The Arthur Kill vertical-lift railroad bridge beside the Goethals Bridge

Tunnel, bridge & industryStaten Island

Old Goethals Bridge, the 1928 Steel Span Over the Arthur Kill

The Old Goethals Bridge crossed the Arthur Kill between Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Staten Island, near the Howland Hook Marine Terminal. It opened in 1928 as one of the first structures built by the Port Authority, and it was replaced by a new bridge in 2017 and then taken down. It no longer exists, but its story is a good reason to look at the crossing that took its place.

For almost 90 years a steel cantilever span carried traffic across the Arthur Kill, and it did not make a profit until another bridge opened in 1964. Today it is gone, and a cable-stayed bridge stands in its place.

WhereStaten Island (Howland Hook area) to Elizabeth, New Jersey, over the Arthur Kill

TypeFormer steel truss cantilever road bridge (1928–2017), demolished

Best forBridge and engineering fans, photographers of the Arthur Kill crossing

Getting thereThe old bridge no longer exists; its replacement carries the highway and has a walkway and bikeway, so check the current access rules

The history of the Old Goethals Bridge, from 1925 to demolition

The Goethals Bridge was one of the first structures built by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, along with the Outerbridge Crossing farther south. The two crossings were paid for with state money and bonds. Before they existed, the passage between New Jersey and Staten Island depended on ferries, and the new bridge replaced three of them. When the designs were approved in January 1925, the plan was to name the bridge for Benjamin Franklin Cresson Jr., a former Port Authority engineer. In the end it was named for Major General George Washington Goethals, who supervised the construction of the Panama Canal and was the Port Authority’s first consulting engineer.

Construction began on September 1, 1925. The designer was John Alexander Low Waddell, who also designed the Outerbridge Crossing. The result was a steel truss cantilever bridge with four lanes of traffic. Its central span measured 672 feet, its total length was 7,109 feet, it was 62 feet wide, and it left 135 feet of clearance for ships. That unusually high mid-span was a requirement of the New Jersey ports along the Arthur Kill. The bridge sits right beside the Arthur Kill Rail Bridge. It opened on June 29, 1928, on the same day as the Outerbridge Crossing.

The bridge connected to the New Jersey Turnpike and became one of the main routes for traffic between New Jersey and Brooklyn, by way of the Staten Island Expressway and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. It was later grandfathered into Interstate 278. For its first decades it did not make a profit, and neither did the Outerbridge Crossing, until the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964. By 2002 the total traffic was about 15.68 million vehicles in a year. Tolls were first collected in both directions, and in August 1970 they were ended for westbound traffic.

Starting in 1985 the Port Authority studied 27 ways to add capacity between Staten Island and New Jersey. By 1990 it favored a new span parallel to the old one, and a final environmental impact statement followed in 1997, but Staten Island officials opposed it for fear of more traffic through their borough. A study begun in 2001 found that the best solution was an entirely new bridge. Height limits set by the Federal Aviation Administration, because of nearby Newark Liberty International Airport, shaped the design of the towers. The Port Authority approved the project in April 2013 and broke ground in May 2014.

The old bridge closed on June 9, 2017. The new eastbound span opened the next day, and the demolition of the old bridge began in January 2018. The new westbound span opened on May 21, 2018, and the walkway and bikeway on the new bridge opened on March 4, 2020. The old bridge was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record before it was taken down.

Little-known facts about the Old Goethals Bridge

The bridge was first meant to honor Benjamin Franklin Cresson Jr., a former Port Authority engineer, before it was named for General Goethals.
It replaced three ferries that had linked Staten Island and New Jersey.
Its designer, John Alexander Low Waddell, also designed the Outerbridge Crossing, which opened on the same day, June 29, 1928.
The bridge never turned a profit until the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964, and the same was true of the Outerbridge Crossing.
Its mid-span was unusually high, 135 feet, because the New Jersey ports needed ships to pass beneath.
The towers of the replacement bridge were limited to 272 feet and slant outward, because of aircraft flight patterns near Newark airport.

Tours near Old Goethals Bridge

Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:

Manhattan Architecture Photography Tour

★ 5 (27 reviews) · 3 h

See details ›

Brooklyn Bridge Dumbo Walking Tour with Photography Experience

★ 5 (11 reviews) · 1.5 h

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Brooklyn Bridge at Night Photography Tour

★ 5 (11 reviews) · 2 h

See details ›

New York Icon Photography Tour led by a Local Photographer

★ 5 (160 reviews) · 2.5 h

See details ›

Seeing the Old Goethals Bridge: what remains and how to see the crossing

The old bridge was demolished, so there is nothing left of it to visit. Its place is taken by the new Goethals Bridge, a pair of cable-stayed spans.
The new bridge has a walkway and bikeway, which opened on March 4, 2020. Check the current access rules and conditions before you go.
The crossing is a working highway and port area near the Howland Hook Marine Terminal, so view it only from public places and respect any fences and signs.
The vertical-lift Arthur Kill Rail Bridge stands right beside the crossing and appears in the Commons photographs.
Staten Island sites nearby include Historic Richmond Town and Seaview Hospital, each some kilometers away.

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.

Map: where Old Goethals Bridge is

Photos of Old Goethals Bridge

The Bayonne Bridge over the Kill van Kull between Staten Island and Bayonne

The new Goethals Bridge, a cable-stayed span that replaced the 1928 bridge

Another view of the new cable-stayed Goethals Bridge

The westbound span of the old Goethals Bridge next to the construction of the new bridge

The Goethals Bridge in 1928, photographed by the Port of New York Authority

Questions

What was the Old Goethals Bridge?

It was a four-lane steel truss cantilever bridge over the Arthur Kill that linked Elizabeth, New Jersey, with Staten Island from 1928 to 2017.

Can you still see the Old Goethals Bridge?

No. It was replaced by a new bridge that opened in 2017 and 2018, and the old one was taken down starting in January 2018.

Why is it called the Goethals Bridge?

It is named for Major General George Washington Goethals, who supervised the building of the Panama Canal and was the first consulting engineer of the Port Authority.

Who designed the Old Goethals Bridge?

John Alexander Low Waddell designed the steel cantilever bridge. He also designed the Outerbridge Crossing, which opened the same day.

Can you walk across the Goethals Bridge now?

The new bridge has a walkway and bikeway that opened on March 4, 2020. Check the current rules and conditions before you go.

Where was the Old Goethals Bridge?

It crossed the Arthur Kill between Elizabeth, New Jersey, and the Howland Hook area of Staten Island, beside the Arthur Kill Rail Bridge.