Bridgebagging Along (and Across) Interstate 95 in the Bronx

Bridgebagging is to be a recurrent theme in this blog.  The big iconic ones - the George Washington Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, etc. - of course.  But footbridges as well.  All of them, from the grand and prominent (there are some) to the small and obscure (there are many).  The ones described in this article are in between.    

Our destination, Co-op City, in the background.  In the foreground, the 1909 MetroNorth Hutchinson River bascule bridge.  Taken from the Shore Road Hutchinson River bridge (also a bascule bridge, dated 1906 by my sources).

Hiking from Pelham Bay Park to Co-op City (another story for another day), three of us bagged two large footbridges running parallel and right next to Interstate 95 in the Bronx. It was safer and more pleasant than walking along the interstate. 

The first (southerly) footbridge.   Crossing Pelham Parkway/Shore Road adjacent to I-95.

In cross section it is apparent that it is a separate bridge from that which carries the highway.

Views through the security fence eastward along Shore Road.  The mound in the background is an old landfill adjacent to Pelham Bay Park.

The first bridge approaching from the south crosses Pelham Parkway (heading west) and Shore Road (heading east).  It is the only one of the two bridges we were able to see in profile where it looked as though it could be a covered walkway alongside I-95. But it isn't. As is so often the case, viewpoints are diminished by the security fencing which I suppose is a necessary evil of our times.

The second (northerly) bridge. Security must have been an even stronger concern (people angry with MetroNorth's many screw-ups?) as down the middle of the bridge there are solid opaque metal walls - no views at all. 

The second (northerly) bridge is nearly identical and must be of the same vintage.  It crosses the MetroNorth New Haven line tracks. The lack of any any view at all, even through a chain link fence, made it a tad scary, although all we saw was evidence of a homeless person who probably values the seclusion at night.    

At the far (northern) end of the bridge the solid metal walls give way to the usual tightly wound chain link fence, but at least you can see the railroad alignment.  This photo is bit deceptive as it is taken through one of the little holes - the actual view is not really this good.

On exiting the second bridge, we get gobsmacking views of I-95 (straight ahead, no security fence). And learned from a sign that what I had always thought was the New England Thruway is actually the "New York Thruway - New England Section".  Not that it makes the slightest bit of difference. Interstate 95 south of here is called the Bruckner Expressway.

The New England Thruway, or rather the New England Section of the New York Thruway, upon exiting the more northerly footbridge.  The friendly welcoming sign did not apply to us because we were walking.

We were there on a fine weekday and several people were using the two bridges.  They were useful - at least if you want to get from Pelham Bay Park to Co-op City and parts further north without driving.  They carried what looks to be a major bicycle path (which is rather imprecisely depicted on the 2013 NYC bicycle map) and we saw a couple of bicyclists.  One was all decked out in the colorful clothes serious cyclists tend to wear and had the resolute air of someone traveling far.  

Footbridge across the New England Thruway, with kids getting out of school.

We exited Co-op city on another pedestrian bridge - this one across rather than alongside the New England Thruway.  That bridge was more pedestrian (in more ways than one as it was also much more heavily used, not least because schools were letting out when we got to it).
For the 21st century urban hiker, footbridges make the boulevards of death (generalizing everyone's favorite Queens Boulevard moniker) and superhighways one inevitably has to traverse a bit more user friendly. There should be lots more of them.