Page "Harlem River" Paragraph 23

Despite the movement away from using the waterway for shipping, its role as a transportation corridor continued to evolve during the end of the 19th-century.

This period saw the height of bridge building as the City of New York stretched into its outermost boundaries and sought ways to make use of available land.

The peak in bridge construction lasted from 1880 to 1910 and focused on the swing bridge as the most economical way to reconcile the land-wasteful approaches of tall bridges with the desire to keep the river navigable for taller vessels.

Some of these bridges replaced predecessors unable to sustain increased traffic ; others were erected at new sites to provide more access points.

Yet another was recycled and moved to a new location further down the river.

Almost all of these bridges from that era of expansion are in existence today.

Most of these bridges were for local traffic and pedestrians, and a few accommodated trolley lines.

Two were constructed for elevated trains lines prior to the advent of the subway.