1930: With the Snip of a Silken Ribbon, a New Jersey Bridge is Opened to Traffic

November 5, 1930

In New Jersey, a dedication ceremony was held for a bridge spanning the Hackensack River and connecting Jersey City with the town of Kearny. These Wednesday festivities featured H. Otto Wittpenn, a member of the New Jersey State Highway Commission (a predecessor to the present-day New Jersey Department of Transportation), snipping a silken ribbon to formally open the bridge to vehicular traffic. (Wittpenn had served as mayor of Jersey City from 1908 to 1913.)

This structure was widely known as the Hackensack River Bridge at the time of its debut. After Wittpenn passed away on July 25, 1931, however, there was a wide-ranging effort within the Garden State to name the bridge after him. The Courier-News, a newspaper based in the New Jersey township of Bridgewater, underscored this public demand in an editorial published just a few weeks after Wittpenn’s death.

“His work on behalf of State highways was of outstanding natures,” asserted the Courier-News. “He gave much to the service of his State and his home community. Naming this fine piece of engineering construction in honor of an indefatigable citizen will carry for generations a recognition of his service.” In May of the following year, Governor Arthur Harry Moore of New Jersey signed a resolution that officially named the bridge after Wittpenn.

The original version of the Wittpenn Bridge, which is depicted in the accompanying 2004 photo, remained in operation for about nine decades. The bridge that replaced it was opened on October 21, 2021.

Photo Credit: Public Domain  

For more information on the first Wittpenn Bridge, please check out https://structurae.net/en/structures/wittpenn-bridge