Hell Gate

Hell Gate was known for dangerous navigation during the colonial period. In 1670, English colonist Daniel Denton described a narrow passage with a strong current, rocky islands, and a large whirlpool. He also wrote that people familiar with the passage could travel through it safely.^[6]

During the American Revolutionary War, British warships and transports used Hell Gate while moving through the East River and into Long Island Sound. In October 1776, George Washington reported that British ships had passed or were preparing to pass through the strait during the campaign around New York.^[8]

By the 19th century, New York merchants and government officials wanted to make Hell Gate safer for larger ships. In 1832, the New York State Legislature received a proposal for a canal through Hallet's Point that would avoid the worst part of Hell Gate. Instead, the state provided pilots who knew how to guide ships around the shoals.^[9]

In 1849 and 1850, private attempts to remove some of the rocks began under French engineer Benjamin Maillefert. His work was supported by New York merchant Ebenezer Meriam. Maillefert used underwater explosives placed on or close to the rocks instead of drilling deep holes into them. His crews worked on hazards such as Pot Rock, Frying Pan Rock, and Ways Reef.^[9][3] Congress later gave money to continue the work, but the early blasting did not remove all of the dangers.^[3]

After the American Civil War, the federal government began a much larger project. In January 1867, Major General Andrew A. Humphreys, the Army's Chief of Engineers, ordered Lieutenant Colonel John Newton to study how the main rocks and reefs could be removed.^[3]

Newton eventually chose to attack Hallet's Point Reef from below. Workers built a cofferdam and dug a shaft into the rock. They then cut a network of tunnels under the reef. After about seven years of work, about 7,000 holes had been drilled for explosive charges. About 4,000 of them were loaded, using about 30,000 pounds (14,000 kg) of explosives.^[3]

On September 24, 1876, the mines under Hallet's Point Reef were fired. Newton's daughter Mary set off the explosion. The blast threw spray, gas, and rock high above the river, but it caused little damage to nearby buildings. The Atlantic Dredging Company then removed more than 90,000 gross tons of broken rock. This work continued until 1882 and deepened the channel at Hallet's Point to about 26 feet (7.9 m).^[3]

Newton's next major target was Flood Rock. Workers spent about nine years digging shafts, tunnels, and galleries through the reef. The Army Corps account says that the reef had about 4 miles (6.4 km) of tunnels and about 15,000 drilled holes. For the final blast, workers prepared about 280,000 pounds (130,000 kg) of an explosive mixture called "Rack-A-Rock" and another 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) of dynamite.^[3]

Flood Rock was exploded on October 10, 1885. Mary Newton again pressed the firing key. About 50,000 people watched from the shores. The United States Army Corps of Engineers describes it as the largest human-made explosion in the world up to that time.^[10] The broken rock still had to be dredged afterward. The explosions and dredging greatly reduced the navigation hazards that had made Hell Gate famous.^[3]

The New York Connecting Railroad built the Hell Gate Bridge across the strait as part of a direct railroad connection between New England and railroads west and south of the Hudson River. The bridge opened on March 9, 1917.^[4] Its main steel arch crosses between Astoria and Wards Island.

The Triborough Bridge opened on July 11, 1936. Its eastern arm crosses Hell Gate between Queens and Wards Island. The bridge system connects Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx through Randall's and Wards Islands. It is now called the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.^[5]