Outerbridge Crossing, Cantilever bridge in Perth Amboy, United States
Outerbridge Crossing is a steel cantilever bridge that connects Perth Amboy in New Jersey to Staten Island in New York across the Arthur Kill. The roadway extends 2,682 meters (8,800 feet) and rests on two tall concrete towers that let container ships and tankers pass beneath.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey built the bridge between 1925 and 1928 to create a direct road link between both states. It was named after Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge, a Staten Island businessman who served as the first chairman of the port authority.
The bridge connects two states across a busy shipping route that carries containers and tankers to the Port of New York. The name sounds like a geographic term, but it comes from the surname of a port authority chairman who played an important role in planning the project.
Vehicles heading east toward New York pay a toll at the end of the bridge, either with E-ZPass or through automatic license plate recognition. Traffic can move slower during rush hours, especially on weekday mornings and afternoons.
The center span between the towers measures 488 meters (1,600 feet) and ranks among the largest for this type of bridge in the Northeast. Ships up to 41 meters (135 feet) tall can pass under the roadway, making the Arthur Kill an important water shipping route for large freighters.
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