There always needs to be a first time, for everything. Maria J (ex-Jesus Saves) did it for me . . .
my passing from innocence to experience. I picked the day, bridge dedication plus 80 years with vivid bridge shadow on the water. Land in the distance is Elizabeth, NJ; point on right is Bergen Point . . . a section of Bayonne, NJ that once was a farm of tanks . . . an orchard if you prefer.
Zim Virginia was the first ship
to pass beneath me. Anyone know of fotos of traffic through here 80 and 75 and 50 years ago?
Charles D. McAllister assists port side, and
besides the hard over rudder,
Maurania III, starboard, nudges the vessel to starboard to
avoid Shooter’s Island and head up to Port Elizabeth.
Happy dedication day! If you missed the link to the pdf published by the Port Authority upon the 75th anniversary, click here. Great vintage pics. If you missed the diagram of the planned approximately 80′ raising of the roadbed, click here.
All foto by Will Van Dorp.
tugster: a waterblog 
6 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 13, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Harold E. Tartell
The Tug in Photos # 1 & # 2 is MARIA J (Construction & Marine Co., Inc. 1971).
November 13, 2011 at 10:10 pm
eastriver
Another Jesus Saves! Believe it or not, was talking to both Jesus (Saves) and Mother Theresa on the way out of Houston a few days ago. They’re all hooked up down there… although the pilot did not see the humor…
November 14, 2011 at 9:02 am
bowsprite
Jesus, Mary and Joseph! they’re raising the bridge to accommodate ships with more containers. And for how long will these fully laden containers keep coming? and keep going out, empty? for how long can we keep this up?
Leave the bridge as it is. Channel a bit of that $1.3 billion to paying teachers. Open trade schools so anyone can learn to make things that we need, and to make them well. But then, it is up to us to support them and pay a bit more to buy a tool or furniture that our child or neighbor made. We’ve sold out on our local mom & pop stores and now have no choice but to drive to Kmart or Walmart and buy not good quality stuff — stuff that keeps coming in and so quickly goes to the landfill.
At the risk of sounding protectionist, just things we need, we should know how to make and try to keep local: food, clothing, shelter, water. Otherwise we have to keep on drilling deeper and further and fracking so we can bring it over here from afar.
I want ships to continue to sail. But bigger is not better if you keep an eye on the future.
November 14, 2011 at 12:25 pm
bowsprite
…or, better than schools, the apprenticeship way.
How quaint. Gone the way of hawsepiping.
(ok. I will shut up now. Sullied your nice comment page enough.)
November 14, 2011 at 12:34 pm
tugster
bowsprite– you are incapable of sullying. thanks for the comments.
November 14, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Les Sonnenmark
I think Bowsprite has it right. We seem to need a trans-Hudson electric power cable and a ship to lay it, but instead of using homegrown talent to design, build and operate that ship we’ve brought in the photogenic–and cheaper?–GIULIO VERNE, as Tugster documents in Whatzit 11. Whatz wrong with this picture?