Ferries and Bridges 205 



to and from their day's work, in the trains over the Park 

 Avenue railroad and other bridges. 



Before the bridge was twenty years old, it was found to be 

 entirely inadequate for the trolley and vehicular traffic which 

 used it, the trolley cars of the Madison Avenue line having 

 begun to use it in 1899, replacing the horse cars which had 

 used the bridge since 1886. Then came the cars of the Union 

 Railway Company; and as the roadway was only twenty-one 

 feet four inches wide, there were great congestion and delay. 

 Plans for a new bridge were made in 1906, and the contract 

 was signed on October 8, 1907, the price being $1,155,987. 

 A temporary pier was built in the river and the bridge was 

 raised on scows at high water and floated to the new location 

 where it was lowered into place with the fall of the tide. Work 

 was then begun upon the new bridge and its approaches, 

 which were completed and opened with speeches and salutes 

 on July 18, 1910. 



The next bridge to be constructed wa*s the Washington 

 Bridge, which may be considered the glory of the Harlem 

 River. It connects West 181st Street, Manhattan, with 

 Aqueduct Avenue near East 1 7 1st Street in the Borough. The 

 bridge was authorized by the Legislature of 1885, and work 

 was begun the following year. The original engineer was 

 W. H. Mc Alpine, who had supervised the building of the Third 

 Avenue Bridge in the sixties. In August, 1886, William R. 

 Hutton became engineer and remained in charge until the 

 completion of the bridge in February, 1889. Though com- 

 pleted at that time, the ends of the bridge were barricaded 

 until December of the same year, when the public took matters 

 into their own hands, tore down the barricades, and began 

 using the bridge. Consequently, there was no formal opening 

 of the structure; in fact, for a long time after it was used, 



