=July 2, 1903 |title=Immense Railway Plan Behind Franchise for a Few Miles of Track |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-port-chester-journal-immense-railway/142092848/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Port Chester Journal |pages=6 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226003956/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-port-chester-journal-immense-railway/142092848/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Work on the belt line was about to begin by early 1902,<ref name="nyt-1902-04-12" /> and surveys for the proposed bridge's piers had been made by the end of the year.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 17, 1902 |title=Penn. Tunnel Means Much to Long Island |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-penn-tunnel-means-much-to-l/142084226/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=1 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225203748/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-penn-tunnel-means-much-to-l/142084226/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The PRR announced in February 1903 that it would build a double-tracked cantilever bridge, and it drew up a contract to order {{Convert|30500|ST|LT t}} of steel from [[United States Steel]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 10, 1903 |title=Pennsylvania Will Build Bridge Across Hell Gate; Engineer Says That $40,000,000 Will Be Spent to Make – a Connection with New Haven Road. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/02/10/archives/pennsylvania-will-build-bridge-across-hell-gate-engineer-says-that.html |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225203731/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/02/10/archives/pennsylvania-will-build-bridge-across-hell-gate-engineer-says-that.html |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=February 11, 1903 |title=Plans Complete for the Great Ten-Million-Dollar Bridge and Viaduct to be Built Across Hell Gate |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-world-plans-complete-for-the/142084969/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Evening World |pages=6 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225203742/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-world-plans-complete-for-the/142084969/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=February 10, 1903 |title=Hell Gate Bridge Boom for Brooklyn |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-hell-gate-bridge-bo/142083227/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Citizen |pages=1 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225203738/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-hell-gate-bridge-bo/142083227/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The bridge's {{convert|840|ft|adj=on}} central span would have been the world's longest cantilever span.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 16, 1903 |title=Hell Gate's Great Spans |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-hell-gates-gre/142085581/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=8 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225203741/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-hell-gates-gre/142085581/ |url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Port Chester Journal'' described the planned crossing as "an unusual bridge in point of engineering skill".<ref name="n142092848" /> The PRR requested a perpetual franchise for the bridge from the [[New York City Rapid Transit Commission]] that June.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 12, 1903 |title=To Connect Long Island With Great R. R. Systems |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-to-connect-long/142088454/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=12 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225211206/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-to-connect-long/142088454/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=June 12, 1903 |title=Pennsylvania Bridge Now |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-pennsylvania-bridge-now/142085763/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Sun |pages=9 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225203737/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-pennsylvania-bridge-now/142085763/ |url-status=live}}</ref> PRR vice president [[Samuel Rea]] requested in March 1904 that the Rapid Transit Commission approve the bridge and belt line, and charge the PRR rent, so work could commence as soon as possible.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 24, 1904 |title=Freight Line From Jersey to Mott Haven |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-freight-line-from-jer/142093703/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Standard Union |pages=6 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226003955/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-freight-line-from-jer/142093703/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=March 24, 1904 |title=To Begin Work at Once: Statement by Mr. Rea Plans for Hell Gate Link Before Commission—the Rental |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=6 |id={{ProQuest|571528184}}}}</ref> That June, the Rapid Transit Commission granted a perpetual franchise for the bridge and belt line to the NYCR.<ref name="nyt-1904-06-24">{{Cite news |date=June 24, 1904 |title=Block Effort for Ninth Street Route; Rapid Transit Commission Holds Up New York and Jersey's Plan. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/06/24/archives/block-effort-for-ninth-street-route-rapid-transit-commission-holds.html |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225211207/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/06/24/archives/block-effort-for-ninth-street-route-rapid-transit-commission-holds.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=June 24, 1904 |title=Now Goes to the Mayor |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-now-goes-to-the/142093884/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=5 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226003957/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-now-goes-to-the/142093884/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=June 24, 1904 |title=Big Franchise Granted: Route is to Connect Pennsylvania and New-Haven Roads |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=5 |id={{ProQuest|571463832}}}}</ref> The connecting railroad was to pay the [[New York City government]] a fee to cross the East River.<ref name="nyt-1904-06-24" />

==== Arch plan ====
The PRR hired New York City bridge commissioner [[Gustav Lindenthal]] as its consulting structural engineer in 1904.<ref name="In 2024 q032" /><ref name="Thrall Billington 2008 p. 6" /> To avoid hospitals on Wards Island, the viaduct needed to curve north immediately upon reaching Wards Island;<ref name="Ammann p. 1668">{{harvnb|Ammann|1918|ps=.|page=1668}}</ref> this ruled out the original cantilever design, which required a straight "anchor span".<ref name="RAG1914 p. 890">{{harvnb|Railway Age Gazette|1914|ps=.|page=890}}</ref><ref name="p502726608">{{Cite news |date=March 14, 1915 |title=Biggest Bridge in World.: Three and a Half Miles in All, It Will Have Over Hell Gate the Lonest Steel Arch in the World, 1149 Feet Long and 135 Feet Above the Water—two Other Bridges and Four Viaducts Will Connect Long Island With the Mainland |work=Boston Daily Globe |page=32 |id={{ProQuest|502726608}}}}</ref> Instead, Lindenthal first considered a continuous [[truss bridge]], a suspension bridge, and a cantilever bridge across Hell Gate.<ref name="Thrall Billington 2008 p. 6" /><ref name="Ammann p. 1663">{{harvnb|Ammann|1918|ps=.|page=1663}}</ref> After rejecting all three designs, Lindenthal studied designs for a spandrel arch and a cantilever arch,<ref name="Thrall Billington 2008 p. 6" /><ref name="Ammann p. 1669">{{harvnb|Ammann|1918|ps=.|page=1669}}</ref> both of which would be cheaper than either the suspension or cantilever proposals.<ref name="Ammann p. 1668" /> The crescent-arch design would be thicker at its crown than at either end, while the spandrel-arch design would be thicker at its ends than at the crown.<ref name="Ammann p. 1669" /><ref name="Thrall Billington 2008 pp. 6–7" /> Although the crescent-arch design required less steel, Lindenthal liked the design of the spandrel arch because it appeared sturdier and because it complemented his designs for masonry towers at either end.<ref name="Thrall Billington 2008 pp. 6–7">{{harvnb|Thrall|Billington|2008|ps=.|pages=6–7}}</ref> Ultimately, he chose a modified form of the spandrel-arch design.<ref name="In 2024 q032" /><ref name="Thrall Billington 2008 p. 7">{{harvnb|Thrall|Billington|2008|ps=.|page=7}}</ref> His assistant [[Othmar Ammann]] wrote that the arch design would allow the bridge to serve as a figurative portal to the [[Port of New York and New Jersey]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ammann|1918|ps=.|page=1664}}</ref>

In early 1905, the PRR sent engineers and workers to make [[Boring (earth)|borings]] for the bridge's foundation in Astoria.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 26, 1905 |title=P. R. R. Pushing Bridge Work |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-p-r-r-pushing-bridge/142106393/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |pages=5 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226003959/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-p-r-r-pushing-bridge/142106393/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Work on the bridge's [[superstructure]] was delayed because the [[New York City Board of Aldermen]] would not approve several aspects of the franchise,<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 11, 1905 |title=End Aldermen's Hold on Franchise Rights; Senate Passes Bill Giving Board of Estimate New Power. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/04/11/archives/end-aldermens-hold-on-franchise-rights-senate-passes-bill-giving.html |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226003955/https://www.nytimes.com/1905/04/11/archives/end-aldermens-hold-on-franchise-rights-senate-passes-bill-giving.html |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=April 11, 1905 |title=Aldermen Still Hold Up Connecting R. R. Franchise |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-aldermen-still/142094937/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=13 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226004001/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-aldermen-still/142094937/ |url-status=live}}</ref> prompting an unsuccessful proposal to remove the aldermen's ability to grant franchises.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 26, 1905 |title=Ask Governor to Save Powers of Aldermen; Lawyers for Board and Citizens Denounce Franchise Shift |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/05/26/archives/ask-governor-to-save-powers-of-aldermen-lawyers-for-board-and.html |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226003956/https://www.nytimes.com/1905/05/26/archives/ask-governor-to-save-powers-of-aldermen-lawyers-for-board-and.html |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=May 26, 1905 |title=Talk of Veto for Aldermen Bill |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-talk-of-veto-for-alde/142104709/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Standard Union |pages=3 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226004002/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-talk-of-veto-for-alde/142104709/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Among other things, the aldermen wanted trains on the bridge to use electric power exclusively, provide space for vehicles and pedestrians, and the city to be allowed to add utility wires to the bridge.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 17, 1905 |title=Again Asks Franchise: Connecting Railway Renews Application to Rapid Transit Commission |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=14 |id={{ProQuest|571703067}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=November 17, 1905 |title=Connecting R. R. Fight Before R. T. Commission |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-connecting-r-r-fi/142154279/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Citizen |pages=7 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226191117/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-connecting-r-r-fi/142154279/ |url-status=live}}</ref> New York Governor [[Frank W. Higgins]] signed a bill in mid-1905, allowing the start of construction to be postponed by several months.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 3, 1905 |title=N. Y. C. R. R. Bills Signed |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-n-y-c-r-r-bill/142094562/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Citizen |pages=2 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226004000/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-n-y-c-r-r-bill/142094562/ |url-status=live}}</ref> That November, the NYCR asked the Rapid Transit Commission to renew its application for a franchise, citing delays from the Board of Aldermen. The negotiations over the franchise sometimes turned contentious,<ref>{{cite news |date=March 23, 1906 |title=Mayor a Bit Peppery: "the Grip," Says Orr Lively Tilt Over Terms to Connecting Railroad |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=9 |id={{ProQuest|571688286}}}}</ref> but the PRR ultimately was promised a franchise from the city in December 1906.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 22, 1906 |title=P. R. R. Gets Franchise |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-p-r-r-gets-franchise/142116665/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |pages=1 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226030240/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-p-r-r-gets-franchise/142116665/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=December 22, 1906 |title=Connecting R. R. Is Assured |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-connecting-r-r-is-assured/142116886/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Sun |pages=1 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226030234/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-connecting-r-r-is-assured/142116886/ |url-status=live}}</ref> By then, the bridge was planned to fit four tracks, though only two would be used initially.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 23, 1906 |title=Connecting Road Means Much to Two Boroughs |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-connecting-road/142117042/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=36 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226030241/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-connecting-road/142117042/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The original two-track plan had been changed after the architects found that the cost of converting a two-track bridge to four tracks would be much higher than the upfront cost of a four-track bridge.<ref name="Ammann p. 1656">{{harvnb|Ammann|1918|ps=.|page=1656}}</ref>

The [[New York City Board of Estimate]] approved the NYCR's franchise in February 1907.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 16, 1907 |title=Franchise for Connecting Railway. |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=7 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|129077503}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=February 14, 1907 |title=To Get Its Franchise |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-to-get-its-franchise/142153883/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |pages=9 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226191125/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-to-get-its-franchise/142153883/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Rea submitted plans for the arch bridge in May 1907 to the city's [[Municipal Art Commission]].<ref name="n142151359">{{Cite news |date=May 23, 1907 |title=World Record Bridge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-world-record-bridge/142151359/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |pages=1 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226191118/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-world-record-bridge/142151359/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=May 23, 1907 |title=New York Connecting Railroad Bridge to Be Longest in World |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-new-york-connec/142151078/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=25 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226191126/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-new-york-connec/142151078/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=May 26, 1907 |title=Plans to Span Hell Gate.: Rea Submits Design for World's Longest Steel Bridge. |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=E1 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|144742323}}}}</ref> The arch would have a [[clear span]] of {{Convert|1000|ft}}, the longest of its kind in the world, and would carry two passenger tracks and two freight tracks. The remainder of the bridge would be a viaduct made of reinforced concrete and steel plate girders.<ref name="n142151359" /><ref name="p866183708">{{Cite magazine |date=May 31, 1907 |title=Proposed East River Bridge; New York Connecting Railroad |magazine=Railroad Gazette |page=750 |volume=42 |issue=22 |id={{ProQuest|866183708}}}}</ref> The plans were drawn up by consulting engineer [[Gustav Lindenthal]] and architects [[Palmer and Hornbostel]].<ref name="p866183708" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Mills |first=William Wirt |url=https://archive.org/stream/pennsylvaniarail00mill/pennsylvaniarail00mill_djvu.txt |title=Pennsylvania Railroad tunnels and terminals in New York City |date=1908 |publisher=Moses King |access-date=May 26, 2018}}</ref> That June, the Rapid Transit Commission voted to amend the NYCR's franchise.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 23, 1907 |title=Expect Too Much of Utilities Board; Expert Says People Mustn't Look for Transit Improvement for Months |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/06/23/archives/expect-too-much-of-utilities-board-expert-says-people-mustnt-look.html |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226191116/https://www.nytimes.com/1907/06/23/archives/expect-too-much-of-utilities-board-expert-says-people-mustnt-look.html |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=June 23, 1907 |title=Wants to Bridge Upper East River |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-wants-to-bridge-upper-e/142149600/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |pages=16 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226191116/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-wants-to-bridge-upper-e/142149600/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The franchise allowed the NYCR to construct a viaduct across Wards Island, placing the railroad in possible conflict with the [[New York State Hospital Commission]], which had leased the island from the city,<ref>{{cite news |date=November 25, 1909 |title=Wards Island Right of Way.: Connecting Railroad's Franchise Seems in Conflict With Lease for the State Hospital. |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=7 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|129229094}}}}</ref> although the hospital commission ultimately did allow engineers to survey the island.<ref name="n142379738">{{Cite news |date=November 8, 1912 |title=N. Y. Connecting R. R. May Be Held Up by Injunction |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-n-y-connectin/142379738/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=3 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229192715/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-n-y-connectin/142379738/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The Municipal Art Commission rejected the original bridge plans in July 1907 as "not artistic".<ref>{{cite web |date=July 29, 1907 |title=Turn Down Bridge Plan of Connecting Railroad |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-turn-down-bridg/142169900/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |page=6 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226220222/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-turn-down-bridg/142169900/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite web |date=July 29, 1907 |title=Bridge Plans Not Artistic |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-bridge-plans-not-artistic/142169920/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=Times Union |page=3 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226220222/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-bridge-plans-not-artistic/142169920/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Land acquisition and finalization of plans ====
[[File:Hell Gate Bridge being constructed, New York City LCCN95501274.jpg|thumb|The main span's arch, as ultimately approved]]
During the late 1900s, the NH and PRR acquired land for the bridge's [[Right-of-way (property access)|right-of-way]].<ref name="p572229590">{{cite news |date=March 9, 1909 |title=Bridge Over Hell Gate: New Haven and P. R. R. Officials Discuss Connection |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=3 |id={{ProQuest|572229590}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=March 29, 1909 |title=Pushing Plans for Hell Gate Bridge; Pennsylvania and New Haven Officials Confer on the Connecting Line |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/03/29/archives/pushing-plans-for-hell-gate-bridge-pennsylvania-and-new-haven.html |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226220222/https://www.nytimes.com/1909/03/29/archives/pushing-plans-for-hell-gate-bridge-pennsylvania-and-new-haven.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The first house in the bridge's right-of-way was relocated at the beginning of 1908.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 15, 1908 |title=First Work on the Connecting Railway |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-first-work-on-the-connecting/142162544/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=6 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226202947/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-first-work-on-the-connecting/142162544/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=January 15, 1908 |title=Big House on Its Travels |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-big-house-on-it/142162564/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=5 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226202948/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-big-house-on-it/142162564/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The Pennsylvania Railroad announced in December 1908 that, as soon as [[Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963)|Pennsylvania Station]] in Manhattan was completed, the railroad would begin constructing the bridge.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 21, 1908 |title=P. R. R.'s Bridge Plans: Three Mile Structure Will Join Long Island to Port Morris Over Hell Gate |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-p-r-rs-bridge-plans/142156415/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=10 |id={{ProQuest|572172508}} |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226191134/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-p-r-rs-bridge-plans/142156415/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="n142156268">{{Cite news |date=December 21, 1908 |title=70,000-Ton Bridge to Span 3 Streams |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-70000-ton-brid/142156268/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=2 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226191124/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-70000-ton-brid/142156268/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=December 21, 1908 |title=Bridge Will Be Longest in World |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-and-sun-bulletin-bridge-will-be-lo/142156367/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=Press and Sun-Bulletin |pages=1 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226191128/https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-and-sun-bulletin-bridge-will-be-lo/142156367/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The bridge was to cost up to $20 million.{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1908|value=20|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="n142156268" /> By early 1909, the NH had acquired all of the necessary land for the Bronx approach, while the PRR was still acquiring land in Queens for both the passenger and freight lines.<ref name="p572229590" /> The PRR agreed to buy the last piece of land for the Queens approach that July,<ref>{{cite web |date=July 31, 1909 |title=N. Y. Connecting R. R. Plans |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-n-y-connectin/142176227/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |page=22 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226232142/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-n-y-connectin/142176227/ |url-status=live}}</ref> at which point the cost of the bridge had increased to $25 million.{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1909|value=25|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref>{{cite web |date=April 17, 1909 |title=The Connecting Railroad |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-the-connecting/142175148/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |page=26 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226232151/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-the-connecting/142175148/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The NYCR's engineers prepared new plans for the main span's piers the same year.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 25, 1909 |title=Connecting Bridge Plan |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-connecting-brid/142176104/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |page=6 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226232202/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-connecting-brid/142176104/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=September 26, 1909 |title=Hell Gate Bridge Plans; Engineers Will Try Again to Please Municipal Art Commission. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/09/26/archives/hell-gate-bridge-plans-engineers-will-try-again-to-please-municipal.html |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225191738/https://www.nytimes.com/1909/09/26/archives/hell-gate-bridge-plans-engineers-will-try-again-to-please-municipal.html |url-status=live}}</ref> That December, the PRR and NH agreed to share the cost of the bridge's construction.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 6, 1909 |title=To Push New York Connecting Road: Will Join New Haven System to the Pennsylvania |work=The Hartford Courant |page=1 |issn=1047-4153 |id={{ProQuest|555686444}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite web |date=December 6, 1909 |title=Work to Begin on N.Y.C.R.R. |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-work-to-begin-o/142176321/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |page=2 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226232202/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-work-to-begin-o/142176321/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The Hell Gate Bridge was to be the fifth bridge across the East River (after the [[Brooklyn Bridge|Brooklyn]], [[Manhattan Bridge|Manhattan]], [[Williamsburg Bridge|Williamsburg]], and [[Queensboro Bridge|Queensboro]] bridges), as well as the first built by a private company rather than the city government.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 8, 1909 |title=Proposed Bridge Will Have Arch 1,000 Feet Long 220 Feet High Fifth Structure Spanning River |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/08/08/archives/proposed-bridge-will-have-arch-1000-feet-long-220-feet-high-fifth.html |access-date=February 27, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227012754/https://www.nytimes.com/1909/08/08/archives/proposed-bridge-will-have-arch-1000-feet-long-220-feet-high-fifth.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

By early 1910, the plans for the arch's piers were being revised,<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 27, 1910 |title=To Preserve Bronx River; Board of Trade Takes Steps to Secure Map for Proposed Parkway. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1910/02/27/archives/to-preserve-bronx-river-board-of-trade-takes-steps-to-secure-map.html |access-date=February 28, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228023420/https://www.nytimes.com/1910/02/27/archives/to-preserve-bronx-river-board-of-trade-takes-steps-to-secure-map.html |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=February 26, 1910 |title=The Connecting Railroad |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-the-connecting/142264739/ |access-date=February 28, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=15 |archive-date=February 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228023420/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-the-connecting/142264739/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and surveyors were studying the route of the bridge and its approaches.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 2, 1910 |title=Engineers at Work on Connecting Road |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-engineers-at-work-on-connect/142263731/ |access-date=February 28, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=5 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228023422/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-engineers-at-work-on-connect/142263731/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=March 2, 1910 |title=Work Soon to Start on Bridge Over Hell Gate |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-work-soon-to-st/142263751/ |access-date=February 28, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=7 |archive-date=February 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228023421/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-work-soon-to-st/142263751/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The plans for the steelwork were revised the same year to accommodate a heavier type of [[Track bed|trackbed]].<ref name="Ammann p. 1672">{{harvnb|Ammann|1918|ps=.|page=1672}}</ref> The PRR, NH, and LIRR were concurrently finalizing contracts for the construction of the NYCR line, which had commenced in mid-1910.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 1, 1911 |title=Pennsylvania-New Haven Link and Its Traffic Significance |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wall-street-journal-pennsylvania-new/142373929/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Wall Street Journal |pages=2 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229192718/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wall-street-journal-pennsylvania-new/142373929/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The revised plans for the main span were not submitted to the Municipal Art Commission until early 1911,<ref name="n142367701">{{Cite news |date=March 24, 1911 |title=Hell Gate Bridge Begun |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-hell-gate-bridge-begun/142367701/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Sun |pages=5 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229173845/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-hell-gate-bridge-begun/142367701/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and a contract for the bridge's steel had still not been awarded.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 3, 1911 |title=Big Steel Orders Pending.: Pennsylvania Soon to Close Contracts for Hell Gate Bridge. |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=5 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|145129401}}}}</ref> The PRR took [[Title (property)|title]] to the last remaining land lots in Queens in June 1911.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 4, 1911 |title=Hell Gate Bridge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times-hell-gate-bridge/142373054/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |pages=77 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229173846/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times-hell-gate-bridge/142373054/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=June 3, 1911 |title=To Span Hell Gate |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-to-span-hell-ga/142367180/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=7 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229173850/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-to-span-hell-ga/142367180/ |url-status=live}}</ref> By the end of the year, the designs for the Bronx Kill and Little Hell Gate spans were still being revised,<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=November 10, 1911 |title=Steel Arch Bridge Over the East River, New York |magazine=Railway Age Gazette |page=956 |volume=51 |issue=19 |id={{ProQuest|895747481}}}}</ref> and land condemnation for the bridge was nearly finished.<ref name="n142371629">{{Cite news |date=December 16, 1911 |title=Greatest of All Railroad Bridges at Hell Gate a Link in New England-Western Railroad Route |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-greatest-of-all-railroad-bri/142371629/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=18 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229173842/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-greatest-of-all-railroad-bri/142371629/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Lindenthal estimated in late 1911 that the bridge would cost $18 million{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1911|value=18|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} and be completed in 1914.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 5, 1911 |title=Huge Span Ready in 1914 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-huge-span-ready/142371727/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=25 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229173848/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-huge-span-ready/142371727/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 5, 1911 |title=Huge Span Ready in 1914 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-huge-span-ready/142367807/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=27 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229173844/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-huge-span-ready/142367807/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The Municipal Art Commission ultimately approved the revised plans.<ref name="n142388040" />

=== Construction ===
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| width = 220
| image1 = Hell Gate Bridge 1915 Arch Construction.JPG
| caption1 = Bridge under construction {{circa|1915}}
| image2 = Hell Gate Bridge ca 1917.png
| caption2 = Bridge seen {{circa|1917}}
}}

==== Initial contracts ====
Excavations for the Astoria end of the main span, across Hell Gate, commenced in March 1911,<ref name="n142367701" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 19, 1911 |title=New East River Bridge; To Connect Long Island and New England Railroads. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1911/03/19/archives/new-east-river-bridge-to-connect-long-island-and-new-england.html |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229173842/https://www.nytimes.com/1911/03/19/archives/new-east-river-bridge-to-connect-long-island-and-new-england.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and were nearly completed by the end of the year.<ref name="n142371629" /> The [[American Bridge Company]] received a contract for the steelwork on the Hell Gate span, Wards Island viaduct, and Queens approach viaduct,<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 5, 1911 |title=Hell Gate Bridge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times-hell-gate-bridge/142373151/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |pages=52 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229173852/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times-hell-gate-bridge/142373151/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=November 9, 1911 |title=Pennsylvania-New Haven Link Construction Under Way |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wall-street-journal-pennsylvania-new/142371684/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Wall Street Journal |pages=8 |issn=0099-9660 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229173847/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wall-street-journal-pennsylvania-new/142371684/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=November 4, 1911 |title=Big Contract Will Furnish Work Here |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-gazette-big-contract-will-furnish-w/142371656/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=Star-Gazette |pages=2 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229173843/https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-gazette-big-contract-will-furnish-w/142371656/ |url-status=live}}</ref> while the McClintic-Marshall Company was hired to manufacture steel for the other parts of the bridge.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 29, 1911 |title=P. R. R. Bridge Awards |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-p-r-r-bridge/142378110/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=5 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229192728/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-p-r-r-bridge/142378110/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Carnegie Steel Company]] was hired in early 1912 to roll the steel plates for the bridge.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 3, 1912 |title=Awarded Hell Gate Work; Transportation of Bridge Material a Big Problem for Carnegie Co. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/02/03/archives/awarded-hell-gate-work-transportation-of-bridge-material-a-big.html |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229192720/https://www.nytimes.com/1912/02/03/archives/awarded-hell-gate-work-transportation-of-bridge-material-a-big.html |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=February 1, 1912 |title=Slight Lull in Steel Market but Producers Are Optimistic |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wall-street-journal-slight-lull-in-s/142377238/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Wall Street Journal |pages=2 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229192724/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wall-street-journal-slight-lull-in-s/142377238/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Later that year, Patrick Ryan, the Manhattan Bridge's main contractor, received a $2 million{{Efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1912|value=2|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} contract to build the bridge's foundation,<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 22, 1912 |title=Hell Gate Viaduct; $2,000,000 Contract Awarded for New East River Bridge. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/09/22/archives/hell-gate-viaduct-2000000-contract-awarded-for-new-east-river.html |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229192720/https://www.nytimes.com/1912/09/22/archives/hell-gate-viaduct-2000000-contract-awarded-for-new-east-river.html |url-status=live}}</ref> while John A. Gray received a contract to complete [[Geotechnical investigation|test borings]] for the bridge.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 6, 1912 |title=New Bridge Work Let; Ready to Make Test Borings for East River Structures. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/10/06/archives/new-bridge-work-let-ready-to-make-test-borings-for-east-river.html |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229192721/https://www.nytimes.com/1912/10/06/archives/new-bridge-work-let-ready-to-make-test-borings-for-east-river.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Masonry contracts were awarded to Patrick Ryan (who partnered with [[United States Realty and Construction Company|U.S. Realty]] to build the Hell Gate spans' towers<ref>{{cite web |date=November 16, 1918 |title=Sues for Bridge Profits; Patrick Ryan Says Company, as Partner, Kept $375,000 from Him. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1918/11/16/archives/sues-for-bridge-profits-patrick-ryan-says-company-as-partner-kept.html |access-date=March 2, 2024 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302205742/https://www.nytimes.com/1918/11/16/archives/sues-for-bridge-profits-patrick-ryan-says-company-as-partner-kept.html |url-status=live}}</ref>), as well as Arthur McMullin and T. A. Gillespie.<ref name="p128359243">{{Cite magazine |date=August 1, 1913 |title=Progress on the Hell Gate Bridge |magazine=Concrete – Cement Age |page=92 |volume=3 |issue=2 |id={{ProQuest|128359243}}}}</ref> Harold W. Hudson was the chief construction engineer.<ref name="p1257139268">{{cite news |date=January 17, 1943 |title=Colonel Hudson Dies; Engineer Built Bridges: Triborough and Hell Gate Construction Chief Was Officer in World War Bridge Engineer |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=40 |id={{ProQuest|1257139268}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=January 16, 1943 |title=Col. H. W. Hudson, Bridge Engineer; Chief in the Construction of Triborough and Hell Gate Spans – Dies at 67 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1943/01/16/archives/col-hw-hudson-bridge-engineer-chief-in-the-construction-of.html |access-date=March 4, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304021950/https://www.nytimes.com/1943/01/16/archives/col-hw-hudson-bridge-engineer-chief-in-the-construction-of.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Work formally commenced on the Bronx and Queens approach viaducts in July 1912, and work on the foundations of the main span's towers began that September,<ref name="p128359243" /><ref name="nyt-1913-07-06">{{Cite news |date=July 6, 1913 |title=Hell Gate Bridge Will Boom Realty; Demand for Factory Sites Adjacent to Approaches on Both Sides of the East River. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/07/06/archives/hell-gate-bridge-will-boom-realty-demand-for-factory-sites-adjacent.html |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229210726/https://www.nytimes.com/1913/07/06/archives/hell-gate-bridge-will-boom-realty-demand-for-factory-sites-adjacent.html |url-status=live}}</ref> though no above-ground work had commenced.<ref name="nyt-1912-11-10">{{Cite news |date=November 10, 1912 |title=Hell Gate Structure Now Being Built Will Be an Important Link in the System of the Connecting Railroad That Will Change the Relation of Manhattan Island to the Mainland for Commercial Ends. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/11/10/archives/hell-gate-structure-now-being-built-will-be-an-important-link-in.html |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229210727/https://www.nytimes.com/1912/11/10/archives/hell-gate-structure-now-being-built-will-be-an-important-link-in.html |url-status=live}}</ref> By October 1912, workers were preparing to lower [[Caisson (engineering)|caissons]] for the main span's Wards Island tower,<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 26, 1912 |title=Building Piers for the Connecting Railroad |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-building-piers-for-the-conne/142374282/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=3 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229192726/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-building-piers-for-the-conne/142374282/ |url-status=live}}</ref> as the underlying layer of rock was over {{Convert | 100 | ft | spell = in}} deep and was covered by layers of sand, coarse gravel, and boulders.<ref name="RAG1914 p. 891" /> Twenty-one caissons were used to excavate the Wards Island tower's foundation.<ref name="RAG1914 p. 891" /><ref name="n142398010">{{Cite news |date=January 4, 1914 |title=Connecting Railway Takes Definite Form |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-connecting-rail/142398010/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=40 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229225305/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-connecting-rail/142398010/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The caissons were larger and deeper than those used in the construction of the [[tallest buildings in New York City]] at the time.<ref name="n142439586" /> The caisson-sinking process was further complicated by the discovery of a diagonal fissure in the underlying rock.<ref name="n142439586" /><ref name="p556427259">{{cite news |date=January 21, 1917 |title=World's Heaviest Bridge Now Spans Hell Gate Tides |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-herald-worlds-heaviest-bridge/142456914/ |access-date=March 1, 2024 |work=New York Herald |page=45 |issn= |id= |archive-date=March 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301200610/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-herald-worlds-heaviest-bridge/142456914/ |url-status=live}}</ref> It ultimately took seven months to sink the caissons and ensure that the tower would not be susceptible to [[Settlement (structural)|settlement]].<ref name="n142439586">{{Cite news |date=September 26, 1915 |title=Great Hell Gate Bridge Triumph of Engineering |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-great-hell-gate-bridge-triumph-o/142439586/ |access-date=March 1, 2024 |work=The Sun |pages=26 |archive-date=March 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301165227/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-great-hell-gate-bridge-triumph-o/142439586/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 1912, a [[New York Supreme Court]] justice [[Injunction|enjoined]] the contractors from erecting abutments on Wards Island.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 9, 1912 |title=Enjoin Building of Bridge at Hell Gate |work=The Hartford Courant |page=10 |issn=1047-4153 |id={{ProQuest|555947937}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=November 9, 1912 |title=Blocks Ward's Island Bridge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-blocks-wards-island-bridge/142379647/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Sun |pages=3 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229192716/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sun-blocks-wards-island-bridge/142379647/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="n142379738" /> The operators of the [[Manhattan Psychiatric Center]] claimed that patients would be disturbed by loud noises, both during construction and after the bridge opened,<ref name="n142379738" /> but the city government claimed that the hospital's lease of the island had expired.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 26, 1912 |title=Doctors in Way of Connecting Railroad |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-doctors-in-way-of-connecting/142380787/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=8 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229192717/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-doctors-in-way-of-connecting/142380787/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The injunction was lifted in January 1913,<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 17, 1913 |title=Bridge Work to Proceed |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-bridge-work-to/142394242/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=26 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229225258/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-bridge-work-to/142394242/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=January 17, 1913 |title=Wards Island Is to Be Bridged |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-wards-island-is-to-be-bridge/142394265/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=14 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229225259/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-wards-island-is-to-be-bridge/142394265/ |url-status=live}}</ref> when the State Supreme Court ruled that the law permitting the bridge's construction overrode the law that restricted railroads above the grounds of a hospital.<ref name="n142388040">{{Cite news |date=January 26, 1913 |title=Great New Bridge Over River Within Two Years |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-great-new-bridg/142388040/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=13 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229211220/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-great-new-bridg/142388040/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Pier construction ====
The construction of piers on Randalls and Wards Islands and in Queens began in February 1913.<ref name="p128359243" /> [[Derrick]]s were used to construct the concrete piers under the Bronx Kill, Randalls Island, Little Hell Gate, and Wards Island spans. The foundations of the Bronx Kill span's piers were constructed using caissons, since the underlying layer of rock was nearly {{Convert | 100 | ft}} deep.<ref name="n142439586" /> The foundations of the Little Hell Gate span's piers were built in open [[cofferdam]]s due to the shallowness of that strait.<ref name="RAG1914 pp. 889–890">{{harvnb|Railway Age Gazette|1914|ps=.|pages=889–890}}</ref> The contractor built a dock on Wards Island to load and unload material. Derricks carried solid materials from the dock to a conveyor belts, which in turn led to covered storage bins, while cement was poured down a chute to a cement house next to the storage bins. Sand, stone, and cement from the bins were dumped into "charging cars" and carried to a mixing plant, where the material was mixed into concrete.<ref name="RAG1914 p. 890" /> Elevators were used to transport concrete to the top of each pier.<ref name="nyt-1913-07-06" /><ref name="n142388040" />

By July 1913, some of the piers and retaining walls for the Bronx and Queens viaducts had been constructed, and contractors had installed temporary plants on Randalls and Wards Islands.<ref name="nyt-1913-07-06" /><ref>{{cite news |date=July 3, 1913 |title=New York Connecting Railroad: Work on New Four-track Line to Begin This Summer-- Road to Cost $30,000,000. |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=7 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|129418454}}}}</ref> The next month, the PRR and NH announced that the NYCR would issue a $30 million mortgage and $11 million in bonds{{Efn-lr|The mortgage would be about ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1913|value=30|fmt=c}} million, while the bonds would be ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1913|value=30|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} to fund the construction of the Hell Gate Bridge and associated lines;<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 27, 1913 |title=New York Connecting Road Seeks Bond Issue |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wall-street-journal-new-york-connect/142395390/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Wall Street Journal |pages=5 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229225309/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wall-street-journal-new-york-connect/142395390/ |url-status=live}}</ref> the railroads had spent $8.6 million{{Efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1913|value=8.6|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} to date on the bridge.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 18, 1913 |title=New York Connecting Railway's New Financing |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=17 |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|193288095}}}}</ref> The bonds were issued later that year.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 15, 1913 |title=N.Y. Connecting Railroad Bond Issue Approved.: Public Service Board Permits Immediate Issue of $11,000,000 Bonds Under the $30,000,000 Mortgage Proceeds to Take Care of Short Term Notes |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=5 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|129431137}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=November 21, 1913 |title=Connecting R.R. Bonds; $11,000,000 4 1–2 Per Cent. Issue Quickly Taken at 94 1–2. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/11/21/archives/connecting-rr-bonds-11000000-4-12-per-cent-issue-quickly-taken-at.html |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229225258/https://www.nytimes.com/1913/11/21/archives/connecting-rr-bonds-11000000-4-12-per-cent-issue-quickly-taken-at.html |url-status=live}}</ref> During a site visit in mid-1914, a local civic group noted that a temporary span had been finished across Bronx Kill and that piers were being built within the riverbed of Little Hell Gate.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 12, 1914 |title=Report on Progress of Hell Gate Bridge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-report-on-progr/142399884/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=4 |postscript=none |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229225310/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-report-on-progr/142399884/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=May 13, 1914 |title=Long Island News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-long-island-news/142399934/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=8 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229225307/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-long-island-news/142399934/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The main span's towers had reached the height of the deck by the end of 1914, while almost all of the other piers had been completed by then.<ref name="n142397488">{{Cite news |date=December 27, 1914 |title=Make Big Progress on Connecting Road |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-make-big-progre/142397488/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=59 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229225308/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-make-big-progre/142397488/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Steelwork and completion ====
Steel girders and plates for the Little Hell Gate and Bronx Kill spans were being installed by late 1914.<ref name="n142397488" /> The girders under the two center tracks were installed first. Afterward, the center tracks were laid, and a derrick car and a [[Crane (rail)|locomotive crane]] were placed on opposite spans. The derrick car delivered girders that had already been riveted together, and the locomotive crane installed the girders for the outer tracks.<ref name="RAG1915 pp. 422–423">{{harvnb|Railway Age Gazette|1915|ps=.|pages=422–423}}</ref> The arched main span above Hell Gate was technically challenging because Hell Gate was a navigable waterway, and the arch could not be constructed using [[falsework]].<ref name="RAG1914 p. 890" /><ref name="Ammann p. 1663" /> Consequently, massive temporary backstays were built behind both of the Hell Gate towers to [[cantilever]] the two pieces of the arch.<ref name="n142439586" /><ref name="RAG1915 pp. 423–424">{{harvnb|Railway Age Gazette|1915|ps=.|pages=423–424}}</ref><ref name="n142439289">{{Cite news |date=October 9, 1915 |title=Queens Borough |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-queens-borough/142439289/ |access-date=March 1, 2024 |work=Brooklyn Life |pages=24 |archive-date=March 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301165225/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-life-queens-borough/142439289/ |url-status=live}}</ref> To accommodate the backstays, the tops of the towers and some adjacent piers could not be completed until after the Hell Gate span was finished.<ref name="RAG1915 pp. 423–424" /><ref name="n142447894">{{Cite news |date=September 30, 1915 |title=Hell Gate Spans Quarter Inch Apart |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-hell-gate-spans/142447894/ |access-date=March 1, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=15 |archive-date=March 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301185856/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-hell-gate-spans/142447894/ |url-status=live}}</ref> After the backstays were constructed, movable derricks were installed atop the backstays.<ref name="RAG1915 p. 424">{{harvnb|Railway Age Gazette|1915|ps=.|page=424}}</ref>

One thousand workers and 40 engineers began installing the steelwork of the arch in November 1914;<ref name="n142448178">{{Cite news |date=July 20, 1915 |title=Biggest Bridge Half Finished |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-biggest-bridge-half-finished/142448178/ |access-date=March 1, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=12 |archive-date=March 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301185854/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-biggest-bridge-half-finished/142448178/ |url-status=live}}</ref> many of the laborers were [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]] Native American ironworkers from Quebec and upstate New York.<ref name="n142958279">{{Cite news |last=Minthorn |first=David |date=August 18, 2002 |title=Exhibit celebrates Mohawks' high-rise feats |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-gazette-exhibit-celebrates-mohawks/142958279/ |access-date=March 8, 2024 |work=Star-Gazette |pages=28 |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308205902/https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-gazette-exhibit-celebrates-mohawks/142958279/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Work proceeded in two sections from either shore toward the middle of Hell Gate.<ref name="n142448178" /><ref name="p136977172">{{Cite magazine |date=October 13, 1915 |title=The Longest Steel Arch in the World |magazine=Outlook |page=346 |id={{ProQuest|136977172}}}}</ref> The main span consisted of 23 panels,<ref name="n142448178" /> which were installed by the derricks atop the backstays.<ref name="RAG1915 p. 424" /> The panels were composed of steel pieces that weighed as much as {{convert|185|ST|LT t}}.<ref name="p502726608" /><ref name="RAG1915 p. 423" /> The steel pieces were manufactured off-site<ref name="p556427259" /> and, at the time, were among the heaviest steel pieces ever manufactured.<ref name="n142410167">{{Cite news |last=Sewell |first=Edward Alden |date=October 10, 1915 |title=The Hell Gate Arch Becomes a Bridge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-the-hell-gate-arch-beco/142410167/ |access-date=March 1, 2024 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |pages=30 |archive-date=March 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301165226/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-the-hell-gate-arch-beco/142410167/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Each piece was delivered to the site via car floats, then transported up via derricks.<ref name="RAG1915 p. 424" /> To counteract sagging caused by the weight of the panels, both halves of the bridge occasionally had to be adjusted.<ref name="n142439586" /> The project as a whole was declared half-finished in July 1915.<ref name="n142448178" /> The last pieces of the lower chord were installed during the week of September 28 to October 4, 1915,<ref name="p879810718">{{Cite magazine |date=November 5, 1915 |title=Progress on the Hell Gate Bridge |magazine=Railway Age Gazette |page= |pages=865, 867 |volume=59 |issue=19 |id={{ProQuest|879810718}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=October 4, 1915 |title=Hell Gate Bridge: President Rea Congratulates the Engineer on the Completion of the Span |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=3 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|129466847}}}}</ref> and both halves were officially joined on October 1.<ref name="p556427259" /><ref name="p548523866">{{cite news |date=October 1, 1915 |title=Ends of Hell Gate Bridge Joined: Big Steel Arch is Longest in the World |work=The Hartford Courant |page=17 |issn=1047-4153 |id={{ProQuest|548523866}}}}</ref> The gap between the two parts of the arch was just {{convert|5/16|in}}.<ref name="p556427259" /><ref name="p879810718" /> The extreme precision was attributed to the level of detail in the engineering drawings,<ref name="n142447894" /> as well as the use of highly precise surveying tools made by the [[W. & L. E. Gurley Company]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 11, 1994 |title=Gurley company was once the Tiffany of surveying tools |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-gurley-company-wa/142946127/ |access-date=March 8, 2024 |work=Democrat and Chronicle |pages=13 |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308180813/https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-gurley-company-wa/142946127/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The completion of the arch made the Hell Gate span the longest steel arch in the world.<ref name="p548523866" /><ref name="p136977172" /> The hydraulic jacks were removed from the towers,<ref name="n142410167" /> and the backstays were disassembled and reused in the approach viaducts.<ref name="n142439289" /><ref name="p879810718" /> Workers began driving 400,000 rivets into the arched span;<ref name="p879810718" /> Lindenthal claimed that they were among the largest rivets ever used.<ref name="p556427259" /> Due to cold weather, the upper chord of the arch could not be riveted together until May 1916.<ref name="p556427259" /> Locomotive cranes constructed the remaining portions of the viaducts.<ref name="In 2024 q032" /> By mid-October 1916, the PRR and NH anticipated that passenger service would commence at the beginning of 1917.<ref name="nyt-1916-10-15">{{Cite news |date=October 15, 1916 |title=New Hell Gate Bridge; To be Opened to Traffic Early in January, 1917. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/10/15/archives/new-hell-gate-bridge-to-be-opened-to-traffic-early-in-january-1917.html |access-date=February 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229225258/https://www.nytimes.com/1916/10/15/archives/new-hell-gate-bridge-to-be-opened-to-traffic-early-in-january-1917.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Finishing touches were placed on the bridge during late 1916.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=December 29, 1916 |title=A Review of Bridge Construction |magazine=Railway Age Gazette |pages=1165 |volume=61 |issue=26 |id={{ProQuest|886551104}}}}</ref> In total, the bridge cost $18.5 million.{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1916|value=18.5|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref>{{harvnb|Ammann|1918|ps=.|page=1662}}</ref> Before the bridge's official opening, police forces patrolled it to prevent sabotage during World War I.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 5, 1917 |title=City Bridges Guarded by Naval Militia: Details Patrol the East River—machine Guns on Piers Water Supply System Watched Raids by Cranks Are Feared-secret Squads Protect Subway Naval Battalion Men on Guard on City's Bridges |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|575678692}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=February 8, 1917 |title=Police May Relieve the National Guard; Special Service at Public Works Is Being Continued, However, by the State |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/02/08/archives/police-may-relieve-the-national-guard-special-service-at-public.html |access-date=March 1, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301200606/https://www.nytimes.com/1917/02/08/archives/police-may-relieve-the-national-guard-special-service-at-public.html |url-status=live}}</ref>