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The Bergen Arches

Between 1906 and 1910, the Erie Railroad Company cut through a 5,000-foot stretch of the Palisades (from today’s Palisade Avenue to Tonnelle Avenue) to bring passenger rail to the Jersey City waterfront. This corridor became known as the Erie Cut.

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The Bergen Arches, a series of concrete bridges, traversed the Erie Cut and allowed for street traffic. Today, nature has reclaimed the Erie Cut. Vegetation covers the bridges and the cliff face. The railroad tracks lay silent. A serene, even pastoral, world exists below the busy city streets.

The Bergen Arches and the Erie Cut are threatened by development. Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy supports adaptive reuse of the Bergen Arches and the Erie Cut. We advocate for  preserving them as open space and connecting them with the Sixth Street Embankment. This might allow for the creation of pedestrian and bicycle trails.

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