“One of the things we’ve learned is that the substructure of the bridge is in worse condition than anyone understood,” said Brian Carr, assistant regional counsel at the EPA, at the January meeting. “There were repairs that were going to be needed one way or the other, and driving the piles in and all, if the bridge had been in decent condition, would have provided future stability for the bridge.”
Discovering in 2021 that Carroll Street Bridge was in worse shape than was originally understood.
Last summer, engineers started work installing “pipe piles,” which would help stabilize the bridge when the federal EPA and the city begin dredging in the area. After a few months of pile driving, though, engineers realized the work was damaging the structure, and the EPA decided to reassess their plans for supporting the structure and cleaning up the 10 feet of infamous “Black Mayonnaise” beneath the Carroll Street Bridge and the Union Street bridges, Tsiamis said at a September meeting of the CAG.
Installation of "pipe pulls" damaged Carroll Street Bridge in 2020-21.
From November 2020 until April 2021, workers will stabilize the Carroll Street Bridge ahead of dredging around it by sinking so-called pipe piles at the edges of the bridge bases on either side.
Carroll Street Bridge was originally closed in November 2020 for stabilization work. It was scheduled to reopen in April 2021. It ended up staying closed until June 2026.
The unusual 1889 retractile-type bridge - the oldest in the country - has been left open since 1986, but the department has been repairing it since last December and it should be working in time for its 100th anniversary on Sept. 19.
The Carroll Street Bridge opened on September 19, 1889.
The bridge is drawn in and out by cables from the engine or operator’s house on the west side of the canal and opens a 36-footwide channel in the canal.
Carroll Street Bridge operated from operator's house on west side of Gowanus Canal.
The Carroll Street Bridge is a retractile bridge crossing the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. The bridge, which was opened to traffic in 1889, supports a 17 foot wide roadway and two 4.5 foot sidewalks.
Official Carroll Street Bridge facts from NYC DOT.
As recently as the 1990s, the Carroll Street Bridge was retracted almost twice daily in order to allow passage for waterborne traffic to and from the paint factories, oil depots, sand and gravel suppliers, and warehouses lining the canal, but with the decline of industry in the area these deliveries have since become far less frequent.
Carroll Street Bridge retracted almost twice daily as recently as the 1990s.
We begin our tour at the Carroll Street Bridge over the Gowanus Canal. The cobblestone approach and wood planks attest to the fact that this is no ordinary bridge. In fact, it is the oldest of four retractile bridges in the United States (constructed in 1889), and it is the only wooden bridge in the city that carries cars.
Noting that the Carroll Street Bridge is the only wooden NYC bridge that still carries cars (no longer the case as of June 2026).
Five bridges span the canal at the main thorough- fares. All four of the bridges mentioned in the above table have recently been replaced by basculr bridges of the newest type, and are electrically operated. At Carroll Street, there is a slide bridge. There is thus practically no obstruction offered to traffic by the canal.
Article about the five bridges of the Gowanus Canal from 1906.