Vanderbilt Cup Races

This past weekend's mystery photo was the remnants of the Oyster Bay LIRR Bridge/ Williston Park & East Williston bridge abutment. By the 1970's, it was becoming clear that the 2 remaining railroad bridges were a safety hazard and nuisance and needed to be demolished.

With these recently received 1982 plans to the VanderbiltCupRaces.Com archives donated by Pat Babor, we can see exactly how the LIRR removed these bridges in 1983 with a very active RR track below.

Dated February 5, 1982 these newly uncovered plans include then-current site views, original 1909 bridge construction plans and new drawings for demolition, and crane placements

Closeup of the mapped areas of the bridges

Actual aerials with markings denoting the access points for the demolition sites with both bridges still in place

Mineola seen here

Mineola closeup

East Williston

E. Williston closeup

Existing grades around the bridges that crews had to contend with, and new grades needed to facilitate crane access

Original Motor Parkway plans to show demolition crews what original girders were present from original bridge construction. 

As we've seen from any other Motor Parkway bridge removal, these original parkway bridges were overbuilt to last for an indeterminate amount of time. To this day, 113 years later, there are two in Nassau (Old Courthouse Rd & Old Bethpage) that have stood the test of time with little to no maintenance for decades.

Back then, bridges such as these, or even much larger infrastructure projects like NYC's Brooklyn Bridge, built between 1869 to May 24th,1883, life spans were thought to be indefinite, unlike today, with maximum 50-year life spans figured into the planning.

Original 1908 elevation plans for the Oyster Bay Branch bridge

Original 1909 Oyster Bay Branch steel trestle detail added to the plans

Closeup reveals the June 10th, 1909 date for the Oyster Bay plan

The next drawings within the plans showed crane placement details. Here, for the 3 cranes needed for the East Williston bridge.

It's interesting to note that even the swing of the cranes were noted on the plans so as to not interfere with each other or their surroundings.

General notes and sequence notes for the East Williston removal.

Here, the larger, single, 70 foot boom crane needed for the Mineola removal.

Difficult to see, but these drawings provide the crews with proper rigging for the cranes to hoist the beams from their original positions.

Continuation of rigging plans

Demolition day arrives

In the early 1980s, Ron Ridolph photographed the Long Island Motor Parkway from Fresh Meadows to Lake Ronkonkoma. Among the events documented by Ron was the demolition of the bridge between Williston Park and East Williston in 1983.

1983 (From the Ron Ridolph Collection)

Mineola LIRR bridge removal

(Ron Ridolph collection)

Removal of the Oyster Bay LIRR Bridge Williston Park & East Williston

(Ron Ridolph collection)

(Ron Ridolph collection)