Pulaski Skyway
Encyclopedia
The General Pulaski Skyway is a four-lane freeway composed of connected bridges in the northeastern part
of the U.S. state
of New Jersey
, carrying the designation of U.S. Route 1/9
(US 1/9) for most of its length. The landmark structure has a total length of 3.502 mi (5.636 km) with the longest bridge spanning 550 ft (167.6 m). Travelling between Newark
and Jersey City, the roadway crosses the Passaic
and Hackensack
rivers and Kearny Point, the peninsula between them. Trucks have been prohibited from using the Pulaski Skyway since 1934 and must use U.S. Route 1/9 Truck as an alternate route. As of 2010, the bridge handles about 67,000 crossings per day.
Designed by Sigvald Johannesson, the Pulaski Skyway opened in 1932 as the last part of the Route 1 Extension, one of the first superhighways in the United States that was intended to provide a connection to the Holland Tunnel. The skyway plans originally called for drawbridge
s at the river crossings, but these were later changed to high-level crossings as the road was intended to be used for high-speed traffic. It was named in 1933 for General Kazimierz Pułaski, a Polish
general in the American Revolutionary War
. One of several major projects built during the reign of Hudson County
political boss Frank Hague
, its construction was a source of political and labor disputes. A total of 15 people died in relation to the construction of the skyway. A median barrier was installed on the skyway in 1956 to reduce crashes. The bridges have been listed on the federal
and state
registers of historic places since 2005. They have been little altered since being built and not significantly repaired since 1984. In 2007, the New Jersey Department of Transportation
(NJDOT) began a rehabilitation program which it estimates will cost about $1 billion.
overlap. While it generally runs east–west between Newark and Jersey City, it is signed according to US 1
and US 9 which are generally north–south routes. The west end of the skyway is near where Raymond Boulevard
merges with the viaduct
carrying the freeway in Newark's Ironbound
. The east end is just beyond Tonnele Circle
, where US 1/9 exits to the surface, following Tonnele Avenue towards the Lincoln Tunnel
and George Washington Bridge
. The road becomes the four-lane Route 139
which enters the lower part of the dual-level "divided highway" through Bergen Hill
to the Holland Tunnel
approach. In addition to crossing the Hackensack and Passaic rivers, it also passes over the New Jersey Turnpike
, with which it has no interchange. Under most of the skyway is other vehicular, rail, maritime, and industrial infrastructure built on landfilled
wetlands that were once part of the New Jersey Meadowlands
.
Sources differ on inclusion of the Route 1 Extension in the Pulaski Skyway. In some cases, the NJDOT includes the southern approach starting at milepost 49.00. Some maps, including a 1938 map of Newark and a 1981 map of Elizabeth also have the approach road labeled as the Pulaski Skyway. Google
includes the Holland Tunnel approach. The National Register of Historic Places
includes the road starting at milepost 51.25 extending to the dual-level highway at its northern end. Other sources such as the New York Times and the Newark Star-Ledger refer to the Pulaski Skyway as the 3.5 miles (5.6 km) iconic bridge designed by Johannesson that was the third and last component of the new highway to be built.
There is limited access to the freeway: Two single-lane ramps that rise to the inner lanes of the elevated structure, requiring traffic to enter or exit from the left providing access at the Marion Section of Jersey City and South Kearny. Trucks have been prohibited for the "safety and welfare of the public" since shortly after its official dedication. They are detoured to use U.S. Route 1/9 Truck, along the route of the Lincoln Highway that carried traffic before its construction. Pedestrians and bicycles are banned, as the road has no dedicated lanes or sidewalk
s. The speed limit
on the skyway is 45 miles per hour (72.4 km/h), but is not generally followed as there is nowhere for police to pull over speeders due to the absence of shoulders.
Before the 1953 highway renumbering in New Jersey, the skyway was also part of Route 25
. The original designation, part of the Route 1 Extension, referred to the Route 1 that largely became Route 25 in the 1927 renumbering.
and Passaic
rivers, the main part of the skyway is a steel deck truss cantilever bridge
, supported by concrete piers
. Each of the two river crossings is a 1250 feet (381 m) combination of a 550 feet (167.6 m) subdivided (K-shaped) through Pratt truss between the supports and a 350 feet (106.7 m) basic Pratt truss structure connecting each end to the deck truss part of the skyway. Spanning the rivers, they reach a height of 135 feet (41.1 m). The Jersey City end includes three short through truss spans that take the roadway over rail lines. The westernmost passes over the Port Authority Trans-Hudson
rapid transit
line and Conrail's Passaic and Harsimus Line
. Just beyond are the two easternmost deck truss spans, after which the skyway is low enough to use simple vertical supports. After crossing over Tonnele Circle
, the highway passes under Kennedy Boulevard
and enters the cut
excavated through Bergen Hill
that accommodates Route 139
.
Design for the Holland Tunnel
, the first fixed roadway connection between New Jersey and New York City
, began in 1919; construction began in 1922, and the tunnel opened in late 1927. In order to provide for a continuous highway connection on the New Jersey side the New Jersey Legislature
passed a bill authorizing the extension of Route 1 from its end at Elizabeth through Newark and Jersey City to the proposed tunnel. It was conceived as the nations's first "super-highway". State highway engineer Hugh L. Sloan appointed old acquaintance Fred Lavis, a consulting engineer who had worked on foreign rail lines and the Panama Canal
and written four books on locating and designing rail lines, to design this Route 1 Extension. The Skyway portion was designed by Sigvald Johannesson.
Frank Hague
, mayor of Jersey City and boss of the state's political machine
, directed the state to avoid the open cuts
that were already common where the railroads crossed Bergen Hill
, and to include an access ramp in Kearny to spur industrial development. Construction of the highway, which was mostly raised on embankments
, and passed through Bergen Hill in a cut began in mid-1925, and large portions in Jersey City and Newark—including the "covered roadway" (Route 139
) and the embankment in eastern Newark—were opened in late 1928, about a year after the tunnel opened. Traffic was still required to cross the Hackensack
and Passaic River
s on the old Lincoln Highway
, which included two drawbridge
s that frequently stopped traffic to allow ships to pass.
Lavis's design for this section across the New Jersey Meadowlands
, which would be raised on concrete piers, included two drawbridges 35 feet (10.7 m) above the water surface, sufficient for the majority of ships to pass underneath. He resigned in 1928, believing his work was complete, but in January 1929 the War Department objected to the continued existence of the Lincoln Highway bridges once the new highway was complete. Since the Route 1 Extension was not intended for local traffic, and replacing the drawbridges with tunnels would be expensive, a compromise was worked out by late 1929 to raise the bridges to 135 feet (41.1 m). The concrete jacketing of the steel was removed from the plans, since the taller bridges would be heavier; this resulted in more future maintenance.
Four companies—the American Bridge Company
, McClintic-Marshall Company, Phoenix Bridge Company, and Taylor-Fichter Steel Construction Company—were awarded contracts for the so-called "Diagonal Highway", with construction to start in April 1930. The two river bridges, McClintic-Marshall's portion, were completed first, and the $21 million road was opened at 8:00 a.m. on November 24, 1932, Thanksgiving
Day, after an official ceremony the previous day on the Kearny ramp. Owing to the Great Depression
and problems with funding, Governor
A. Harry Moore
directed the Highway Commission on October 25, 1932 to make a formal request to the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads to charge tolls
on the Diagonal Highway. It was thought that tolls would be illegal due to federal aid being used to build the road, but it might be possible to transfer the $600,000 of federal aid to another project. A bill was introduced into the state legislature on May 1, 1933 asking to add tolls to the road (then known as the "sky way"), at a rate of 10 cents for cars and 20 cents for trucks. The legal obstacle of federal aid was also resolved by getting approval to transfer the funds, but tolls were never added.
During planning and construction, and for about half a year after opening, the road had no official name, being known as the Diagonal Highway, Newark – Jersey City Viaduct, or High-Level Viaduct. On May 3, 1933, the New Jersey Legislature
passed a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Eugene W. Hejke of Jersey City naming the road after Kazimierz Pułaski, the Polish military leader who helped train and lead Continental Army
troops in the American Revolutionary War
. An official ceremony was held on October 11, 1933, including the unveiling of signs with the new designation.
A survey taken during 1933 proved that the road saved time. Not only was the distance shortened by 0.5 mile (0.80467 km), but it took about six minutes less to travel the new route. Trucks gained even more time, saving anywhere from five to eleven minutes. It was found that the highway also diverted a good deal of traffic from other routes.
, who ran a statewide political machine
, and Theodore M. Brandle, a "labor czar" allied with Hague. Brandle and Hague had become friends through Hague's efforts to get the approval of unions. Brandle helped organize the Branleygran Company, a construction bond underwriter, which Hague channeled construction projects towards. During the mid-1920s redevelopment of Journal Square
, Brandle's Labor National Bank, founded in June 1926, acquired a new 15-story headquarters, the Labor Bank Building. Essentially Brandle controlled any construction projects in northern New Jersey, and any strikes he might call would be backed by Hague's police.
The relationship between Hague and Brandle started to go bad in late 1931, during the construction of the Jersey City Medical Center
, an important project to Hague. Leo Brennan, a contractor approved by Hague without consulting Brandle, who was building a backup power station for the hospital, refused to work with Brandle's card-file system, by which he kept track of union members and blacklisted those whom he disliked. The annoyed Brandle called a strike, but Brennan's workers refused; the police shut down the site after a brawl, but Brennan got court approval to continue. To placate Brandle, who threatened a strike that would stop all construction work on the center, Hague paid off Brennan and hired another contractor that Brandle had approved.
For the construction of the Pulaski Skyway, which began in April 1930, Hague chose four members of the National Erectors' Association, an organization of "open shop
" (anti-union) steel contractors. Performance bonds were paid in cash, bypassing Branleygran, and the companies hired the Foster Industrial and Detective Agency to guard the site against Brandle's threat to "unionize this job or else". Brandle organized picket line
s of loyal union men, and the two sides frequently fought in the streets or in the work area. Brandle's sole victory was a five-day stoppage in July 1931 by 165 non-union workers, who were interested in higher pay and afraid of the ongoing fights, but decided against joining the union. During the LaFollette Civil Liberties Committee hearings, it was discovered that, in order to save about $50,000 in salary, the American Bridge Company
, one of the four contractors, spent almost $300,000 on keeping its "open shop".
The first casualty of the labor battle was a picketer, shot and temporarily paralyzed by a perimeter guard on November 14, 1931 for throwing stones at workers. Several months later, on February 27, 1932, a car carrying six workers to the construction site was surrounded by union men, who began to beat them with iron bars. One of the workers, William T. Harrison, was dead by the next morning; Hague broke all ties with Brandle and ordered the police to "wage relentless war against the Brandle gang-rioters". In April 1932, 21 ironworkers were indicted as suspects in the Harrison murder. The trial was held on December 6, 1932, two weeks after the completion of the skyway. Every defendant was found not guilty, since county prosecutor John Drewen was unable to place any of them at the scene of the crime, and witnesses and defendants testified that they had been forced under torture or the threat of prosecution to sign affidavit
s and confessions
. In addition to the death of William T. Harrison, 14 lives were claimed by work-related accidents during construction.
Hague refused to allow Brandle and the unions to win, and began to force unions to foreclose through his control of the courts. On the public side, Hague attacked the "labor racketeers" with words, and the local newspapers gladly went along. In 1937 and 1938, Hague turned Jersey City into a police state
to fight the Congress of Industrial Organizations
(CIO), which was trying to inform workers of their rights under the 1935 National Labor Relations Act
. Socialist Norman Thomas
was prevented from speaking in Jersey City and Newark by Hague and his friends. This and other similar cases turned the national spotlight on Hague, and he was attacked by the New Yorker
and Life
in early 1938. Finally, in 1947, Governor Alfred E. Driscoll
cut off Hague's judicial power, and the mayor retired.
The slippery concrete surfacing, steep left-side ramps, center breakdown lane, and wide-open alignment built for high speeds all contributed to a high number of crashes. Mayor Frank Hague
of Jersey City passed an ordinance in November 1933 banning trucks from its section of the skyway, which effectively banned them from the whole road. Enforcement began on January 15, 1934, when Jersey City police began arresting truck drivers using the skyway. The New Jersey State Highway Commission approved the ban on January 23.
As a result of controversy caused by the ban, on February 6, 300,000 ballots were distributed to motorists on the skyway, asking whether trucks should be banned. Mayor Hague promised to go with the majority, which agreed with the ban. The matter was also taken to court, with one of the truck drivers convicted arguing that the ban was an unreasonable restraint of interstate commerce, and that since the federal government contributed money towards the road, Jersey City lacked the power to ban trucks. On August 14, Justice Thomas W. Trenchard of the New Jersey Supreme Court
upheld the ban, stating that "the court is not at liberty to substitute its judgment for that of the municipality's as to the best and most feasible manner of curing traffic evils and traffic congestion where such regulation bears a direct relationship to public safety and is reasonable and not arbitrary." The Tonnele Circle Viaduct, a new offramp allowing trucks from the Holland Tunnel to bypass Tonnele Circle
, opened in September 1938.
On May 21, 1952, large numbers of trucks were spotted by Jersey City police entering the city on the skyway. Upon pulling over the drivers, they were told that the exit in Newark
for the truck route was closed for construction. A call to Newark police confirmed the situation. Hudson County
police refused to force trucks to exit before Jersey City, since there was no state law banning trucks from the skyway. Jersey City Police Chief James McNamara gave in, and trucks were temporarily allowed to use the skyway, though only in one direction.
When the road was first opened, it carried five lanes; the center one was intended as a breakdown lane, but was in actuality used as a suicide lane for passing slower traffic. By the 1950s, the skyway was seeing over 400 crashes per year; an aluminum median barrier was added in mid-1956, in addition to a new coat of pavement designed to make the road less slippery.
The skyway was a constraint in the building of the north–south New Jersey Turnpike
near the west end in 1951. The turnpike had to be built low enough to provide enough clearance underneath the skyway, but high enough to clear the nearby Passaic River
. Turnpike engineers could have built over the skyway (at a much higher cost) or built under the skyway's trusses; the latter option was chosen.
The Newark Bay Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike (I-78) opened in September 1956, finally allowing Holland Tunnel-bound trucks to bypass the old surface road.
As part of a 2005 seismic retrofit
project, the Turnpike Authority lowered its bridge to increase vertical clearance and allow for full-width shoulders
, which had been constrained by the location of the skyway supports.
In the aftermath of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota
in August 2007, local officials called for a renovation of the skyway and its non-redundant
trusses. The work, aimed at preventing metal fatigue
and other structural instabilities that are believed to have caused the Minneapolis disaster, was expected to cost $10 million and take one year to complete. The New Jersey Department of Transportation
(NJDOT) identified the skyway in 2008 as one of eight "high priority" bridges in need of repairs. After work began it was determined that the repairs needed were more extensive, costly, time-consuming than than expected, and the agency estimates rehabilitation will cost approximately $1–1.3 billion. Work has proceeded without the closure of the roadway, but rather alternate lane closings affecting the 67,000 daily crossings. In 2009, NJDOT has installed nets to catch falling pieces of the structure. The department spends tens of millions of dollars each year in maintenance on the skyway and estimates that it would take a decade before the state could afford to rehabilitate or replace the structure.
, one of the Martian machines straddles the skyway (a scene replicated in the 2005 film wherein the first machine appears in the shadow of the bridge). It was featured in the 1979 film Hair
. Alfred Hitchcock
's 1943 film Shadow of a Doubt
and the 1999–2007 television drama The Sopranos
includes shots of the bridge in the opening montages. Clutch
included the track "Pulaski Skyway" on its 2005 release Robot Hive/Exodus
. In the 2008 Rockstar video game Grand Theft Auto IV
, the borough of Alderney (modeled after portions of northern New Jersey, including Newark and Jersey City) contains a navigable elevated highway named Plumbers Skyway, which bears strong resemblance to the Pulaski Skyway.
Gateway Region
The Gateway Region is located in the northeastern part of State of New Jersey in the United States of America. The area encompasses Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Union and Middlesex counties...
of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, carrying the designation of U.S. Route 1/9
U.S. Route 1/9
U.S. Route 9 is a U.S. highway in the northeast United States, running from Laurel, Delaware north to the Canadian border near Champlain, New York...
(US 1/9) for most of its length. The landmark structure has a total length of 3.502 mi (5.636 km) with the longest bridge spanning 550 ft (167.6 m). Travelling between Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
and Jersey City, the roadway crosses the Passaic
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
and Hackensack
Hackensack River
The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,...
rivers and Kearny Point, the peninsula between them. Trucks have been prohibited from using the Pulaski Skyway since 1934 and must use U.S. Route 1/9 Truck as an alternate route. As of 2010, the bridge handles about 67,000 crossings per day.
Designed by Sigvald Johannesson, the Pulaski Skyway opened in 1932 as the last part of the Route 1 Extension, one of the first superhighways in the United States that was intended to provide a connection to the Holland Tunnel. The skyway plans originally called for drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
s at the river crossings, but these were later changed to high-level crossings as the road was intended to be used for high-speed traffic. It was named in 1933 for General Kazimierz Pułaski, a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
general in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. One of several major projects built during the reign of Hudson County
Hudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County is the smallest county in New Jersey and one of the most densely populated in United States. It takes its name from the Hudson River, which creates part of its eastern border. Part of the New York metropolitan area, its county seat and largest city is Jersey City.- Municipalities...
political boss Frank Hague
Frank Hague
Frank Hague was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey from 1917 to 1947, Democratic National Committeeman from New Jersey from 1922 until 1949, and Vice-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1924 until 1949.Hague has a widely-known...
, its construction was a source of political and labor disputes. A total of 15 people died in relation to the construction of the skyway. A median barrier was installed on the skyway in 1956 to reduce crashes. The bridges have been listed on the federal
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and state
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The program is administered by the Historic Preservation Office of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.The register was...
registers of historic places since 2005. They have been little altered since being built and not significantly repaired since 1984. In 2007, the New Jersey Department of Transportation
New Jersey Department of Transportation
The New Jersey Department of Transportation is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey. It is headed by the Commissioner of Transportation...
(NJDOT) began a rehabilitation program which it estimates will cost about $1 billion.
Description
The four-lane skyway carries the US 1/9U.S. Route 1/9
U.S. Route 9 is a U.S. highway in the northeast United States, running from Laurel, Delaware north to the Canadian border near Champlain, New York...
overlap. While it generally runs east–west between Newark and Jersey City, it is signed according to US 1
U.S. Route 1 in New Jersey
U.S. Route 1 is a United States highway which parallels the East Coast of the United States, running from Key West, Florida in the south to Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border in the north. Of the entire length of the route, of it runs through New Jersey...
and US 9 which are generally north–south routes. The west end of the skyway is near where Raymond Boulevard
Raymond Boulevard
Raymond Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in Newark, New Jersey. The eastern portion of the road acts as the westbound member of a one-way pair; eastbound traffic uses Market Street and Ferry Street...
merges with the viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
carrying the freeway in Newark's Ironbound
Ironbound
The Ironbound is a large working-class neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. This close-knit, multi-ethnic community covers approximately four square miles . Historically, the area was called "Dutch Neck," "Down Neck," or simply "the Neck," because of the way the Passaic River curved to form what...
. The east end is just beyond Tonnele Circle
Tonnele Circle
The Tonnele Circle is an intersection in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. It is named after Tonnele Avenue, the north-south road that runs through it. Entrances and exits are, listed clockwise from north:*Tonnele Avenue north...
, where US 1/9 exits to the surface, following Tonnele Avenue towards the Lincoln Tunnel
Lincoln Tunnel
The Lincoln Tunnel is a long tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey and the borough of Manhattan in New York City.-History:...
and George Washington Bridge
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
. The road becomes the four-lane Route 139
Route 139 (New Jersey)
Route 139 is a state highway in Jersey City, New Jersey, extending the Pulaski Skyway east to the Holland Tunnel. The western portion of the route is a two level highway that is charted by the New Jersey Department of Transportation as two separate roadways: The lower roadway between U.S...
which enters the lower part of the dual-level "divided highway" through Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, USA, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson River, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet.-Rail:...
to the Holland Tunnel
Holland Tunnel
The Holland Tunnel is a highway tunnel under the Hudson River connecting the island of Manhattan in New York City with Jersey City, New Jersey at Interstate 78 on the mainland. Unusual for an American public works project, it is not named for a government official, politician, or local hero or...
approach. In addition to crossing the Hackensack and Passaic rivers, it also passes over the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
, with which it has no interchange. Under most of the skyway is other vehicular, rail, maritime, and industrial infrastructure built on landfilled
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
wetlands that were once part of the New Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeast New Jersey in the United States. The Meadowlands are known for being the site of large landfills and decades of...
.
Sources differ on inclusion of the Route 1 Extension in the Pulaski Skyway. In some cases, the NJDOT includes the southern approach starting at milepost 49.00. Some maps, including a 1938 map of Newark and a 1981 map of Elizabeth also have the approach road labeled as the Pulaski Skyway. Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
includes the Holland Tunnel approach. The National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
includes the road starting at milepost 51.25 extending to the dual-level highway at its northern end. Other sources such as the New York Times and the Newark Star-Ledger refer to the Pulaski Skyway as the 3.5 miles (5.6 km) iconic bridge designed by Johannesson that was the third and last component of the new highway to be built.
There is limited access to the freeway: Two single-lane ramps that rise to the inner lanes of the elevated structure, requiring traffic to enter or exit from the left providing access at the Marion Section of Jersey City and South Kearny. Trucks have been prohibited for the "safety and welfare of the public" since shortly after its official dedication. They are detoured to use U.S. Route 1/9 Truck, along the route of the Lincoln Highway that carried traffic before its construction. Pedestrians and bicycles are banned, as the road has no dedicated lanes or sidewalk
Sidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
s. The speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
on the skyway is 45 miles per hour (72.4 km/h), but is not generally followed as there is nowhere for police to pull over speeders due to the absence of shoulders.
Before the 1953 highway renumbering in New Jersey, the skyway was also part of Route 25
Route 25 (New Jersey)
Route 25 was a major state highway in New Jersey, United States prior to the 1953 renumbering, running from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Camden to the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City. The number was retired in the renumbering, as the whole road was followed by various U.S. Routes - U.S...
. The original designation, part of the Route 1 Extension, referred to the Route 1 that largely became Route 25 in the 1927 renumbering.
Design and construction
Except for the crossings of the HackensackHackensack River
The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,...
and Passaic
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
rivers, the main part of the skyway is a steel deck truss cantilever bridge
Cantilever bridge
A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from...
, supported by concrete piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
. Each of the two river crossings is a 1250 feet (381 m) combination of a 550 feet (167.6 m) subdivided (K-shaped) through Pratt truss between the supports and a 350 feet (106.7 m) basic Pratt truss structure connecting each end to the deck truss part of the skyway. Spanning the rivers, they reach a height of 135 feet (41.1 m). The Jersey City end includes three short through truss spans that take the roadway over rail lines. The westernmost passes over the Port Authority Trans-Hudson
Port Authority Trans-Hudson
PATH, derived from Port Authority Trans-Hudson, is a rapid transit railroad linking Manhattan, New York City with Newark, Harrison, Hoboken and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey...
rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
line and Conrail's Passaic and Harsimus Line
Passaic and Harsimus Line
Conrail's Passaic and Harsimus Line serves freight in northeastern New Jersey, as an alternate to the mainly passenger Northeast Corridor. It takes trains from the Northeast Corridor and Lehigh Line near Newark Liberty International Airport northeast and east into Jersey City, New Jersey, serving...
. Just beyond are the two easternmost deck truss spans, after which the skyway is low enough to use simple vertical supports. After crossing over Tonnele Circle
Tonnele Circle
The Tonnele Circle is an intersection in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. It is named after Tonnele Avenue, the north-south road that runs through it. Entrances and exits are, listed clockwise from north:*Tonnele Avenue north...
, the highway passes under Kennedy Boulevard
County Route 501 (New Jersey)
County Route 501 is a county highway in New Jersey in two sections spanning Middlesex, Hudson and Bergen Counties. The southern section runs from South Plainfield to Perth Amboy, the northern section runs from Bayonne to Rockleigh, and the two sections are connected by New York State Route 440...
and enters the cut
Cut (earthmoving)
In civil engineering, a cut or cutting is where soil or rock material from a hill or mountain is cut out to make way for a canal, road or railway line....
excavated through Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, USA, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson River, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet.-Rail:...
that accommodates Route 139
Route 139 (New Jersey)
Route 139 is a state highway in Jersey City, New Jersey, extending the Pulaski Skyway east to the Holland Tunnel. The western portion of the route is a two level highway that is charted by the New Jersey Department of Transportation as two separate roadways: The lower roadway between U.S...
.
Design for the Holland Tunnel
Holland Tunnel
The Holland Tunnel is a highway tunnel under the Hudson River connecting the island of Manhattan in New York City with Jersey City, New Jersey at Interstate 78 on the mainland. Unusual for an American public works project, it is not named for a government official, politician, or local hero or...
, the first fixed roadway connection between New Jersey and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, began in 1919; construction began in 1922, and the tunnel opened in late 1927. In order to provide for a continuous highway connection on the New Jersey side the New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...
passed a bill authorizing the extension of Route 1 from its end at Elizabeth through Newark and Jersey City to the proposed tunnel. It was conceived as the nations's first "super-highway". State highway engineer Hugh L. Sloan appointed old acquaintance Fred Lavis, a consulting engineer who had worked on foreign rail lines and the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and written four books on locating and designing rail lines, to design this Route 1 Extension. The Skyway portion was designed by Sigvald Johannesson.
Frank Hague
Frank Hague
Frank Hague was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey from 1917 to 1947, Democratic National Committeeman from New Jersey from 1922 until 1949, and Vice-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1924 until 1949.Hague has a widely-known...
, mayor of Jersey City and boss of the state's political machine
Political machine
A political machine is a political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses , who receive rewards for their efforts...
, directed the state to avoid the open cuts
Cut (earthmoving)
In civil engineering, a cut or cutting is where soil or rock material from a hill or mountain is cut out to make way for a canal, road or railway line....
that were already common where the railroads crossed Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill
Bergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, USA, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson River, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet.-Rail:...
, and to include an access ramp in Kearny to spur industrial development. Construction of the highway, which was mostly raised on embankments
Embankment (transportation)
To keep a road or railway line straight or flat, and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions is prohibitive, the land over which the road or rail line will travel is built up to form an embankment. An embankment is therefore in some sense the opposite of a cutting, and...
, and passed through Bergen Hill in a cut began in mid-1925, and large portions in Jersey City and Newark—including the "covered roadway" (Route 139
Route 139 (New Jersey)
Route 139 is a state highway in Jersey City, New Jersey, extending the Pulaski Skyway east to the Holland Tunnel. The western portion of the route is a two level highway that is charted by the New Jersey Department of Transportation as two separate roadways: The lower roadway between U.S...
) and the embankment in eastern Newark—were opened in late 1928, about a year after the tunnel opened. Traffic was still required to cross the Hackensack
Hackensack River
The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,...
and Passaic River
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
s on the old Lincoln Highway
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...
, which included two drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
s that frequently stopped traffic to allow ships to pass.
New Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeast New Jersey in the United States. The Meadowlands are known for being the site of large landfills and decades of...
, which would be raised on concrete piers, included two drawbridges 35 feet (10.7 m) above the water surface, sufficient for the majority of ships to pass underneath. He resigned in 1928, believing his work was complete, but in January 1929 the War Department objected to the continued existence of the Lincoln Highway bridges once the new highway was complete. Since the Route 1 Extension was not intended for local traffic, and replacing the drawbridges with tunnels would be expensive, a compromise was worked out by late 1929 to raise the bridges to 135 feet (41.1 m). The concrete jacketing of the steel was removed from the plans, since the taller bridges would be heavier; this resulted in more future maintenance.
Four companies—the American Bridge Company
American Bridge Company
The American Bridge Company is a privately held civil engineering firm specializing in the construction and renovation of bridges and other large civil engineering projects, founded in 1900, and headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh.-Products and industry positioning:The...
, McClintic-Marshall Company, Phoenix Bridge Company, and Taylor-Fichter Steel Construction Company—were awarded contracts for the so-called "Diagonal Highway", with construction to start in April 1930. The two river bridges, McClintic-Marshall's portion, were completed first, and the $21 million road was opened at 8:00 a.m. on November 24, 1932, Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
Day, after an official ceremony the previous day on the Kearny ramp. Owing to the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and problems with funding, Governor
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
A. Harry Moore
A. Harry Moore
Arthur Harry Moore was a Democrat who was the 39th Governors of New Jersey, serving three terms between 1926 and 1941. He was the longest-serving New Jersey Governor in the 20th century and the only New Jersey Governor elected to serve three separate non-consecutive terms...
directed the Highway Commission on October 25, 1932 to make a formal request to the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads to charge tolls
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
on the Diagonal Highway. It was thought that tolls would be illegal due to federal aid being used to build the road, but it might be possible to transfer the $600,000 of federal aid to another project. A bill was introduced into the state legislature on May 1, 1933 asking to add tolls to the road (then known as the "sky way"), at a rate of 10 cents for cars and 20 cents for trucks. The legal obstacle of federal aid was also resolved by getting approval to transfer the funds, but tolls were never added.
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...
passed a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Eugene W. Hejke of Jersey City naming the road after Kazimierz Pułaski, the Polish military leader who helped train and lead Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
troops in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. An official ceremony was held on October 11, 1933, including the unveiling of signs with the new designation.
A survey taken during 1933 proved that the road saved time. Not only was the distance shortened by 0.5 mile (0.80467 km), but it took about six minutes less to travel the new route. Trucks gained even more time, saving anywhere from five to eleven minutes. It was found that the highway also diverted a good deal of traffic from other routes.
Labor issues
The construction of the Pulaski Skyway ended up causing a dispute between Mayor of Jersey City Frank HagueFrank Hague
Frank Hague was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey from 1917 to 1947, Democratic National Committeeman from New Jersey from 1922 until 1949, and Vice-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1924 until 1949.Hague has a widely-known...
, who ran a statewide political machine
Political machine
A political machine is a political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses , who receive rewards for their efforts...
, and Theodore M. Brandle, a "labor czar" allied with Hague. Brandle and Hague had become friends through Hague's efforts to get the approval of unions. Brandle helped organize the Branleygran Company, a construction bond underwriter, which Hague channeled construction projects towards. During the mid-1920s redevelopment of Journal Square
Journal Square
Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey, which takes its name from the newspaper Jersey Journal whose headquarters are located there. The "square" itself is at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Avenues...
, Brandle's Labor National Bank, founded in June 1926, acquired a new 15-story headquarters, the Labor Bank Building. Essentially Brandle controlled any construction projects in northern New Jersey, and any strikes he might call would be backed by Hague's police.
The relationship between Hague and Brandle started to go bad in late 1931, during the construction of the Jersey City Medical Center
Jersey City Medical Center
The Jersey City Medical Center is a hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey. The hospital has had different facilities in the city.-History:The hospital began as the "Charity Hospital" but the Board of Aldermen of Jersey City bought land at Baldwin Avenue and Montgomery Street in 1882 for a new hospital...
, an important project to Hague. Leo Brennan, a contractor approved by Hague without consulting Brandle, who was building a backup power station for the hospital, refused to work with Brandle's card-file system, by which he kept track of union members and blacklisted those whom he disliked. The annoyed Brandle called a strike, but Brennan's workers refused; the police shut down the site after a brawl, but Brennan got court approval to continue. To placate Brandle, who threatened a strike that would stop all construction work on the center, Hague paid off Brennan and hired another contractor that Brandle had approved.
For the construction of the Pulaski Skyway, which began in April 1930, Hague chose four members of the National Erectors' Association, an organization of "open shop
Open shop
An open shop is a place of employment at which one is not required to join or financially support a union as a condition of hiring or continued employment...
" (anti-union) steel contractors. Performance bonds were paid in cash, bypassing Branleygran, and the companies hired the Foster Industrial and Detective Agency to guard the site against Brandle's threat to "unionize this job or else". Brandle organized picket line
Picket line
A picket line is a horizontal rope, along which horses are tied at intervals. The rope can be on the ground, at chest height , or overhead. The overhead form usually is called a high line....
s of loyal union men, and the two sides frequently fought in the streets or in the work area. Brandle's sole victory was a five-day stoppage in July 1931 by 165 non-union workers, who were interested in higher pay and afraid of the ongoing fights, but decided against joining the union. During the LaFollette Civil Liberties Committee hearings, it was discovered that, in order to save about $50,000 in salary, the American Bridge Company
American Bridge Company
The American Bridge Company is a privately held civil engineering firm specializing in the construction and renovation of bridges and other large civil engineering projects, founded in 1900, and headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh.-Products and industry positioning:The...
, one of the four contractors, spent almost $300,000 on keeping its "open shop".
The first casualty of the labor battle was a picketer, shot and temporarily paralyzed by a perimeter guard on November 14, 1931 for throwing stones at workers. Several months later, on February 27, 1932, a car carrying six workers to the construction site was surrounded by union men, who began to beat them with iron bars. One of the workers, William T. Harrison, was dead by the next morning; Hague broke all ties with Brandle and ordered the police to "wage relentless war against the Brandle gang-rioters". In April 1932, 21 ironworkers were indicted as suspects in the Harrison murder. The trial was held on December 6, 1932, two weeks after the completion of the skyway. Every defendant was found not guilty, since county prosecutor John Drewen was unable to place any of them at the scene of the crime, and witnesses and defendants testified that they had been forced under torture or the threat of prosecution to sign affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
s and confessions
Confession (legal)
In the law of criminal evidence, a confession is a statement by a suspect in crime which is adverse to that person. Some authorities, such as Black's Law Dictionary, define a confession in more narrow terms, e.g...
. In addition to the death of William T. Harrison, 14 lives were claimed by work-related accidents during construction.
Hague refused to allow Brandle and the unions to win, and began to force unions to foreclose through his control of the courts. On the public side, Hague attacked the "labor racketeers" with words, and the local newspapers gladly went along. In 1937 and 1938, Hague turned Jersey City into a police state
Police state
A police state is one in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population...
to fight the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
(CIO), which was trying to inform workers of their rights under the 1935 National Labor Relations Act
National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act , is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions , engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in...
. Socialist Norman Thomas
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.-Early years:...
was prevented from speaking in Jersey City and Newark by Hague and his friends. This and other similar cases turned the national spotlight on Hague, and he was attacked by the New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
in early 1938. Finally, in 1947, Governor Alfred E. Driscoll
Alfred E. Driscoll
Alfred Eastlack Driscoll was an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey Senate representing Camden County, who served as the 43rd Governor of New Jersey, and as president of Warner-Lambert .-Biography:He was born on October 25, 1902 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
cut off Hague's judicial power, and the mayor retired.
Truck and other safety issues
Frank Hague
Frank Hague was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey from 1917 to 1947, Democratic National Committeeman from New Jersey from 1922 until 1949, and Vice-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1924 until 1949.Hague has a widely-known...
of Jersey City passed an ordinance in November 1933 banning trucks from its section of the skyway, which effectively banned them from the whole road. Enforcement began on January 15, 1934, when Jersey City police began arresting truck drivers using the skyway. The New Jersey State Highway Commission approved the ban on January 23.
As a result of controversy caused by the ban, on February 6, 300,000 ballots were distributed to motorists on the skyway, asking whether trucks should be banned. Mayor Hague promised to go with the majority, which agreed with the ban. The matter was also taken to court, with one of the truck drivers convicted arguing that the ban was an unreasonable restraint of interstate commerce, and that since the federal government contributed money towards the road, Jersey City lacked the power to ban trucks. On August 14, Justice Thomas W. Trenchard of the New Jersey Supreme Court
New Jersey Supreme Court
The New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It has existed in three different forms under the three different state constitutions since the independence of the state in 1776...
upheld the ban, stating that "the court is not at liberty to substitute its judgment for that of the municipality's as to the best and most feasible manner of curing traffic evils and traffic congestion where such regulation bears a direct relationship to public safety and is reasonable and not arbitrary." The Tonnele Circle Viaduct, a new offramp allowing trucks from the Holland Tunnel to bypass Tonnele Circle
Tonnele Circle
The Tonnele Circle is an intersection in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. It is named after Tonnele Avenue, the north-south road that runs through it. Entrances and exits are, listed clockwise from north:*Tonnele Avenue north...
, opened in September 1938.
On May 21, 1952, large numbers of trucks were spotted by Jersey City police entering the city on the skyway. Upon pulling over the drivers, they were told that the exit in Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
for the truck route was closed for construction. A call to Newark police confirmed the situation. Hudson County
Hudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County is the smallest county in New Jersey and one of the most densely populated in United States. It takes its name from the Hudson River, which creates part of its eastern border. Part of the New York metropolitan area, its county seat and largest city is Jersey City.- Municipalities...
police refused to force trucks to exit before Jersey City, since there was no state law banning trucks from the skyway. Jersey City Police Chief James McNamara gave in, and trucks were temporarily allowed to use the skyway, though only in one direction.
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
near the west end in 1951. The turnpike had to be built low enough to provide enough clearance underneath the skyway, but high enough to clear the nearby Passaic River
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
. Turnpike engineers could have built over the skyway (at a much higher cost) or built under the skyway's trusses; the latter option was chosen.
The Newark Bay Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike (I-78) opened in September 1956, finally allowing Holland Tunnel-bound trucks to bypass the old surface road.
As part of a 2005 seismic retrofit
Seismic retrofit
Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. With better understanding of seismic demand on structures and with our recent experiences with large earthquakes near urban centers,...
project, the Turnpike Authority lowered its bridge to increase vertical clearance and allow for full-width shoulders
Shoulder (road)
A hard shoulder, or simply shoulder, is a reserved area by the verge of a road or motorway. Generally it is kept clear of motor vehicle traffic...
, which had been constrained by the location of the skyway supports.
In the aftermath of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
in August 2007, local officials called for a renovation of the skyway and its non-redundant
Redundancy (engineering)
In engineering, redundancy is the duplication of critical components or functions of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the system, usually in the case of a backup or fail-safe....
trusses. The work, aimed at preventing metal fatigue
Metal Fatigue
Metal Fatigue , is a futuristic science fiction, real-time strategy computer game developed by Zono Incorporated and published by Psygnosis and TalonSoft .-Plot:...
and other structural instabilities that are believed to have caused the Minneapolis disaster, was expected to cost $10 million and take one year to complete. The New Jersey Department of Transportation
New Jersey Department of Transportation
The New Jersey Department of Transportation is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey. It is headed by the Commissioner of Transportation...
(NJDOT) identified the skyway in 2008 as one of eight "high priority" bridges in need of repairs. After work began it was determined that the repairs needed were more extensive, costly, time-consuming than than expected, and the agency estimates rehabilitation will cost approximately $1–1.3 billion. Work has proceeded without the closure of the roadway, but rather alternate lane closings affecting the 67,000 daily crossings. In 2009, NJDOT has installed nets to catch falling pieces of the structure. The department spends tens of millions of dollars each year in maintenance on the skyway and estimates that it would take a decade before the state could afford to rehabilitate or replace the structure.
In popular culture
The Pulaski Skyway has been used in radio, film, television, and at least one video game. The 1938 radio drama The War of the WorldsThe War of the Worlds (radio)
The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker...
, one of the Martian machines straddles the skyway (a scene replicated in the 2005 film wherein the first machine appears in the shadow of the bridge). It was featured in the 1979 film Hair
Hair (film)
Hair is a 1979 American film adaptation of the 1968 Broadway musical of the same name about a Vietnam war draftee who meets and befriends a tribe of long-haired hippies on his way to the army induction center...
. Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's 1943 film Shadow of a Doubt
Shadow of a Doubt
Shadow of a Doubt is a 1943 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten. Written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, and Alma Reville, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story for Gordon McDonell...
and the 1999–2007 television drama The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
includes shots of the bridge in the opening montages. Clutch
Clutch (band)
Clutch is an American rock band from Germantown, Maryland, formed in 1990. The band's first release was an EP entitled Pitchfork, which debuted in October 1990. Their first studio album, Transnational Speedway League, was released three years later in 1993. To date, Clutch has released nine studio...
included the track "Pulaski Skyway" on its 2005 release Robot Hive/Exodus
Robot Hive/Exodus
-Personnel:*Neil Fallon – Vocals, Guitar, Percussion*Tim Sult – Guitar*Jean Paul Gaster – Drums, Percussion*Dan Maines – Bass*Mick Schauer – Hammond Organ, Hohner Clavinet, Wurlitzer Electric Piano*J...
. In the 2008 Rockstar video game Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
, the borough of Alderney (modeled after portions of northern New Jersey, including Newark and Jersey City) contains a navigable elevated highway named Plumbers Skyway, which bears strong resemblance to the Pulaski Skyway.
See also
- List of bridges, tunnels, and cuts in Hudson County, New Jersey
- List of crossings of the Hackensack River
External links
- Historic American Engineering Record: Pulaski Skyway, Spanning Passaic & Hackensack Rivers, Jersey City, Hudson County, NJ
- NYCroads website: Pulaski Skyway