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The High Bridge (originally the Aqueduct Bridge) is the oldest bridge in New York City, having originally opened as an aqueduct in 1848 and reopened as a pedestrian walkway in 2015 after being closed for over 40 years. A steel arch bridge, with a height of almost over the Harlem River, it connects the New York City boroughs of the Bronx and Manhattan. The eastern end is located in the Highbridge section of the Bronx near the western end of West 170th Street, and the western end is located in Highbridge Park in Manhattan, roughly parallel to the end of West 174th Street. Although the bridge was originally completed in 1848 as a stone arch bridge, the Harlem River span was replaced with a steel arch during a 1928 renovation. The bridge was closed to all traffic from the 1970s until its restoration, which began in 2009.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=High Bridge PlaNYC Project Overview )〕 The bridge was reopened to pedestrians and bicycles on June 9, 2015.〔Artz, Kristen (January 11, 2013). ("Mayor Bloomberg Breaks Ground On Project To Restore The High Bridge Over Harlem River And Reopen It To Pedestrians And Bicyclists" ). ''NYC'', the official website of the City of New York. Retrieved June 27, 2015.〕〔 The bridge is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. == Construction and history == Originally designed as a stone arch bridge, the High Bridge had the appearance of a Roman aqueduct. Construction on the bridge was started in 1837, and completed in 1848 as part of the Croton Aqueduct, which carried water from the Croton River to supply the then burgeoning city of New York some to the south. It has a length of well over . It was designed by the aqueduct's engineering team, led by John B. Jervis. James Renwick, Jr., who later went on to design the landmark Saint Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, participated in the design. The Croton Aqueduct had to cross the Harlem River at some point, and the method was a major design decision. A tunnel under the river was considered, but tunneling technology was in its infancy at the time, and the uncertainty of pursuing this option led to its rejection. This left a bridge, with the Water Commission, engineers and the public split between a low bridge and a high bridge. A low bridge would have been simpler, faster, and cheaper to construct. When concerns were raised to the New York Legislature that a low bridge would obstruct passage along the Harlem River to the Hudson River, a high bridge was ultimately chosen. In 1928, to improve navigation in the Harlem River, the five masonry arches that spanned the river were demolished and replaced with a single steel arch of about . Of the masonry arches of the original 1848 bridge, only one survives on the Manhattan side, while some ten survive on the Bronx side. Use of the structure for water supply purposes ceased on December 15, 1949. By 1954, ''The New York Times'' reported that the commissioner of the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity said that "the bridge entailed serious problems of maintenance and vandalism."〔O'Kane, Lawrence. ("Span is 'Swapped' on City Boat Ride" ) ''The New York Times'' (July 8, 1954)〕 Robert Moses agreed to take responsibility for the bridge, which was transferred to the Parks Department in 1955.〔("River Landmarks to be Park Units" ) ''The New York Times'' (January 20, 1955)〕 There were incidents, in 1957 and 1958, of pedestrians throwing sticks, stones, and bricks from the bridge, seriously injuring passengers on Circle Line tour boats which passed under the bridge.〔("Boys Stone Boat, Hurt Sight-Seers" ) ''The New York Times'' (April 21, 1958)〕 Concerns due to these incidents supposedly contributed to the bridge being closed as early as 1960, although other sources claim it was not closed until the early 1970s, when high crime and fiscal crisis lead to the contraction of many city services and public spaces. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「High Bridge (New York City)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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