room for three vehicular lanes. The swing span was long and, when closed, provided of vertical clearance and of horizontal clearance. It weighed and was operated by two electric motors, each of . The approach spans had riveted Warren trusses about deep with their centers spaced apart. The south approach measured in length and weighed , while the north approach measured in length and weighed . History Prior to the construction of the Harlem River Ship Canal, Marble Hill was part of Manhattan Island, and the Spuyten Duyvil Creek made a tight curve around the northern shore of Marble Hill, connecting the Hudson River on the west shore of Manhattan Island with Harlem River on the east shore. Early crossings of the creek included the King's Bridge, opened in 1693, and the Free (or Farmers) Bridge, opened in 1759. Both bridges were relatively narrow; the King's Bridge was wide and the Farmers Bridge was wide. Though plans to connect the Harlem and Hudson rivers with a more straightforward path were proposed in the early 19th century, construction of the Harlem River Ship Channel did not start until January 1888. Furthermore, as a result of the River and Harbor Act, passed by the United States Congress in 1890, bridges on the Harlem River with low vertical clearance were to be replaced with those with at least of clearance during mean high water springs. Drawbridges and swing spans were determined to be most suitable for this purpose. First span In accordance with the canal project and the congressional legislation, in 1892, the New York City Department of Public Works was commissioned to build a bridge connecting Inwood and Marble Hill, which would carry Broadway. A corresponding state law, passed that April, allocated $400,000 () to the project. The canal was to be opened only after the bridge's abutments were constructed, thus saving the bridge's builders $50,000 () by allowing them to construct the abutments in the dry canal bed. The New York City Board of Estimate approved the Harlem Ship Canal Bridge in February 1893. William Hubert Burr, Alfred P. Boller, and George W. Birdsall were named as the bridge's architects, while A. McMullen & Co. was named as contractor. When the bridge and canal were being constructed, one dam was placed at each end of the canal; any leaks were pumped away by steam engines. The bridge's piers were then installed