Madison Avenue Bridge, Road bridge between Manhattan and The Bronx, United States
Madison Avenue Bridge is a road bridge that spans the Harlem River, connecting Madison Avenue in Manhattan to East 138th Street in The Bronx. The structure has four lanes for traffic along with separate paths for pedestrians and cyclists traveling between the two boroughs.
An earlier swing bridge from 1884 originally crossed this location before being replaced by a new design under engineer Alfred P. Boller. The current bridge opened to traffic on July 18, 1910.
The bridge represents early 20th-century engineering practices and serves as a critical connection point between two distinct New York City boroughs.
Crossing is heaviest during daytime hours, especially during morning and evening rush periods. There are wide sidewalks and marked bike lanes that make crossing in either direction straightforward.
What sets this bridge apart is its ability to rotate horizontally around its central axis to allow ships to pass through on the Harlem River below. This rotating mechanism is a relic from an earlier era when river traffic required such engineering accommodations.
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