Weekend, October 10-11, 2026 – A NEWLY REFURBISHED CARROLL STREET BRIDGE
The Carroll Street Bridge
A retractable walkway
Over the Gowanus Canal
Wikipedia
Judith Berdy
Weekend, October 10-11, 2026
Issue # 1762
Last Sunday Gloria Herman and I ventured to see the newly
reopened Carroll Street Bridge in Brooklyn.
In the pouring rain the freshly restored bridge stood out in vibrant blue.
The Gownus Canal is now surrounded by high rise apartments, sort of what happened to the High Line. Views are being destroyed by construction projects, and over development.
When was the last time the $5- fine was collected?
The plaque commemorating this NYC Landmark
The Bridgekkeepers House in in the background.
Fom Wikipedia
The Carroll Street Bridge is a retractable bridge in New York City, crossing the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. It carries a single wooden-decked lane and two sidewalks. Completed in 1889, it is operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. It was a vehicular and pedestrian bridge until closed for rehabilitation in 2021; after reopening in 2026, it has carried only pedestrians, bicycles, and emergency vehicles. It is the oldest of the four remaining retractable bridges in the United States and is an official city landmark.
Description
The Carroll Street Bridge is composed of a 107-foot-long (33 m) span supported by a pair of riveted steel plate girders.[2]: 5 The span is 17.5 feet (5.3 meters) wide and contains one lane, formerly used for eastbound vehicular traffic, and one walkway to either side. It carries the street of the same name within the neighborhood of Gowanus, Brooklyn. The posted restrictions are a height limit of 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m) and a weight limit of 10 short tons (8.9 long tons; 9.1 t).[1][4] The roadway on either side is made of Belgian blocks.[5] In 2010, an average of one thousand vehicles crossed the bridge each weekday.[6]
The movable portion of the span is painted bright blue[5] and shaped like a trapezoid.[2]: 5 [7] Carriage truck frames, supported by wheels, are located underneath the girders. When the bridge is retracting, these frames run along three timber-supported steel rails that run diagonally on the western bank of the canal to the south of the span, which opens up a 36-foot-wide (11 m) channel for ships to pass.[7] The frames are moved by a series of pulleys. Originally, the span was retracted using a steam engine, but today it is powered by an electric motor.[2]: 5 Swinging gates on either side close off the span whenever the Carroll Street Bridge is in the open position.[7] There is a vintage sign on the bridge, warning drivers that they risked a $5 fine if they drove “faster than a walk”.[8]
| Carroll Street Bridge |
|---|
| Coordinates |  40.6782°N 73.9892°W |
|---|---|
| Carries | 1 lane of Carroll Street for pedestrians, bicycles, and emergency venicles, and 2 walkways |
| Crosses | Gowanus Canal |
| Locale | New York City (Brooklyn) |
| Maintained by | New York City Department of Transportation |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Retractable bridge |
| Total length | 107 ft 6 in (32.8 m)[1] |
| Width | 17.5 ft (5.3 m)[1] |
| Longest span | 63 ft (19 m)[1] |
| History | |
| Engineering design by | Brooklyn Department of City Works (Robert Van Buren, Chief Engineer; George Ingram, Engineer-in-Charge)[2] |
| Opened | 1889; 137 years ago |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 1,142 (2016)[3] |
| Toll | Free |
| Location | |
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Interactive map of Carroll Street Bridge
PHOTO OF THE DAY
HALLOWEEN FUN RETURNS
TO THE OCTAGON LOBBY
CREDIT
WIKIPEDIA
JUDITH BERDY
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Copyright © 2026 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com
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