Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-05-02
THE NEWARK BAY BRIDGE

The Central Railroad of New Jersey wants to erect a
new steel bridge supported on concrete piers, across Newark
bay from Elizabethport to Bayonne. The matter is now
pending before the State Board of Commerce and Navigation
which board has called a hearing on the subject to be held
in Newark on Monday, May s.
Newark and Jersey City are opposed to The erection OF
a new bridge claiming that the structure interferes with the
proper development of Port Newark and the Hackensack
river front of Jersey City. They want the bridge removed
way of Newark.
Bayonne, naturally, wants the bridge, but ii wants more
than a railroad bridge. 1t wants provision made for vehicles
and pedestrians along with the railroad.
Elizabeth, although having much waterfront above the
bridge, heartily favors the building of a new structure eX-
clusiyely for the railroad believing that a combined railroad,
and vehicular bridge is not feasible at this time. While real
izing the advantage that it would be in the development of
the waterfront along Newark bay to have the bridge re-
moved, Elizabeth maintains that the train service to New
York is OF more importance.
This is the position taken by the other towns and cities
served by the Central railroad. Plainfield is showing con-
siderable interest in the matter and so are the other towns
and cities along the Central main line. They are planning
to be represented at the hearing to be held next Monday.
But what concerns the towns and cities along the main
line is of equal concern to the towns and cities along the
Long Branch division, Asbury Park, Red Bank and Perth
Amboy are directly interested in having a short and con-
venient route TO New York maintained. This bridge across
Newark bay has been in existence for a great many years.
It Ia not as il a request were made for an additional bridge.
Furthermore, much of the objection TO the present bridge
will be removed under the plans as drawn for the proposed
new structure. All the piings that now interfere SO with
the free passage of small craft and which form a blockade
for ice in winter, will be removed and steel spans on con-
crete piers, like the railroad bridge across the Raritan river
here, will leave the bay comparatively free.
As the bay is so shallow that boats larger than row
boats or small power boats have to keep in the channel any
way. the spans cannot be said to prevent the movement of
vessels. Drawbridges are made to move so quickly these
days that they interfere but little with traffic OH the water
II will be many years before the ocean commerce to
port Newark will be so congested that a modern drawbridSe
across Newark bay will seriously interfere with water trans
portation. Perth Amboy and New Brunswick have the same
with the railroad bridge and the highway bridge
across the mouth of the Raritan river. This section is even
more ideally located for port development that Newark bay
will ever be. Yet the bridges here are justified.
When il comes to putting the questionable disadvan-
iaee that a new steel and concrete bridge across Newark
bay would be to Newark and Jersey City against the great
advantage the maintenance of the present route to New York
with a modern structure across the bay would be to the nu
towns and cities located on the Central railroad, III
is apparent that the argument is decidedly in favor of the
bridge.