Old Croton Aqueduct Trail

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. . , High Bridge, Bronx , The greatest engineering challenge in constructing the Old Croton Aqueduct was designing the best method for bringing the water across the Harlem River. To accomplish this, the engineers built the High Bridge, the most spectacular and technically advanced feature of the aqueduct system and by far the largest bridge then built in New York City. Other alternatives that were considered were a low bridge and a tunnel., Construction lasted from 1839 until 1848, during which time the water was temporarily carried by a pipe laid across the river. The original bridge was built with fifteen masonry arches, reminiscent of ancient Roman engineering, and two 36-inch cast iron water pipes. At each entrance, a gatehouse was built to control the volume of water flowing over the bridge., By the 1860s, when the city's population had grown so much that demand for water had doubled, a 7 ½ foot wide wrought iron pipe was added, and a public walkway was built. The bridge became a popular destination for trips to the countryside. In 1927 five arches over the main shipping channel were cut out and replaced with a single steel arch, allowing larger vessels to use the waterway., The High Bridge is a National Historic Landmark and a New York City Landmark., Aqueduct History , Between 1837 and 1842, the Croton Aqueduct profoundly changed New York City by providing abundant clean water from the Croton River in northern Westchester County. Local wells, springs and ponds had gradually become polluted from lack of sewers and the unchecked growth of industry. Investing in a new water supply system became a priority after a devastating cholera epidemic in 1832 and the Great Fire of 1835., The aqueduct, designed by John B. Jervis, was one of the most ambitious public works projects ever undertaken in the United States and a magnificent example of 19th century engineering. The system used gravity alone to carry water through an enclosed masonry structure for 41 miles through varied terrain, and over streams, roads and rivers. Construction of the aqueduct allowed New York City to grow and prosper, and it remained in use until 1955, when it was taken out of service. As indoor plumbing became commonplace, water use increased, and this system became known as the 'Old' Croton Aqueduct when the New Croton Aqueduct was built in the late 1880s. Later, the water supply system was supplemented by the Catskill System (1915) and the Delaware System (1944). The section of the Old Croton Aqueduct in the Bronx, and the High Bridge over the Harlem River, are National Historic Landmarks.