Outerbridge Crossing

Outerbridge Crossing

Company type	Bridge
Industry	Transportation, Infrastructure
Founded	June 29, 1928 (1928-06-29)
Headquarters	Staten Island , United States
Area served	Connects Perth Amboy, New Jersey with Staten Island, New York
Owner	Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Website	www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/en/outerbridge-crossing.html

The Outerbridge Crossing is a cantilever bridge that spans the Arthur Kill, linking Perth Amboy, New Jersey with Staten Island, New York. It serves as a conduit for both New York State Route 440 and New Jersey Route 440, connecting the two states at the midpoint of the waterway. Managed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, this crossing is one of three automobile bridges that connect New Jersey to Staten Island, alongside the Bayonne Bridge (also part of Route 440) and the Goethals Bridge (carrying Interstate 278).

Description

Built between 1925 and 1928, the structure was named in honor of Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge, who was the inaugural chairman of the then-named Port of New York Authority and a resident of Staten Island. In contrast to common practice, it was designated as a "crossing" rather than a "bridge." The steel cantilever design originated from John Alexander Low Waddell under the oversight of the Port Authority. The crossing officially opened on June 29, 1928, coinciding with the debut of the original Goethals Bridge.

Traffic levels remained relatively modest until after the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964, with earlier declines attributed to the economic impact of the Great Depression and World War II. The Outerbridge Crossing has undergone continuous maintenance efforts to support its substantial daily vehicle load. Of particular note, a repaving initiative was finished ahead of schedule in October 2013.

In March 2017, funding was allocated by the Port Authority to explore options for a potential replacement. Following the 2024 collapse of Maryland’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended conducting a structural vulnerability evaluation for this crossing in early 2025. Additionally, a Port Authority study examining possible widening of this nearly 100-year-old span was completed in 2025 at an expenditure of $8.3 million, with results anticipated later that year.

Traffic

In 2006, approximately 32,438,000 vehicles crossed via the Outerbridge Crossing, averaging around 90,000 vehicles each day.

Tolls

Effective January 5, 2025, toll-by-mail charges for eastbound travel from New Jersey to New York City are set at $18.31 for cars and motorcycles; there is no toll imposed westbound. Users with New Jersey and New York E-ZPass pay $14.06 for cars and $13.06 for motorcycles during off-peak hours, and $16.06 for cars and $15.06 for motorcycles during peak periods. E-ZPass transponders issued by other states are charged at the toll-by-mail rate. Frequent commuters exceeding three trips per month qualify for the "Staten Island Bridges Plan," reducing costs to $8.03 per trip for passenger vehicles. Starting July 2025, Mid-Tier rates will increase to $18.72 while toll-by-mail will rise to $22.38.

Tolls are collected solely on eastbound traffic; westbound toll collection ended in August 1970 when eastbound tolls were doubled. This system change affected eleven additional regional crossings spanning approximately 130 miles between the Outerbridge Crossing and Rip Van Winkle Bridge.

In 2003, speed limits on three inner E-ZPass lanes at the toll plaza were raised from 15 mph to 25 mph and physically separated by barriers. By 2005, adjacent tollbooths were removed and replaced with overhead gantries that allow E-ZPass users to pass through at speeds up to 45 mph; however, motorists using these high-speed lanes cannot exit immediately afterward at Page Avenue.

Open road tolling began on April 24, 2019; all tollbooths were dismantled and cash payments discontinued. License plates of vehicles without E-ZPass transponders are recorded by cameras on Staten Island for billing via mail, while E-ZPass devices are detected wirelessly through sensor technology.

See also

• List of bridges recorded by the Historic American Engineering Record in New Jersey
• List of bridges recorded by the Historic American Engineering Record in New York (state)

External links

• Port Authority: Outerbridge Crossing
• Historical Summary of Outerbridge Crossing on Steve Anderson's nycroads.com