| The
Pulaski Skyway is a 3.5 mile long bridge from Jersey City to
Newark over the Hackensack River, the Passaic River and the
Township of Kearny. It was conceived in the prosperous 1920s
but opened for business on November 24, 1932, as the Great
Depression was reaching its crushing depths. Franklin
Delano Roosevelt had been elected president just 16 days
earlier. |
The Skyway, a
burst of engineering elan, cost
$20 million and the lives of 15 workmen to build. One worker
died in one of many violent confrontations between union
and non-union workers on the project. Currently in need of
$1 billion in repairs, the Skyway remains a frequently
overlooked, but fascinating 20th century artifact.
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