Pulaski Skyway

The Pulaski Skyway is a cantilever truss stucture carrying US Highways 1 & 9 beweeen Newark and Jersey City in New Jersey. It is named for Casimir Pulaski, the Polish military leader who helped the United States in the Revolutionary War. It is know as a "skyway" or elevated highway because it crosses over the cities of Newark, Kearny and Jersey City, with exits from the skyway to local city streets.

The Pulaski Skyway was built in 1930-1932 and opened September 1, 1932.

The structure consists of two 550 feet cantilever spans, one over the Hackensack River between Jersey City and Kearny, and the other over the Passaic River between Newark and Kearny. The spans are joined by a long viaduct over an industrial area. In Jersey City, two trestle spans cross over railway lines (Conrail and PATH, respectively.)

The Skyway is used as main route to the Holland Tunnel and Lower Manhattan, New York.

Trucks (and other large vehicles) are prohibited on the Pulaski Skyway. They must use an alternate route known as US 1-9 Truck. This is a local road through Jersey City, Kearny and Newark.

The Pulaski Skyway has been referenced in radio in the 1938 drama The War of the Worlds and featured on television in The Sopranos.

Pulaski Skyway facts

• span length (2 spans): 550 feet
• total length of cantilever spans (2): 1,250 feet
• total length: 18,480 feet