Editing Henry Hudson Bridge

{{Short description|Bridge in New York City}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox bridge
| name               = Henry Hudson Bridge
| image              = Henry Hudson Bridge 20171010-jag9889.jpg
| image_size         = 325px
| caption            = View from [[Inwood Hill Park]]
| official_name      = Henry Hudson Bridge
| also_known_as      = 
| carries            = 6 lanes (3 upper, 3 lower) of {{jct|state=NY|NY|9A|Parkway|Henry Hudson}}
| crosses            = [[Spuyten Duyvil Creek]]
| locale             = [[Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx|Spuyten Duyvil]], [[Bronx]] and [[Inwood, Manhattan|Inwood]], [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]]
| maint              = [[MTA Bridges and Tunnels]]
| id                 = 
| designer           = [[David B. Steinman]]
| design             = Double-decked [[arch bridge]]
| mainspan           = {{Convert|841|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| length             = {{Convert|2208|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| width              = 
| clearance_above    = {{Convert|12|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| clearance_below    = {{Convert|143|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| traffic            = 62,648 (2016)<ref name="nycdot16">{{cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/nyc-bridge-traffic-report-2016.pdf|title=New York City Bridge Traffic Volumes|date=2016|publisher=New York City Department of Transportation|page=11|access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref>
| open               = {{Start date and age|1936|12|12}}
| closed             =
| toll               = As of August 6, 2023, $8.25 (Tolls By Mail and non-New York [[E-ZPass]]); $3.18 (New York E-ZPass); $5.04 (Mid-Tier NYCSC E-Z Pass)
| coordinates        = {{coord|40.877861|-73.921777|region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
}}

The '''Henry Hudson Bridge''' is a double-deck [[steel]] [[arch bridge|arch]] [[toll bridge]] in [[New York City]] across the [[Spuyten Duyvil Creek]]. It connects [[Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx|Spuyten Duyvil]] in [[the Bronx]] with [[Inwood, Manhattan|Inwood]] in [[Manhattan]] to the south, via the [[Henry Hudson Parkway]] ([[New York State Route 9A|NY 9A]]). On the Manhattan side, the [[parkway (New York)|parkway]] goes into [[Inwood Hill Park]]. Commercial vehicles are not permitted on this bridge or on the parkway in general.

The bridge is operated by [[MTA Bridges and Tunnels]], an affiliate agency of the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]].

==Design==

[[File:Henry Hudson Bridge HH RAS 6 19 1936.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.34|The bridge under construction in June 1936]]
[[File:HHudson Bridge se jeh.JPG|thumb|left|upright=1.34|A close-up view of the bridge from the Manhattan side]]

The bridge was designed by [[David B. Steinman]], drawing upon his 1911 [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] [[Thesis or dissertation|thesis]] in [[civil engineering]] at [[Columbia University]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Weingardt |first=Richard |title=Engineering Legends: Great American Civil Engineers: 32 Profiles of Inspiration and Achievement |year=2005 |publisher=American Society of Civil Engineers |location=Reston, VA |isbn=0-7844-0801-7 |page=68}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Sharon |last=Reier |title=The Bridges of New York |year=2000 |publisher=Dover Publications |location=Mineola, NY |isbn=0-486-41230-X |pages=132–134}}</ref> Named to commemorate the voyage of [[Henry Hudson]] on the ''[[Half Moon (ship)|Half Moon]]'', which anchored near the site in 1609,<ref name="MTA Facts"/><ref>{{cite book |last=McNamara |first=John |title=History in Asphalt: The Origin of Bronx Street and Place Names |year=1984 |publisher=Bronx County Historical Society |location=Bronx, NY |isbn=0-941980-16-2 |page=104}}</ref> it was the longest plate girder arch and fixed arch bridge in the world when it opened in 1936.<ref name="MTA Facts">{{cite web|url=https://www.mymta.net/bandt/html/henry.html |title=Henry Hudson Bridge |work=MTA Bridges and Tunnels |access-date=March 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723214928/https://www.mymta.net/bandt/html/henry.html |archive-date=July 23, 2011 }}</ref>

The bridge has two roadway levels carrying a total of six traffic lanes and a pedestrian walkway and spans Spuyten Duyvil Creek just east of where the [[tidal strait]] meets the [[Hudson River]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Seven Strolls In the Sky |first=Mimi |last=Sheraton |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/02/arts/seven-strolls-in-the-sky.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 2, 1999 |access-date=March 6, 2010}}</ref>  The bridge is part of the [[Henry Hudson Parkway]], [[New York State Route 9A]]. To its west, at five feet above water level, is the [[Spuyten Duyvil Bridge]], which is used by [[Amtrak]] trains to [[Albany, New York]] and other points north. The [[Spuyten Duyvil (Metro-North station)|Spuyten Duyvil Metro-North station]] is under the Henry Hudson Bridge on the Bronx side.

==History==

A bridge at this location was proposed as early as 1906, but Spuyten Duyvil residents and other civic groups opposed the bridge, arguing that it would destroy the virgin forest of Inwood Hill Park and bring traffic congestion to Bronx communities.<ref>{{Cite Hidden Waters NYC|pages=58-59}}</ref><ref name="nyt-2003-08-10"/> [[Robert Moses]] preferred the route along the Hudson River because he received the land for the [[Henry Hudson Parkway]] for free and used federal labor to build the parkway.<ref name="nyt-2003-08-10"/><ref>{{cite news |title=For A Henry Hudson Bridge; Board of Estimate Will Approve $2,000,000 To-day to Build It |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F00E0DE143DE433A25755C0A9629C946797D6CF |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 6, 1906 |access-date=March 6, 2010}}</ref>

The original single-deck structure was built for the Henry Hudson Parkway Authority by the [[American Bridge Company]] at a cost of $4.949 million and opened on December 12, 1936.<ref name="MTA Facts"/><ref>{{cite news |title=The New Parkways |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/12/12/archives/the-new-parkways.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 12, 1936 |access-date=February 21, 2010}}</ref> The upper level of the bridge was designed to be added at a later date and opened on May 7, 1938.<ref>{{cite news |title=Henry Hudson Span Opens Upper Level |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/05/08/archives/henry-hudson-span-opens-upper-level-ceremony-marks-completion-of.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 8, 1938 |access-date=February 21, 2010}}</ref> The second deck cost $2 million and was funded by toll revenue.<ref name="nyt-2003-08-10">{{cite news |title=Henry Hudson Bridge; A Controversial '36 Span Through Dreamy Isolation |first=Christopher |last=Gray |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/10/realestate/streetscapes-henry-hudson-bridge-controversial-36-span-through-dreamy-isolation.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 10, 2003 |access-date=March 6, 2010}}</ref> The bridge's construction helped open the [[Riverdale, Bronx|Riverdale]] neighborhood to development.<ref>{{cite news |last=Garb |first=Margaret |date=March 1, 1998 |title=If You're Thinking of Living In Riverdale, the Bronx; A Community Jealous of Its Open Space |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/01/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-living-riverdale-bronx-community-jealous-its-open-space.html |access-date=March 6, 2010}}</ref>

A rehabilitation project commenced in 2000 and was carried out by [[Steinman, Boynton, Gronquist and Birdsall]], a successor of David B. Steinman's firm. Repairs took place nearly continuously for at least a decade, at a cost of $160 million.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Grynbaum|first=Michael M.|date=2011-12-12|title=For Bridge Built Long Ago, No End to Repairs|url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/75-years-old-and-showing-its-age/|access-date=2020-12-10|website=City Room|language=en-US}}</ref> The bridge was renovated from late 2017 to late 2020. The $86 million project replaced the last remnants of the original upper and lower decks, reopened the pedestrian and cycling path, eliminated the lower level toll booths, upgraded roadway lighting, and made seismic improvements.<ref>{{cite web | last=Hinman | first=Michael | title=Henry Hudson Bridge work finished ahead of schedule | website=The Riverdale Press | date=December 4, 2020 | url=https://www.riverdalepress.com/stories/henry-hudson-bridge-work-finished-ahead-of-schedule,72809 | access-date=December 10, 2020}}</ref>

==Tolls==
{{as of|2023|08|06|df=us}}, drivers pay $8.25 per car or $4.71 per motorcycle for tolls by mail/non-NYCSC E-Z Pass. [[E-ZPass]] users with transponders issued by the New York E‑ZPass Customer Service Center pay $3.18 per car or $2.17 per motorcycle. Mid-Tier NYCSC E-Z Pass users pay $5.04 per car or $3.46 per motorcycle. All E-ZPass users with transponders not issued by the New York E-ZPass CSC will be required to pay Toll-by-mail rates.<ref name=car-toll-rates>{{cite web|url=https://new.mta.info/fares-and-tolls/bridges-and-tunnels/tolls-by-vehicle/cars|title=New Car Toll Rates|at=Footnote 3|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=July 28, 2023|archive-date=August 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829194309/https://new.mta.info/fares-and-tolls/bridges-and-tunnels/tolls-by-vehicle/cars|url-status=dead}}</ref> Starting in February 2024, all drivers who have a Bronx address and a NYCSC E-ZPass have received a 100 percent rebate;<ref name="Team 2023 o914">{{cite web |date=December 7, 2023 |title=Bronx, Queens drivers eligible for E-ZPass toll rebate program |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/bronx-queens-henry-hudson-bridge-cross-bay-bridge-ezpass-toll-rebate-program/ |access-date=December 9, 2023 |website=CBS New York}}</ref> Bronx residents are automatically enrolled in the program.<ref name="ABC7 New York 2023 g451">{{cite web |date=December 7, 2023 |title=Governor Kathy Hochul announces E-ZPass rebates for 2 bridges in the Bronx and Queens |url=https://abc7ny.com/e-zpass-rebate-henry-hudson-bridge-cross-bay/14151164/ |access-date=December 9, 2023 |website=ABC7 New York}}</ref>

The original toll was 10 cents. In January 2010, the MTA announced that it planned to implement a [[Pilot experiment|pilot program]] on the Henry Hudson Bridge to phase out toll booths and use [[open road tolling]]. On January 20, 2011, this toll pilot project got underway.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ny1.com/content/132511/henry-hudson-span-goes--gateless-/ |title=Henry Hudson Span Goes "Gateless" - NY1 |work=[[NY1]] |first=John |last=Mancini |date=January 20, 2011 |access-date=July 13, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714191028/https://www.ny1.com/content/132511/henry-hudson-span-goes--gateless-/ |archive-date=July 14, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgeNhF5znZY  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/JgeNhF5znZY| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Henry Hudson Bridge Toll Pilot |work=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|MTA]] [[YouTube]] website |date=January 20, 2011 |access-date=January 20, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.mta.info/news/2011/02/22/gate-free-e-zpass-henry-hudson-reducing-travel-time| title=Gate Free E-ZPass on the Henry Hudson Reducing Travel Time| work=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|MTA.info]]| date=February 22, 2011| access-date=July 13, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714162513/https://www.mta.info/news/2011/02/22/gate-free-e-zpass-henry-hudson-reducing-travel-time |archive-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref> Drivers without E-ZPass are sent a bill in the mail. The new tolling system was implemented on November 10, 2012, and has since been implemented on all nine MTA crossings.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.mta.info/bandt/html/cashless.html |title=Cashless tolls at the Henry Hudson Bridge |work=MTA Bridges and Tunnels |access-date=October 3, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912213602/https://web.mta.info/bandt/html/cashless.html |archive-date=September 12, 2013}}</ref>

On November 20, 2016, the upper level tollbooths were dismantled. Cameras and [[E-ZPass]] readers are mounted on new overhead gantries manufactured by [[TransCore]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://transcore.com/projects/mta-bt |title=Project Profile Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), New York |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=TransCore}}</ref> near where the booths were located.<ref name="Siff 2016"/><ref name="WABC 2016"/>  A vehicle without E-ZPass has a picture taken of its license plate and a bill for the toll is mailed to its owner.<ref name="MTA cashless">{{cite web | title=What Is Cashless Tolling? | website=MTA Bridges & Tunnels | url=https://web.mta.info/bandt/cashless/ | access-date=September 1, 2019}}</ref> For E-ZPass users, sensors detect their transponders wirelessly.<ref name="Siff 2016">{{cite web | last=Siff | first=Andrew | title=Automatic Tolls to Replace Gates at 9 NYC Spans: Cuomo | website=NBC New York | date=October 5, 2016 | url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Automatic-Tolls-Coming-to-New-York-City-Bridges-Tunnels-NYC-396050241.html | access-date=December 25, 2016}}</ref><ref name="WABC 2016">{{cite web | title=MTA rolls out cashless toll schedule for bridges, tunnels | website=ABC7 New York | date=December 21, 2016 | url=https://abc7ny.com/1666924/ | access-date=December 25, 2016}}</ref><ref name="MTA cashless" /> The lower level tollbooths remained, albeit decommissioned, until 2019.

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Henry Hudson Bridge}}
*[http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/henry-hudson/ NYC Roads] entry
*{{Structurae|id=20001722|title=Henry Hudson Bridge}}

{{NYC Bridge}}
{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = Crossings
|place           = [[Harlem River]]
|bridge          = Henry Hudson Bridge
|bridge signs    = [[File:Toll plate yellow.svg|20px|link=]] [[File:Toll plate yellow.svg|20px|link=]]<br>[[File:NY-9A.svg|20px]] [[File:Henry Hudson Pkwy Shield free.svg|20px]]
|upstream        = [[Spuyten Duyvil Bridge]]
|upstream signs  = 
|downstream      = [[Broadway Bridge (Manhattan)|Broadway Bridge]]
|downstream signs = [[File:US 9.svg|20px]] {{NYCS Broadway-Seventh north|time=bullets}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bridges completed in 1936]]
[[Category:Bridges in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Bridges in the Bronx]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Harlem River]]
[[Category:Double-decker bridges]]
[[Category:Inwood, Manhattan]]
[[Category:Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Pedestrian bridges in New York City]]
[[Category:Plate girder bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Road bridges in New York City]]
[[Category:Robert Moses projects]]
[[Category:Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx]]
[[Category:Steel bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Toll bridges in New York City]]
[[Category:Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority]]