The arch across the Hell Gate is the largest of three bridges that form the Hell Gate railroad viaduct. An inverted bowstring truss bridge with four spans crosses the Little Hell Gate, a former strait that is now filled in, and a fixed truss bridge crosses the Bronx Kill, a strait now narrowed by fill. Together with approaches, the bridges are more than long.Staff. "Growing a Bridge From Both Ends" , p. 769, The Literary Digest, Volume 51, No. 14, October 2, 1915. Accessed July 7, 2016. "The whole length of the structure (arch and two approaches), from abutment on Long Island to abutment in the Bronx, is 17,000 feet, or considerably over three miles." The designs of the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, England and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in New South Wales, Australia were derived from the Hell Gate Bridge.
