Lower part of the Hudson Palisades, New Jersey, United States
Rail routes across Bergen Hill and their terminals ca. 1900
Bergen Hill refers to the lower
Hudson Palisades in
New Jersey , where they emerge on
Bergen Neck ,
[1] which in turn is the peninsula between the
Hackensack and
Hudson Rivers , and their bays. In
Hudson County , it reaches a height of 260 feet.
[2]
Rail
Western portals of Bergen Hill Tunnels, Long Dock Tunnel, Bergen Arches, and Route 1 Extension
Western portal of North River Tunnels
Artificial features of Bergen Hill include the 19th century and early 20th century railroad
rights-of-way .
Cuts and
tunnels created to provide access to the terminals and ferries on the
North River (Hudson River) and
Upper New York Bay , and eventually under the river. From south to north they are:
Freight in Bergen Hill Cut
The
Bergen Hill Cut (1838)- opened by
New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company , eventually to
Pennsylvania Railroad to
PRR Station at
Exchange Place or
Harsimus Branch along the
Harsimus Stem Embankment to
Harsimus Cove . Now used by
PATH
Journal Square and
Newark lines.
[4]
The Erie Cut (1910), whose portals are known as the
Bergen Arches -
Erie Railroad to
Pavonia Terminal , now unused.
[5]
The
Long Dock Tunnel (1860)- the first Erie Cut, now
Conrail Shared Assets (CRCX) freight line
[6]
[7]
The
Bergen Tunnels (1876) & (1908) under
Jersey City Heights , built by
Morris and Essex Railroad and the
Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad , Later, the
Erie Lackawanna , and now,
New Jersey Transit rail lines to
Hoboken Terminal .
[8]
[9]
[7]
[10]
9th Street-Congress Street (HBLR station) provides elevator service between the platform in
Hoboken and
Paterson Plank Road in
Jersey City Heights .
The never-built
Access to the Region's Core project included a tunnel that would have connected
Secaucus Junction with an expanded
Pennsylvania Station .
The
Gateway Program , a
Northeast Corridor infrastructure expansion project includes a tunnel from its portal in North Bergen to Weehawken Cove, under the Hudson River to New York Penn.
The
North River Tunnels (1910), part of the Northeast Corridor their western entrance called the Bergen Portal
[11]
Liberty Place in
Weehawken , was a cut and tunnel for the rail line connecting the waterfront elevator to the entrance of 19th century
Eldorado Park , later used by the
North Hudson Railway
streetcar lines.
[12]
Weehawken Tunnel , (1861)
West Shore Railroad , now part of the
Hudson Bergen Light Rail
[13]
[14]
[15]
Edgewater Tunnel (1894)
[16]
[17]
New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway cut and tunnel; the western portal Is in
Fairview and the east end in
Edgewater
[18]
[19]
Streetcars
The
North Hudson County Railway or its predecessor was responsible for many of the innovative engineering works which made
streetcar travel on the east face of Bergen Hill possible, including
funicular wagon lifts, an
inclined elevated , a luxurious
elevator ,
horseshoe curves , and
viaducts .[
citation needed ]
Vehicular cuts
Other major excavations and structures for vehicular traffic have significantly altered Bergen Hill.
Kennedy Boulevard at
Journal Square and
Journal Square Transportation Center both span the large ravine created there.
The divided highway connecting the
Pulaski Skyway to the
Holland Tunnel runs parallel to the
Long Dock Tunnel . The
Lincoln Tunnel Approach and Helix connects the
Lincoln Tunnel , which itself enters the Palisades before submerging under the
Hudson River .
Paterson Plank Road , the
Wing Viaduct ,
Hackensack Plank Road ,
Pershing Road ,
Gorge Road are located on the face of the cliffs.
Shippen Street in
Weehawken is small street that makes a double
hairpin turn .[
citation needed ]
Jersey City section
Bergen Hill, Jersey City has sometimes been called colloquially "The Hill",
[20] and gives name to
The Bergen Hill Historic District
[21] Other prominent landmarks on the east side of the hill are the former
Jersey City Medical Center (which since 2005 is being renovated and restored as an emerging neighborhood known as
Beacon ) and the
Jersey City High School .
Summit Avenue , which starts at The Junction in the
Bergen-Lafayette Section follows the route of a path used by
Native Americans from their settlement at
Communipaw , and was used by
New Netherlanders from that village on the bay to the one on the ridge at
Bergen . It intersected
Newark Plank Road , an early colonial "turnpike" which ran from
Paulus Hook over the hill, at
Five Corners , and continued north through
Bergen Woods ,
[22] where it connected with
Paterson Plank Road and
Hackensack Plank Road .[
citation needed ]
See also
References
^ Manchester, James G. (1919).
"The Minerals of the Bergen Archways" . American Mineralogist . 4 : 107–116.
^
"Hudson County High Point, New Jersey" . Peakbagger.com .
^
"Pennsylvania Railroad cut, Mt Pleasant, Bergen Hill, Jersey City, Hudson Co., New Jersey, USA" . Mindat.org . Hudson Institute of Mineralogy.
^ Bulger, Teresa D. (May 7, 2019).
"Feats of Engineering: Bridging the Hackensack River and Cutting through Bergen HillDocumentation for Three Historic Resources that Help Move Commerce and Commuters throughout the Port of New York and New Jersey" (PDF) . NJDOT. Retrieved May 5, 2020 .
^ Karnoutsos, Carmela.
"Bergen Arches" . Jersey City Past and Present . New Jersey City University. Archived from
the original on January 6, 2017.
^
"Stone above Long Dock Tunnel" . Archived from
the original on October 14, 2013.
^
a
b
"The New Bergen Tunnel" (PDF) . New York Times . May 12, 1877.
^ French, Kenneth (2002). Railroads of Hoboken and Jersey City . Images of Rail. Arcadia Publishing. p. 125.
ISBN
978-0-7385-0966-2 .
^ NJ Transit (May 10, 2001).
"NJ Transit to Begin Rehabilitation of Aging Bergen Tunnel in Early Summer" (Press release).
^
"Bergen Tunnel" . Bergen Hill Tunnel & Waldo Yard Tunnel .
^
"Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910The Bergen Hill Tunnels. Paper No. 1154" . Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers . LXVIII . September 1910 – via Project Gutenberg.
^
"A Substantial El Dorado; Weehawken's Counterpart of the City of Gold" (PDF) . New York Times . July 17, 1892.
^
"Design and Construction of the Weehawken Tunnel and Bergenline Avenue Station for the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit System" . TRB Publications Index . The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine. November 2003.
^
"New York - West Shore & Buffalo RR tunnel, Weehawken, Bergen Hill, Hudson Co., New Jersey, USA" . Mindat.org . Hudson Institute of Mineralogy.
^
"at western portal" . State of New Jersey . [
permanent dead link ]
^
"Palisades Tunnel completed" . New York Times . May 14, 1894. (subscription required)
^
"The Palisades Tunnel; It May Be Completed Before the Year Ends" (PDF) . New York Times . March 17, 1893.
^
"Palisades Tunnel" . New York Times . Archived from
the original on 2003-05-15.
^
"New York - Susquehanna & Western Railroad tunnel, Edgewater, Bergen Co., New Jersey, USA" . Mindat.org . Hudson Institute of Mineralogy.
^
"Jersey City History" . City of Jersey City . [
permanent dead link ]
^
"Bergen Hill Historic District map" . City of Jersey City .
^ Olszewski, Anthony (2002).
"From Before the Revolutionary War! Jersey City's Oldest House" . City of Jersey City .
40°43′03″N 74°04′14″W / 40.717363°N 74.070515°W / 40.717363; -74.070515