Editing Hell Gate Bridge (section)

==== 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" />