Speaking to a packed gathering of happy High Bridge fans on January
11, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg presided over the
groundbreaking for the start of the long-dreamed-of restoration of the
pedestrian bridge, once the most famous element of the original Croton
Aqueduct. The festivities took place outdoors at Highbridge Park at
the Bronx end of the structure, today the city’s oldest bridge. The
year 2013 marks the 165th anniversary of the 1848 span, which has been closed to the public for 40 years.
The High Bridge was built to carry Croton water from the mainland,
across the Harlem River to Manhattan Island, in pipes still beneath
its deck. While that was always its principal function, it quickly
became a hugely popular tourist destination for New Yorkers and
out-of-towners wanting to stroll its quarter-mile length and enjoy the
fresh country air and marvelous views. With its rehabilitation and
reopening, anticipated by the city for 2014, it will once again be a
destination and connector for local residents from the Highbridge
neighborhood in the Bronx and Washington Heights in Manhattan, as well as for walkers, bikers, and visitors from around the metro region. It will restore one of the critical missing links in the Old Croton
Aqueduct trail and the New York City Greenway.
The Friends have been active members of the High Bridge Coalition
Steering Committee since the Coalition’s founding some 10 years ago.
The Coalition has been part of the long campaign to restore the bridge
and improve the parks – both named Highbridge Park – at either end.
The $61 million project is funded with city and federal funds and has
been led by the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation, which will
administer the bridge when it opens.
See you on the High Bridge!
Note: Attend the Friends' Annual Meeting on April 7 to learn details
of the restoration from the project manager. See Calendar.
