Centre Street Bridge (Newark)

Route 158 (Centre Street Bridge)

Company type	State highway (former)
Industry	Transportation
Founded	1834
Defunct	1979
Headquarters	Newark, New Jersey , United States
Area served	Newark and Harrison, New Jersey
Products	Roadway and railroad bridge

Route 158 (also known as the Centre Street Bridge) was a brief state highway located within Newark and Harrison, crossing both Essex and Hudson counties. Initially constructed in 1834 as a single-level railroad bridge, it gained an additional upper tier for rapid transit in 1911. When the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (currently part of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rerouted its tracks along Route 21 in 1937, the upper deck was abandoned and subsequently transformed into a roadway.

Starting at its western terminus in Newark, Route 158 commenced just south of Park Place at Center Street, extending eastward over Route 21 and the Passaic River into Harrison, where it ended at Second Street, north of New Jersey Railroad Avenue.

Originally labeled Route 25AD, as a spur from State Highway Route 25A (which later became Route 58 and is now incorporated into I-280), it was renumbered to Route 158 during the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering. The route appeared on official state maps until approximately 1960, after which it was removed from records and the bridge itself was dismantled around 1979.

Route description

Route 158 began at the intersection of Park Place and Center Street (CR 508) in Newark, ascending adjacent to Park Place before crossing over New Jersey Route 21 (McCarter Highway). It then proceeded eastward across land situated between Route 21 and the Passaic River onto a two-lane swing bridge leading into Harrison. From there, the route continued north along First Street, turned east onto Essex Street, and concluded at Second Street where its designation ended.

Railroad bridge

The lower deck of the Centre Street Bridge in Newark was originally constructed for the New Jersey Railroad, later absorbed by the Pennsylvania Railroad. It opened for rail traffic on September 15, 1834. In 1870, a bypass was established around the bridge forming the Centre Street Branch, which became separated from the main line following elevation modifications circa 1904. On March 1, 1901, a derailment involving a Pennsylvania Railroad train occurred on the bridge; due to missing guard rails, several rear cars were dragged across the trestle. After detaching these cars, passengers were able to continue their journey to Jersey City.

In July of that year, New Jersey and New York jointly requested $45,000 from Congress to dredge and maintain the Passaic River channel beneath the bridge. During these works, a construction accident tragically resulted in ten fatalities among workers. On April 2, 1911, construction commenced on a new high-speed line for the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad aimed at enhancing commuter connections to New York City. The existing steel bridge with concrete decking was modified to include an upper level with an 18-foot clearance and a central drawbridge span measuring 230 feet. The upper tier was allocated for passenger trains while freight operations continued on the lower Pennsylvania Railroad level.

The dual-level Centre Street Bridge alongside the high-speed line officially opened on November 18, 1911, facilitating eighty-six daily trains bound for Newark. The drawbridge functioned exclusively for freight traffic below. The bridge reopened as a two-tiered structure on November 25, linking directly to H&M’s Park Place station.

On June 27, 1937, local authorities in Newark and neighboring counties proposed repurposing the upper deck into a roadway following the relocation of Hudson and Manhattan Railroad tracks alongside Route 21 (established in 1927).

Road bridge

The Centre Street Bridge became part of the state highway network, originally identified as New Jersey State Highway Route 25A, which later transitioned to New Jersey Route 58 and eventually evolved into nearby Interstate 280. The upper deck of the bridge was labeled New Jersey State Highway Route 25A-D, a branch of Route 25A; however, it never had a direct connection to its parent routes and was not formally established in state legislation. This spur extended from Route 21 and Centre Street in Newark to Second Street in Harrison until the comprehensive highway renumbering in 1953. Maps continued to show Route 158 along the Centre Street Bridge until approximately 1960, though the exact date of its official removal remains unclear. The bridge structure itself was dismantled around 1979.

See also

• List of crossings of the Lower Passaic River