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Driscoll Bridge

Coordinates : 40°30′33″N 74°18′05″W / 40.5093°N 74.3013°W / 40.5093; -74.3013 The Governor Alfred E. Driscoll Bridge , ( colloquially referred to as the Driscoll Bridge) is a br...

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Coordinates: 40°30′33″N74°18′05″W / 40.5093°N 74.3013°W / 40.5093; -74.3013

The Governor Alfred E. Driscoll Bridge, (colloquially referred to as the Driscoll Bridge) is a bridge on the Garden State Parkway in the central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey, spanning the Raritan River near its mouth in Raritan Bay. The bridge connects the Middlesex County communities of Woodbridge Township on the north with Sayreville on the south. With a total of 15 travel lanes and 6 shoulder lanes, it is the world's widest and one of the busiest motor vehicle bridges.[3] Only 30 feet (9.1 m) east of the Driscoll Bridge is the Edison Bridge, which carries U.S. Route 9. The bridge offers views of some of the taller buildings in the Lower Manhattan skyline, the New Brunswick skyline, the Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge, and the Outerbridge Crossing.

History

The northbound lanes of the bridge were opened to the public with little fanfare on July 30, 1954.[4]

In 1955, a new pier was built to allow for potential expansion.[5]

The span was originally built with two lanes in each direction; however, this quickly proved to be inadequate, and in an attempt to reduce congestion, the bridge was restriped with six 10 feet (3.0 m) lanes in 1957.[5]

In 1970,[5] an expansion project began. The bridge was closed for reconstruction,[5][6][7] to allow for the installation of a third column built on the 1955 piers in addition to a fully divided roadway deck. Work was completed in 1972, at which point the bridge was converted to serving ten lanes of traffic total.[6][7][5]

The bridge was formally renamed in 1974 for former GovernorAlfred E. Driscoll, who advocated for and oversaw the construction of the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike.[7]

In 1984, the timber medians were replaced with concrete barriers, allowing for the addition of one lane in each direction.[5]

By the 2000s, the bridge was inadequate, as its narrow width and lack of emergency lanes created bottlenecks in each direction. Because of this, the bridge was later restriped to have twelve 10 feet (3.0 m) lanes, six each way. [8]

Construction on a new southbound bridge started on September 25, 2002, and the new bridge opened to traffic on May 3, 2006.[9] The existing span was then closed for rehabilitation, and it reopened on May 20, 2009, with eight lanes and two shoulders. The new configuration has seven southbound lanes on the newly constructed span on Parkway South, and the existing span was reduced from twelve lanes to eight lanes, with the other two converted into shoulders. The northbound span is also divided, with four lanes on each side. There are a total of five lanes of Parkway North traffic and three right lanes at Exit 127 meaning that the west side contains four lanes for through traffic on the Parkway, and the east side contains three right lanes for Exit 127 and one lane for through traffic on the Parkway.[10] For a time, the bridge's 15 travel lanes and 6 shoulder lanes made it "the widest motor-vehicle bridge in the world by number of lanes", according to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.[11]

A project to repaint the original bridge began in 2012.[12]

The speed limit on the Garden State Parkway was 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) approaching and traversing the Driscoll Bridge.[13] However, in February 2020, the speed limit was raised to 55 miles per hour (89 km/h).

Tolls

All southbound traffic crossing the Driscoll Bridge pays a toll at either the Raritan Toll Plaza or exit 125 on the Garden State Parkway, which is just north of the toll plaza. As of January 1, 2025, the toll for passenger cars at the Raritan Toll Plaza is $2.30 with cash and $2.17 with E-ZPass. Southbound exit 125 is for E-ZPass users only and also has a toll of $2.17.[14][15]

Murder on the bridge

On February 17, 2010, Shamshiddin Abdur-Raheem was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his daughter by throwing her off the bridge.[16][17] The body of an infant matching the girl's description was found on the south bank of the Raritan River on April 24 and was later identified as the missing girl through DNA testing.[18]

See also

References

  1. 123"Alfred e. Driscoll Bridge plaque.JPG".
  2. ↑"Driscoll Bridge".
  3. ↑"Garden State Parkway opens world's widest bridge - 15 lanes". TOLLROADSnews, Peter Samuel. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  4. ↑"New Garden State Link. Raritan Bridge Is Opened for Northbound Traffic". The New York Times. Associated Press. July 31, 1954. Retrieved March 18, 2009. The New Jersey Highway Authority today opened a new link in the Garden State Parkway -- the high-level bridge over the Raritan River for northbound traffic.
  5. 123456"The History and Technology..."(PDF). nj.gov. 1940. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  6. 12"Driscoll Bridge".
  7. 123Next phase of Driscoll Bridge plan set to start, The Star-Ledger, March 22, 2007. "The original bridge was built in 1955 with two lanes in each direction, but in 1972, with Shore traffic increasing rapidly, a second span was built that created a bridge with five lanes in each direction. In 1974, former Gov. Thomas W. Driscoll was on hand as a plaque was unveiled officially renaming the bridge for him. Driscoll was governor from 1947 to 1954 and ordered construction of both the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway."
  8. ↑Driscoll Bridge project advances with today's action by Turnpike board, New Jersey Department of Transportation press release dated April 20, 2002. Accessed December 13, 2008.
  9. ↑Bridge to open fully on Wednesday - Project completed ahead of schedule, Asbury Park Press, May 2, 2006
  10. ↑ "El gobernador Corzine anuncia la apertura del puente Driscoll tras un proyecto de rehabilitación de 225 millones de dólares" . Autoridad de la Autopista de Peaje de Nueva Jersey. 20 de mayo de 2009. Archivado el 1 de febrero de 2012.
  11. ↑ "#EnEstaFecha en 1954" . Autoridad de la Autopista de Peaje de Nueva Jersey. 30 de julio de 2020. Consultado el 7 de abril de 2023 .
  12. ↑ "PBT360: Análisis de mercado e inteligencia empresarial para la industria de recubrimientos" .
  13. ↑ Reglamento de la Autoridad de la Autopista de Peaje de Nueva Jersey relativo a la Autopista de Peaje de Nueva Jersey y la Garden State Parkway, vigente a partir del 9 de diciembre de 2004 (PDF) , consultado el 5 de julio de 2006. Archivado el 14 de enero de 2006 en Wayback Machine .
  14. ↑ "Tarifas de peaje de 2025 en Garden State Parkway - Pago en efectivo" (PDF) . Autoridad de la autopista de peaje de Nueva Jersey . Consultado el 1 de enero de 2025 .
  15. ↑ "Tarifas de peaje de 2025 - Garden State Parkway / E-ZPass" (PDF) . Autoridad de la autopista de peaje de Nueva Jersey . Consultado el 1 de enero de 2025 .
  16. ↑ Un hombre de Nueva Jersey recibe cadena perpetua por arrojar a su bebé desde un puente (7 de noviembre de 2012)
  17. ↑ Un hombre de Nueva Jersey le dice a la policía que arrojó a su bebé desde un puente el 17 de febrero de 2010.
  18. ↑ Las pruebas de ADN coinciden con el bebé arrojado desde el puente Driscoll. Archivado el 7 de octubre de 2011 en Wayback Machine el 3 de mayo de 2010.
  • Historia y tecnología del puente Edison y del puente Driscoll.