Bridge of the Week #33: East 174 St. Bridge

Staying with the Bronx River, this bridge is the East 174 St. Bridge in the Bronx. It is a steel truss bridge that carries E. 174 St. over the river between Bronx River Ave. on the east to Boone Ave. on the west, with staircase access to West Farms Road. The bridge approaches also cover Amtrak's rail lines on the east bank of the river and Sheridan Expressway on the west.

The truss span has a length of 190 feet, with 30 feet of clearance over the river, and the total bridge length is 589 feet. It opened on June 15, 1928. It carries one lane of traffic in each direction and a sidewalk on each side.

There is also a staircase, currently closed off, that leads down to the west bank of the river, between it and Sheridan Expressway. Currently, this is a field of dirt that looks like some kind of construction site, but it will eventually become Starlight Park to te south of the bridge. I think it was to have been completed by now, but additional cleaning was necessary due to contamination on the site. Don't hold me to this, but I think plans are for a Bronx River Greenway along the length of the river south of the Bronx Zoo.

This, then is the last reviewed bridge over the Bronx River south of the zoo. In order, from north to south, they are the E. 180 St. Bridge, E. Tremont Ave. Bridge, E. 174 St. Bridge, Westchester Ave. Bridge, and the Eastern Boulevard Bridge. It's also the most colorful of the five, being a nice shade of sky blue.