This week we're back to the Bronx River (no we're still not done yet) to the northernmost bridge in the whole city* - the E. 241 St. Bridge in the Bronx. This bridge I have very little information about, but it carries E. 241 St. from Carpenter Ave. in the Wakefield neghborhood of the Bronx, over Bronx Blvd. and Bullard Ave., over the Metro North railroad tracks at the Wakefield station, over the Bronx River and the Bronx River Parkway before reaching Bronx River Road in Yonkers, where E. 241 St. continues on as Wakefield Ave.
This is a simple, fixed steel and concrete girder bridge, there is one lane of traffic in each direction and a sidewalk on both sides, although there are no pedestrian signals on the Yonkers side on the south sidewalk, so you take your life into your hands trying to get across the intersection unless you use the north sidewalk. The north sidewalk also leads directly to Wakefield Park in Yonkers, just a small park. There is really nothing of much interest to runners here, there is no Bronx River park pathway in this area. In NYC the pathway essentially ends at E. 233rd St. (although I'll go into greater detail about that later), and whether it picks up again farther north in Westchester for any significant distance I don't know, but not in the nearby area. But Wakefield is the neighborhood that sticks up NNE of the main boundary line between New York City and Westchester County, kind of like that little piece of Minnesota that sticks up into Canada.
*A note about this being the northernmost bridge in the city. One map I have (paper map) shows that there may be a tiny sliver of land within the New York city limits that extends far enough north wedged between Mount Vernon and Yonkers to reach Mount Vernon Ave., at which point there is another bridge across the Bronx River. Having visited the spot, the street signs on the east side of the bridge are clearly Mount Vernon street signs, and on the west are clearly Yonkers street signs. Looking back at my map, if there is a sliver of land within the New York City limits it would have to be only the railroad tracks and possibly the Mount Vernon West station there at the most. So I don't consider this a New York City bridge. But even if some completist does, it's been mentioned, so there.
Pics: 1. The bridge from Bullard Ave. in the Bronx; 2. The bridge from Yonkers.
Phil, great site. Just wanted to supplement some information on the 241 st bridge that I know of. It (and the 238th st) were constructed in 1930. There is a plaque on the 238 st bridge that confirms this.
ReplyDeleteIt was heavily renovated in 1982 or so, with a new deck and some cantilever steelwork for the sidewalks, as well as new protective fences.
It was once again renovated in the 2000s, but mostly deck repairs and lighting.
As to the question of it being the northernmost bridge, the line between the Bronx and Yonkers has been disputed for years since the Bronx River was rerouted in the 1950s. But the Yonkers Ave bridge you are referring to is guaranteeably NOT an NYC bridge.
Anthony Ventarola