Alexander Hamilton Bridge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Alexander Hamilton Bridge**
Three of the bridges that cross the Harlem River are visible in this photo of the river: the High Bridge (a now-closed pedestrian bridge) in the foreground; the Alexander Hamilton Bridge (part of Interstate 95); and the Washington Bridge furthest away. In this photo, looking north, the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan is on the left and the Bronx is on the right)
Carries	8 lanes of I-95 and US 1
Crosses	Harlem River
Locale	Manhattan and the Bronx, in New York City
Maintained by	New York City Department of Transportation
Design	Arch bridge
Longest span	555 feet (169 m)
Total length	2,375 feet (724 m)
Vertical clearance	135 ft (41 m)
AADT	182,000
Opening date	January 15, 1963
Toll	none

The Alexander Hamilton Bridge carries eight lanes of traffic over the Harlem River in New York City between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, connecting the Trans-Manhattan Expressway in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan and the Cross-Bronx Expressway, as part of Interstate 95. The bridge opened to traffic on January 15, 1963, the same day that the Cross-Bronx Expressway was completed. In 2003, the New York City Department of Transportation, which operates and maintains the bridge, reported daily traffic volume in both directions of 182,704.

The total length of bridge, including approaches, is 2,375 feet (724 m). The parallel main spans of the steel arch bridge stretch 555 feet (169 m) long over the Harlem River and provide 135 ft (41 m) of horizontal clearance.

After completion of the George Washington Bridge in 1931, traffic off that bridge into the Bronx would travel over the Washington Bridge, which crosses the Harlem River just north of the present Alexander Hamilton Bridge. The Alexander Hamilton Bridge was planned in the mid-1950s to connect to Robert Moses' proposed Trans-Manhattan and Cross-Bronx Expressways and to accommodate the additional traffic resulting from the addition of the six-lane lower level to the George Washington Bridge. With the Interstate designation, 90% of the $21 million in construction costs were covered by the federal government. The Bridge design included a set of spiraling ramps to connect to and from the Major Deegan Expressway (completed in 1964) and a viaduct ramp connecting to the Harlem River Drive, both of which are over 100 feet (30 m) below the level of the Bridge, and access to Amsterdam Avenue.

edit River crossings in New York City
Manhattan	Broadway Bridge
Manhattan – Bronx	Triborough Bridge – Willis Avenue Bridge – Third Avenue Bridge – Madison Avenue Bridge – 145th Street Bridge – Macombs Dam Bridge – High Bridge – Alexander Hamilton Bridge – Washington Bridge – University Heights Bridge – Henry Hudson Bridge
Manhattan – Brooklyn	Brooklyn Battery Tunnel – Brooklyn Bridge – Manhattan Bridge – Williamsburg Bridge
Manhattan – Queens	Triborough Bridge – Queens Midtown Tunnel – Queensboro Bridge – Roosevelt Island Bridge
Manhattan – New Jersey	George Washington Bridge – Lincoln Tunnel – Holland Tunnel
Bronx – Queens	Bronx Whitestone Bridge – Throgs Neck Bridge – Triborough Bridge
Brooklyn – Queens	Marine Parkway Bridge
Brooklyn – Staten Island	Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
Staten Island – New Jersey	Bayonne Bridge – Goethals Bridge – Outerbridge Crossing
Queens	Cross Bay Bridge – Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge