The Bridges of NYC

The University Heights Bridge

2008-10-09T17:38:00.002-04:00

Only 2,011 more to go ...

The University Heights Bridge
Spans Manhattan to the Bronx crossing the Harlem River.
From 207th Street in Inwood to West Fordham Road in University Heights.

Before the current bridge was erected, a wooden footbridge known as the 'Fordham Footbridge' crossed the the same point of the then shallow, Harlem River. This bridge was removed in 1895 when the Harlem River Ship Channel was dug and the northern stretch of the river became navigable by ships.

Replacing the bridge turned out to be a bit more complicated than expected. The New York City Department of Bridges favored a newfangled lift bridge, but the city wouldn't pay for it and opted for a cheaper 'swing' style. The Broadway Bridge was due for replacement as part of the opening up of the river, and so they decided to reuse the center span of the Broadway Bridge in the new University Heights Bridge.

Alfred P. Boller, who designed the Madison Avenue, 145th Street and Macombs Dam swing bridges, designed the New University Heights Bridge as well, and work began in November 1903.
The old Broadway Bridge span was floated down the river and lifted onto the new center pier in June 1906.
The University Heights Bridge opened to traffic on January 8, 1908.

Beginning in 1989, the NYCDOT undertook a $35 million project to rebuild the bridge. A new swing span was barged to the site and hoisted into place, and new electrical and mechanical controls were installed. The renovation was completed in 1992.
The swing mechanism below the center span of the current bridge.

View from the span looking South down the Harlem River towards the Alexander Hamilton Bridge.

The similarity to the Macombs Dam Bridge is most obvious in the aesthetic of the bridge, most prominently in the little decorative gazebos and frivolous decorative elements that adorn both bridges.
But the University Heights Bridge suffers in comparison due to it's location.

From 10th Avenue on one end to the entrance of the Major Deegan Expressway on the other, according to the DOT, the bridge carries 45,000 vehicles per day (as of 2007?).
Crossing on foot or by bicycle is done only via the sidewalk and the approach on the Bronx side is especially hazardous due to traffic.

The University Heights bridge celebrated it's 100th birthday in 2008 with little fanfare although it is one of only ten bridges in New York City to have been granted landmark status.

The University Heights Bridge circa 1933
From the collection of the NYPL

Type of bridge: Swing
Construction started: November 18, 1903
Opened to traffic: January 8, 1908
Length of main span: 267 feet
Length of two channels: 100 feet
Total length of bridge and approaches: 1,566 feet
Width of bridge: 50 feet
Width of roadway: 33 feet, 6 inches
Number of traffic lanes: 2 lanes
Clearance at center above mean high water: 25 feet
Foundation type: Caisson
Cost of original structure: $1,200,000

Bridge facts from NYC Roads.com

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The Grand Street Bridge

2008-07-12T09:18:00.003-04:00

Only 2,012 more to go ...

The Grand Street Bridge
Spans - Brooklyn to Queens over the East Branch of the Newtown Creek (Possibly AKA the English Kills?)
From Gardner Avenue in Brooklyn to 47th Street in Queens

Grand Street is a two-lane local City street in Queens and Kings Counties. Grand Street runs northeast and extends from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in Brooklyn to Queens Boulevard in Queens.
The road is known as Grand Street west of the bridge and Grand Avenue east of the bridge.
The Grand Street Bridge is a 69.2m long swing type bridge with a steel truss superstructure.

The general appearance of the bridge remains the same as when it was opened in 1903. The bridge provides a channel with a horizontal clearance of 17.7m and a vertical clearance, in the closed position, of 3.0m at Median High Water and 4.6m at Median Low Water.

The bridge structure carries a two-lane two-way vehicular roadway with sidewalks on either side. The roadway width on the bridge is 6.0m and the sidewalks are 1.8m wide. The height restriction is 4.1m.
The approach roadways are wider than the bridge roadway. For example, the width of Grand Avenue at the east approach to the bridge (near 47th Street) is 15.11m.

Bridge facts from NYC DOT

The Grand Street Bridge is one of five (need to fact check this as of 07/08) bridges which connect Brooklyn to Queens across the Newtown Creek and it's branches, Maspeth Creek and The English Kills.
Those Bridges are:
The Pulaski Bridge
The Greenpoint Avenue/JJ Byrne Memorial Bridge
The Kosciuszko Bridge
The Grand Street Bridge
and the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge

"The Newtown Creek is a murky estuary that runs 3 1/2 industrialized miles along the border of Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Maspeth, Queens. Once a site of mansions, then a mecca for shipbuilders, the creek is now a toxic dumping ground that bubbles up raw sewage every time it rains. Newtown Creek has been given the lowest possible cleanliness rating by both New York City and New York State. The Riverkeeper, wrote of the creek:

"It fails to meet even the most basic goals of the 1972 Clean Water Act. Nearly the entire stretch of the creek is heavily industrialized, there is virtually no public access, and water dependent industries have stagnated. A boat trip up the creek is a journey into the heart of darkness, with the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline as a reminder of its real world locale."

pbs.org

Pedestrian and Bicycle Access:
There is a pedestrian pathway on this bridge, but I don't recommend cycling on it.
Most cyclists merge into traffic and cross the metal grating because the Brooklyn side of the path is a completely demolished, uneven dirt path and stairs.

Random Bridge Factoids:
The Grand Street Bridge looks very similar in character and design to the Carroll Street Bridge which was completed in 1889. Unfortunately, this bridge hasn't received as much love over the years and it shows.

The Newtown Creek has a long history of tragedy:

* January 1894: At least four workers dredging the creek died after a flimsy foot bridge they were standing upon collapsed.
* July 1894: Two boys, apparently brothers, drowned after they evidently got caught in the “ooze and slime” at the bottom of the creek, which is composed of soft sediment.
* January 1896: A Polish priest of the Roman Catholic Church fell into the creek and drowned.
* June 1910: A boy, roughly age 12, drowned in the creek at the foot of Ten Eyck Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. His clothing was found nearby.
* February 1928: A 29-year-old worker was killed when a 325-ton draw span was moved upstream to make way for a new bridge.
* January 1934: Two men drowned after their car plunged into the creek from the Penny Bridge, linking Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and Long Island City, Queens.
* November 1942: A 28-year-old diver drowned in the creek off Review Avenue in Long Island City “when his diving helmet became detached in an undetermined manner while he was searching for a link in an oil pipe crossing the creek,” The Times reported.
NYTimes

January 26, 1896, New York Times

"The unguarded condition of Newtown Creek at the Grand Street Bridge, was responsible for another drowning accident early yesterday morning. The victim was a tall, heavily built man, who, from papers found in his pockets, is supposed to be the Rev. Leonard Syczek, a Polish priest of the Roman Catholic Church."

Borough: Brooklyn/Queens
Type: Swing
Waterway: Newtown Creek
Miles from Mouth: 3.1
Length: 555'
Max. Span: 227
Roadways: 1 - 19' 7"
Sidewalks: 2 - 6' 0"
Construction Cost: $191,008.19
Land Cost: $14,663.53
Total Cost: $205,671.72
Date Opened: Feb. 3, 1903

In 1998 (the last year I could find data for) it opened 86 times both for testing and water traffic

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The Hamilton Avenue Bridge

2008-06-27T19:22:00.006-04:00

Only 2,013 more to go ...

The Hamilton Avenue Bridge in Brooklyn is one of five bridges which span the Gowanus Canal.

The five bridges are, in order from North to South, The Union Street Bridge, The Carroll Street Bridge, The Third Street Bridge, The Ninth Street Bridge, and the Hamilton Avenue Drawbridge which runs parallel to the Gowanus Expressway at the mouth of the canal.

Most of the length of Hamilton Avenue runs below the elevated portion of the Gowanus Expressway, including the bridge. The bridge connects Smith Street and Second Avenue over the Gowanus Canal and is the first canal crossing north of the Gowanus Bay.

"The bridge is comprised of two bridges, each consisting of one bascule span with each span carrying four lanes of one-way traffic (one northbound and one southbound) and a pedestrian sidewalk. Hardesty & Hanover LLP (as Waddell & Hardesty) designed the existing bridges based on the patented Hanover skew design—an innovative approach to skewed bascule crossings. The Hamilton Avenue Bridge is one of the two remaining structures of this type."

Source: Hardesty & Hanover LLP September 13, 2007

The Bridge is currently undergoing reconstruction.
The reconstruction will replace the entire bridge in two stages. Completion is scheduled for January 2009.

On June 28, 2008 at 12:01 am the entire southbound bridge will be taken out of service. The current 4-lane northbound bridge will be converted to 2 lanes northbound and 2 lanes southbound to facilitate the replacement of the southbound bridge.

The Hamilton Avenue Bridge has a vertical clearance of 19 feet at
mean high water, and 23 feet at mean low water in the closed position.
The existing drawbridge operating regulations require the bridge to open on signal at all times.

Want to get the bridge open?

Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, NY

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

The draw of the Hamilton Avenue Bridge, mile 1.2, shall open on
signal after at least a four-hour advance notice is given by calling
(201) 400-5243. This paragraph is effective from November 7, 2007 to
January 15, 2009.

Type of Bridge: Bascule
Opened to traffic: 1942
Length of largest span: 77.8 ft.
Total length: 136.8 ft.
Deck width: 42.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 16.1 ft.
Average daily traffic: 23,187 (as of 2004)

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The Queensboro Bridge

2008-06-04T10:44:00.015-04:00

Only 2,014 more to go...

The Queensboro, AKA 59th Street Bridge

Spans - The East River, East and West Channel
From Midtown Manhattan East, across Roosevelt Island, to Queensbridge, Queens

Open to traffic - March 30, 1909
No Toll
Manhattan to Roosevelt Island span length: 1,182 ft (360 m)
Roosevelt Island span length: 630 ft (192 m)
Roosevelt Island to Queens span length: 984 ft (300 m)
side span lengths: 469 and 459 ft (143 and 140 m)
total length between anchorages: 3724 ft (1135 m)
total length including approaches: 7449 ft (2270 m)

"Originally christened Blackwell’s Island Bridge, and intended to link Manhattan’s Harlem Line with the Long Island Railroad, the colossal, two-decked Queensboro Bridge is one of the greatest cantilever bridges in the history of American bridge design.
A collaboration between the famed bridge engineer Gustav Lindenthal (1850-1935) and architect Henry Hornbostel, the Queensboro’s massive, silver-painted trusses span the East River between 59th Street in Manhattan and Long Island City in Queens and offer spectacular views of midtown Manhattan, highlighted by the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the United Nations. Often referred to as the 59th Street Bridge, the Queensboro’s completion preceded that of the Manhattan Bridge by nine months."
NYCDOT

View from 59th Street in Manhattan

The Beaux-Arts style bridge was given landmark status in 1974, one of only ten such designations in NYC.

View from Roosevelt Island

The bridge has been immortalized by numerous artists and musicians, including Simon & Garfunkel in their hit song, "The 59th Street Bridge Song/Feelin’ Groovy."
It has also served as a famous backdrop, denoting the wealth and luxury of an East Side, Sutton Place address in movies such as "The Tender Trap" where it is prominently visible through the windows of Frank Sinatra's bachelor pad.
More recently, the Green Goblin forced a showdown with Spiderman at the bridge by dangling ladylove, MaryJane from one of the supports while simultaneously threatening the passengers of the Roosevelt Island tramway.

Pedestrian and Bicycle access to the Queensboro Bridge -
"The North Outer Roadway is open for the exclusive use of bicyclists and pedestrians 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The path connects Long Island City with Midtown Manhattan. T.A. worked for nearly twenty years to see this permanent route established. Nicknamed "The People's Roadway," the path's temporary closures in the 1980s and 1990s became a potent symbol of government indifference to bicyclists and walkers. Today, the path is a heavily used bike commuter route, though the existing Manhattan approach forces cyclists exiting to the south to make a dangerous three-block detour in order to reach Second Avenue." - TransAlt.org

Manhattan entrance: 60th Street, between Second and First Avenues
Queens entrance: Queens Plaza and Crescent Street

Map from Fiboro Bridges

Other bridge factoids -
You can walk out of the front door of Scores on the Manhattan side, straight onto the pedestrian walkway, across to LIC, Queens and into Scandals - if a walking tour of NYC strip clubs is your idea of fun.
Until 1970, an industrial sized elevator connected Roosevelt Island with the bridge. It was big enough to carry vehicles and a proposal is now on the table to revisit the idea. Due to increased security in post - 9/11 NYC, water traffic is often re-routed away from the United Nations to the East Channel of the river. The passing ships require that the Roosevelt Island drawbridge be raised, cutting the island off to vehicles.
In an article published Feb, 4 1909, the New York Times reported that 235 people had applied for permission to be the first to jump off the soon to be completed bridge. Some were professional divers, other parachutists, a few were just desperate, but in the end they were all denied.
"The Celebration Committee announces that no bridge jumping will be allowed."

Type of bridge: Cantilever (multi-span)
Construction started: July 19, 1901
Opened to traffic: March 30, 1909
Length of western main span: 1,182 feet
Length of eastern main span: 984 feet
Length of bridge between anchorages: 3,724 feet, 6 inches
Total length of bridge and approaches: 7,449 feet
Width of bridge: 100 feet
Number of decks: 2 decks
Number of traffic lanes: 9 lanes (4 upper, 5 lower)
Height of towers above mean high water: 350 feet
Clearance at center above mean high water: 130 feet
Total structural steel used on bridge: 50,000 tons
Cost of original structure: $20,000,000

Bridge facts from NYC Roads.com

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Happy Birthday Brooklyn Bridge

2008-05-19T20:39:00.005-04:00

The Brooklyn Bridge turns One Hundred and Twenty Five this weekend
- and we're all invited.

When the bridge opened on May 24 1883, it was, in the words of it's creator, John A. Roebling,
“... not only be the greatest bridge in existence, but it will be the greatest engineering work of the continent, and of the age.”

Print from the NYPL digital gallery

The 125th birthday of the Brooklyn Bridge begins with a party on Thursday, May 22 and continues through May 26.
The Brooklyn Philharmonic will play, the Grucci Bros. will once again illuminate the night with one of their world-renowned firework exhibitions (they were responsible for the 100th anniversary display as well), and the Bridge will show off it's celebratory new string of lights.

“The Brooklyn Bridge is not only one of the great engineering marvels of all time; it is also a beautiful symbol of New York that is recognized around the world,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The wonderfully diverse events are representative of the iconic bridge that has connected the people of Brooklyn and Manhattan for generations. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate this legendary icon that has done so much for our City.”

In honor of the occasion, the Bridge is undergoing a long-needed face-lift.
A new pedestrian entrance in DUMBO, with better signs (actually any signs at all are a bonus), new sidewalks, and fancy lighting under the overpass are all being hurried to completion before the party.

On Fulton Ferry Pier, a fabulously magical installation called "the Telectroscope" will let passing New Yorkers and Londoners commune via the transatlantic tunnel. See the amazingness here.

And the list just keeps going...

Anniversary events include; Free Films, Live Music, The Tour de Brooklyn, a Lecture Series, DJs, Walking Tours...

For a comprehensive list, go to: NYCVisit.com or NYCGOV.com

Marine Parkway Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge

2008-04-26T18:34:00.010-04:00

Only 2,015 more to go...

As seen from the Rockaway Peninsula.

Spans: Brooklyn to Queens, The Rockaway Inlet of Jamaica Bay

The Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge is a vertical lift bridge that crosses the Rockaway Inlet of Jamaica Bay, connecting the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens with Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. It is one of very few toll bridge in NYC, and carries four motor traffic lanes and a (free) 5’ wide foot/cyclepath on the western edge.

Built under the auspices of the Marine Parkway Authority in 1937, the bridge was designed by Aymar Embury II, who was also the architect of the Bronx-Whitestone and Triborough Bridges. In 1978, the bridge was renamed for Gil Hodges, the former first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Hodges retained his relationships in Brooklyn after the team moved to Los Angeles, later played for the New York Mets, and then managed them from 1968 until his death in 1972. We do love our baseball in NYC.

In 1938, the bridge’s first full year of operation, 1.9 million vehicles crossed the bridge; in 2006, 7.8 million did. The vertical lift was raised 157 times in 2006 to allow vessels to pass through the Rockaway Inlet. The center span is 540 feet long and is only 55 feet above the water but can be lifted up to a height of 150' feet above the water. When it opened, the bridge had the longest vertical lift span in the world; it is still the longest vertical lift span for vehicular traffic in North America.
Bridge Information from MTA info

Both ends of the bridge today are within the Gateway National Recreation Area connecting Floyd Bennett Field and Jacob Riis Park. Bridge traffic surges by more than 50 percent during the summer as city dwellers make their way to the beach.

Seen in the distance from the Shore Parkway

The M.T.A. offered this historical tidbit in a news release commemorating the Bridge’s 70th Anniversary:

The morning of July 3, 1937, marked the grand opening of the new Marine Parkway Memorial Bridge. With the sun shining and the N.Y.P.D. Police Band ready to play, Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia, Robert Moses, head of the Marine Parkway Authority and city Parks Commissioner and other officials, were getting ready to embark in a 500-car motorcade to christen the bridge.
There was excitement in the air as the band tuned up from its designated place on the bridge’s elevated lift span and invited guests got into cars on the Brooklyn side of the bridge along Flatbush Avenue for the inaugural ride across the span.
But the first vehicle to cross the bridge did not belong to the mayor or master builder Robert Moses, who helped make the bridge a reality. About 15 minutes before the ceremonies were scheduled to start, the first vehicles to cross the span were three engine companies from Brooklyn; summoned to help put out a five-alarm fire that destroyed two blocks of wooden concession stands along the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk.
Even before its official opening, the bridge proved it was an asset to the community. Mayor La Guardia pointed out that if the bridge wasn’t there, it would have taken the Brooklyn fire companies precious minutes to travel to the old Cross Bay Bridge, four miles to the east.
The Police Band, which scrambled off the lowered lift before the fire trucks screamed across the bridge, resumed their post and the ceremony went on as planned. A gun salute from nearby Fort Tilden announced the beginning of the event, which included a fireboat pumping streams of water into the air and a flyover by nine Martin bomber planes from nearby Mitchel Field.
Today, during the anniversary celebration, a Rockaway Point Volunteer Fire Department truck led the motorcade, the authority said, “in a nod to history.”

Quoted from the NY Times

View of Coney Island with the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in the distance from the center span of the bridge.

Toll info Effective March 16, 2008

Cash $2.50

Token $1.67

E-Zpass $1.55

Rockaway Resident Token $1.40

Rockaway Resident E-Zpass $1.03

Toll Information from MTA info

Type of bridge: Vertical lift-span
Construction started: June 1, 1936
Opened to traffic: July 3, 1937
Length of main lift-truss span: 540 feet
Length of side truss spans: 540 feet
Total length of bridge and approaches: 4,022 feet
Number of traffic lanes: 4 lanes
Clearance at lift span above mean high water: 55 feet
Clearance at lift span in raised position: 150 feet
Steel used in through truss spans and towers: 7,600 tons
Steel used in deck truss spans: 3,800 tons
Concrete used in truss piers: 24,000 cubic yards
Concrete used in deck truss spans: 23,000 cubic yards
Cost of original structure: $12,170,000

Bridge Statistics from NYCRoads

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Berenice Abbott

2008-04-15T18:05:00.004-04:00

Changing New York: Photographs by Berenice Abbott, 1935-1938
From the NYPL Digitial Collection

The Brooklyn Bridge as seen by Berenice Abbott in 1936.

The Brooklyn Bridge photographed from Water Street in 2008

"Photographer Berenice Abbott proposed Changing New York, her grand project to document New York City, to the Federal Art Project (FAP) in 1935. The FAP was a Depression-era government program for unemployed artists and workers in related fields such as advertising, graphic design, illustration, photofinishing, and publishing. A changing staff of more than a dozen participated as darkroom printers, field assistants, researchers and clerks on this and other photographic efforts. Abbott's efforts resulted in a book in 1939, in advance of the World's Fair in Flushing Meadow NY, with 97 illustrations and text by Abbott's fellow WPA employee (and life companion), art critic Elizabeth McCausland (1899-1965). At the project's conclusion, the FAP distributed complete sets of Abbott's final 302 images to high schools, libraries and other public institutions in the metropolitan area, plus the State Library in Albany.

Abbott was born and raised in Ohio where she endured an erratic family life. In 1918, after two semesters at Ohio State University, she left to join friends associated with the Provincetown Players, in Greenwich Village. There she met Djuna Barnes, Kenneth Burke, Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Little Review editors Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap, and other influential modernists. From 1919-1921, while studying sculpture, Abbott supported herself as an artist's model, posing for photographers Nikolas Muray and Man Ray. She also met Marcel Duchamp, and participated in Dadaist publications.

Abbott moved to Paris in 1921, where she continued to study sculpture (and in Berlin), and to support herself by modeling. During 1923-1926, she worked as Man Ray's darkroom assistant (he had also relocated to Paris) and tried portrait photography at his suggestion. Abbott's first solo exhibition, in 1926, launched her career. In 1928 she rescued and began to promote Eugène Atget's photographic work, calling his thirty years of Parisian streetscapes and related studies "realism unadorned. "

In 1929 Abbott took a new artistic direction to tackle the scope (if not the scale) of Atget's achievement in New York City. During 1929-38, she photographed urban material culture and the built environment of New York, documenting the old before it was torn down and recording new construction. From 1934-58, she also taught photography at the New School. During 1935-39, Abbott worked as a "supervisor" for the Federal Art Project to create Changing New York (her free-lance work and New School teaching commitment made her ineligible for unemployment relief) .

1970 saw Abbott's first major retrospective exhibition, at the Museum of Modern Art. Her first retrospective portfolio appeared in 1976, and she received the International Center of Photography's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989. She died at home in Monson, Maine in December 1991."

Quoted from The NYPL Digital Gallery

For a non bridge specific view of Abbott's work, see both the original, Berenice Abbott: Changing New York and Douglas Lefevre's New York Changing: Revisiting Berenice Abbott's New York

The Williamsburg Bridge

2008-04-11T22:04:00.006-04:00

Only 2,016 more to go...

Looking towards Brooklyn from the East River

Spans - Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River
Delancey Street, LES to Broadway, Williamsburg Brooklyn.

Construction on the bridge began in 1896, and the bridge opened on December 19, 1903. Leffert L. Buck was chief engineer and Henry Hornbostel was architect. It was the second bridge to span the East River in NYC and at the time it was constructed, it set the record for the longest suspension bridge span on Earth which it took from it's neighbor, the Brooklyn Bridge, which had held the title for 17 years.

Wrapping Cables on the Williamsburg Bridge - From the NYPL Collection

"It is an unconventional structure, as suspension bridges go; though the main span hangs from cables in the usual manner, the side spans leading to the approaches are cantilevered, drawing no support from the cables above. The main span of the bridge is 1600 feet (488 m) long. The entire bridge is 7308 feet (2227 m) long between cable anchor terminals, and the deck is 118 feet (36 m) wide. The height at the center of the bridge is 135 feet (41 m) and each tower is 335 feet (102 m); these measurements taken from the river's surface at high water mark.

This bridge and the Manhattan Bridge are the only suspension bridges in New York City that still carry both automobile and rail traffic. In addition to this two-track rail line, connecting the New York City Subway's BMT Nassau Street Line and BMT Jamaica Line, there were once two sets of trolley tracks."
wikipedia

"For a brief period, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) ran passenger service along an elevated extension across the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan. The LIRR spur split from the existing Atlantic Avenue line northwest onto the Broadway elevated line (today's J, M and Z subway lines), crossed the Williamsburg Bridge, and continued south to Chambers Street.

The bridge not only served the traffic needs of a growing population, but also greatly affected migration patterns of ethnic groups. Before the bridge opened, first- and second-generation Irish and German settlers (who called the enclave "Kleine Deutschland") lived in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. When it opened, an influx of Jewish settlers from the overcrowded Lower East Side crossed the "Jews' Bridge" into Williamsburg. In turn, long-time residents moved out to Queens.

As early as 1964, The New York World-Telegram and Sun reported that the bridge had fallen in such a state of disrepair that rust rained down on pedestrians. The only fresh paint was the graffiti scrawled in by vandals. During the 1970's, the pedestrian walkways were closed after a maintenance worker was mugged while doing his job."
nyc roads.com

In the 1980's, the Bridge was in terrible condition after years of neglect and the City's near bankruptcy during the 1970's. It was closed completely for emergency repair work and for many years following was under constant renovation which impacted traffic in one direction or the other. Trains were re-routed and followed a strict speed limit when crossing the bridge. In 1999 service halted entirely to allow repairs on the center lanes of the bridge which carry train traffic.

"The Williamsburg Bridge is one of the major crossings of the East River, carrying approximately 140,000 motorists, 92,000 subway/bus riders, 600 bikers and 500 pedestrians between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn and serving some of the busiest arteries in New York City."
NYCDOT

View of the Pedestrian and Bike Pathway Entrance on Delancey Street in Manhattan.

"The new footpath/bikeway has one common access point for pedestrians and cyclists in Manhattan at Clinton Street, which leads to a crossover before the main span of the bridge to enable people to access either the north or south paths. The north path is open to both pedestrians and bicyclists and leads to an access point at Washington Park in Brooklyn. The south path is dedicated to pedestrians an leads to an access point at Bedford Avenue. Completion of the new north walkway also means that, for the first time ever, the bridge is accessible to wheelchair users and meets the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act."
NYCDOT

One of my favorite little NY hidden gems is the fact that the pedestrian and bike paths end at Roebling Street on the Brooklyn side. That would be the street named after John A. Roebling, civil engineer and designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, which the Williamsburg Bridge superseded as the world's longest suspension bridge of it's time.

Type of bridge: Suspension
Construction started: November 7, 1896
Opened to traffic: December 19, 1903
Length of main span: 1,600 feet
Length of side spans: 300 feet
Length, anchorage to anchorage: 2,200 feet
Total length of bridge and approaches: 7,308 feet
Number of traffic lanes: 8 lanes
Number of subway tracks: 2 tracks
Height of towers above mean high water: 310 feet
Clearance at center above mean high water: 135 feet
Number of cables: 4 cables
Length of each of four cables: 2,985 feet
Diameter of each cable: 18¾ inches
Total length of wires: 17,500 miles
Weight of cables and suspenders: 4,344 tons
Structural material: Steel
Tower material: Steel
Deck material: Steel
Cost of original structure: $24,200,000

Bridge statistics from nyc roads.com

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The Union Street Bridge

2008-02-19T11:25:00.005-05:00

Only 2,017 more to go...

Spans - The Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn

According to the DOT,
"The Union Street Bridge is a double leaf Scherzer rolling lift bascule supporting Union Street over the Gowanus Canal in the borough of Brooklyn."

The Union Street Bridge is the northernmost of five bridges which cross the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. The other four bridges are, from north to south; The Carroll Street Bridge, The Third Street Bridge, The Ninth Street Bridge, and the Hamilton Avenue Drawbridge which runs parallel to the Gowanus Expressway at the mouth of the canal.

The Bridge looks like a continuation of Union Street until you are right up on top of the steel grid span and can see the canal on either side.
It has two traffic lanes and two sidewalks.
Union Street is one way traveling eastbound across the span, but bicyclists ignore this constantly because Union Street runs in both directions straight from Prospect Park until 4th Avenue.

Looking North to Butler Street.

Looking South to the Carroll Street Bridge.

According to the EPA, the bridge was opened for water traffic 245 times in 1999 (the last year I could find available data.)

Type of Bridge: Bascule
Opened to traffic: 1905
Roadway Width: 35 feet
Sidewalks: Two 6 foot wide sidewalks
Max. Span: 56 Feet
Construction Cost: $85,206.85

2 general lanes and 1 bicycle lane on 1 roadway allow eastbound ONE-WAY traffic only.
2 sidewalks

Bridge facts from NYCDOT

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Manhattan Bridge in the Movies

2007-12-15T08:28:00.000-05:00

This iconic image is from Sergio Leone's classic 1984 film "Once Upon A Time In America", which starred Robert DeNiro.

The view down Washington Street in Brooklyn's DUMBO remains largely unchanged to this day - minus the debris.

The Empire State Building is visible through the uprights of the bridge if you move slightly to your left in the street, and often the street is closed for film and music video shoots.

The Carroll Street Bridge

2007-11-29T16:36:00.000-05:00

Only 2,018 more to go...

The Carroll Street Bridge in Brooklyn is one of five bridges which span the Gowanus Canal. The canal has long been considered the dividing line between the Carroll Gardens and Park Slope neighborhoods although it is sometimes now referred to as it's own community - 'Gowanus'.

The five bridges are some of the most picturesque in the city and are, in order from North to South, The Union Street Bridge, The Carroll Street Bridge, The Third Street Bridge, The Ninth Street Bridge, and the Hamilton Avenue Drawbridge which runs parallel to the Gowanus Expressway at the mouth of the canal.

The Carroll Street Bridge was built in 1888 and is the oldest of only four retractile bridges in the United States. It rolls back horizontally on wheels set on steel rails in order to clear the waterway. The bridge was designated a NYC landmark in 1987.

View of the pulley and cable retraction system.

According to the EPA, the bridge was opened for water traffic 228 times in 1999 (the last year I could find available data.)

The approach is still cobblestoned and the bridge itself is wooden planking. One of the better unnoticed details is the sign which remains atop the structure:

"Ordinance of the City
Any Person Driving over
this Bridge Faster than
a Walk will be Subject to
a Penalty of Five Dollars
for Each Offence."

(Caps are theirs)

Type of Bridge: Retractile
Opened to traffic: 1889
Roadway Width: 17 feet
Sidewalks: Two 4.5 foot wide sidewalks

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The Manhattan Bridge - Update

2007-11-17T20:48:00.001-05:00

Oooh - Sexy!

Yes, It's the bicycle specific, newly opened, bike lane on the Manhattan Bridge.
Check it out. Bike icons in both lanes.

Of course, I did see about 5 people on foot on the North Path, but who cares.

The approach on both sides is suicidal and takes you through some of the worst streets to cycle on, but it's so nice to ride across the river without fear of hitting or being hit by random tourists, kids, sightseers or joggers on the Brooklyn Bridge Footpath.

On the Manhattan side, the bike path entrance is at Chrystie Street on the left hand (North) side when facing the bridge from Canal Street.

The Brooklyn entrance to the path is a lovely new ramp at Jay and Sands Streets.
The approach to this is also crazy if you aren't used to riding in traffic - and hard to find if you don't know exactly where it is.

The stairs to the pedestrian path are on the Jay Street side and the ramp is on the Sands Street side.

The intersection of Jay and Sands is right in the middle of the traffic pattern leading from the BQE to both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, so you need to be alert, but if you are coming from Downtown Brooklyn the Adams Street approach (AKA Brooklyn Bridge Blvd) is completely empty of car traffic.

The George Washington Bridge

2007-11-04T17:15:00.000-05:00

Only 2,019 more to go...

The George Washington Bridge seen from Washington Heights, looking across the Hudson River to the Englewood Cliffs.
Spans - New York-New Jersey, The Hudson River.

The George Washington Bridge is a toll suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee in New Jersey by means of Interstate 95, U.S. Route 1/9. U.S. Route 46, which is entirely in New Jersey, ends halfway across the bridge at the state border. The GW is considered one of the world's busiest bridges in terms of vehicle traffic; In 2004, the bridge carried 108,404,000 vehicles, with current estimates of nearly 300,000 vehicles daily.
When it opened, the bridge had the longest main span in the world; at 1,067 m (3,500 ft), it nearly doubled the previous record of 564 m (1,850 ft), which had been held by the Ambassador Bridge.
The GW span is currently the fourth largest suspension bridge in the United States.

The bridge contains two levels, an upper level with four lanes in each direction and a lower level with three lanes in each direction, for a total of 14 lanes of travel. Additionally, the bridge houses a path on each side of the bridge for pedestrian traffic.

Groundbreaking for the new bridge began in October 1927. Its chief engineer was Othmar Ammann, with Cass Gilbert as architect. The bridge was dedicated on October 24, 1931, and opened to traffic the following day. Initially named the "Hudson River Bridge," the bridge is named in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States. The Bridge is near the sites of Fort Washington (on the New York side) and Fort Lee (in New Jersey), which were fortified positions used by General Washington and his American forces in his unsuccessful attempt to deter the British occupation of New York City in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War.

Bridge facts from the wikipedia

Modernist, Le Corbusier, said of the structure, "The George Washington Bridge over the Hudson is the most beautiful bridge in the world. Made of cables and steel beams, it gleams in the sky like a reversed arch. It is blessed. It is the only seat of grace in the disordered city. It is painted an aluminum color and, between water and sky, you see nothing but the bent cord supported by two steel towers. When your car moves up the ramp the two towers rise so high that it brings you happiness; their structure is so pure, so resolute, so regular that here, finally, steel architecture seems to laugh. The car reaches an unexpectedly wide apron; the second tower is very far away; innumerable vertical cables, gleaming against the sky, are suspended from the magisterial curve which swings down and then up. The rose-colored towers of New York appear, a vision whose harshness is mitigated by distance." (When the Cathedrals were White", 1947.)

The bicycle and pedestrian pathway is accessible from 178th street, though the entrance to the ramp is so obscurely hidden that many people wander in circles, lost in the tangle of on-ramps and one-way streets.
The ramp itself is acutely curved and barely wide enough for two people, much less two cyclists. Once on the bridge, the pathway is fairly tight in places, narrowing through the towers into single lane, blind turns.
The path can be harrowing in high winds.

The view from the center of the span is one of the most spectacular in the world.
Commanding a view of the lower Hudson, Manhattan, and the Palisades, it rewards those hardy souls who make the trip.
The bridge is a common starting place for cyclists who make their way up the NJ side of the Hudson for training rides.

Looking down and to the left, the 'Little Red Lighthouse' that used to guard ships from running aground on the rocky point is still holding vigil - although now dwarfed by the span above it.

Type of bridge: Suspension
Construction started: October 21, 1927
Opened to traffic (upper deck): October 25, 1931
Opened to traffic (lower deck): August 29, 1962
Length of main span: 3,500 feet
Length, anchorage to anchorage: 4,760 feet
Width of bridge: 119 feet
Number of traffic lanes: 14 lanes (8 upper, 6 lower)
Height of tower above mean high water: 604 feet
Clearance at mid-span above mean high water: 213 feet
Cost of original structure: $59,000,000

Bridge statistics from nycroads.com

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The Manhattan Bridge

2007-10-02T10:32:00.000-04:00

Only 2,020 more to go...

The Upper Deck Approach from the Manhattan side.

Spans - Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River
Canal Street, Chinatown to Flatbush Avenue, Downtown Brooklyn.

The Manhattan Bridge was the last of the classic three East River Crossings to be completed. It opened to traffic on New Year's Eve of 1909, and has been plagued by structural issues almost from day one.
When fully utilized, the bridge has the capacity to carry four lanes of traffic on its upper level, three lanes of reversing traffic on its lower level, four subway tracks and two pedestrian pathways, one of which was earmarked as a bicycle only route.

I've never actually seen this, because the bridge has been under continuous renovation since before I can remember.

(cross section taken from the Wikipedia entry for the Manhattan Bridge)

Apparently, the mysterious northern bike path is now open.

Important Notice
New York City Department of Transportation Division of Bridges
Rehabilitation of the Manhattan Bridge

"On Monday, August 6, 2007, the New York City Department of Transportation Division of Bridges will reopen the north bikeway of the Manhattan Bridge. The north bikeway has been closed since October 2006 to complete various construction tasks in association with the rehabilitation of the lower roadway of the bridge as well as to ensure and maintain public safety during the rehabilitation. Once the bikeway reopens the south walkway will revert to pedestrian use only."

This is the South Walkway. (with a bicyclist in the distance)

Type of bridge: Suspension
Opened to traffic: December 31, 1909
Length of main span: 1,470 feet
Length of side spans: 725 feet
Length, anchorage to anchorage: 2,920 feet
Total length of bridge and approaches: 6,855 feet
Number of decks: 2 decks
Number of traffic lanes: 7 lanes (4 upper, 3 lower)
Number of subway tracks: 4 tracks
Height of towers above mean high water: 322 feet
Clearance at center above mean high water: 135 feet
Number of cables:
Diameter of each of four cables:
Length of each of four cables:
Structural material:
Tower material:
Deck material:
Cost of original structure: $31,000,000

Bridge statistics from nyc roads.com

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The Triborough Bridge

2007-09-27T21:58:00.001-04:00

Only 2,021 more to go...

View of the pedestrian path on the East River section crossing from Astoria Queens to Randall's Island.

Spans Manhattan-Bronx-Queens, crossing Hell Gate (East River), The Harlem River, and the Bronx Kill.
The Triborough Bridge is a complex of three bridges connecting the three New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens. The bridge uses what were originally two separate islands, Ward's Island and Randall's Island to support the center of the span.

The Robert Moses Building is the headquarters of M.T.A. Bridges and Tunnels, the successor to the old Triborough Bridge Authority. Robert Moses, the ultimate modern urban planner, kept his office at the center of his empire - on Randall's Island at the base of his biggest moneymaking bridge. Both the building and his office have been renovated over the years and no longer reflect the omnipotence of Moses at his peak.

The Triborough does have a pedestrian path. It is mostly used by bicyclists who are legally required to dismount as they cross. Very few do so - until they run into one of the three staircases on the span. BEWARE.

For those of you who have never crossed the Triboro by bike or foot, it can be very confusing. The DOT provides this map, but I get confused all the time, so here's a simple explanation.

There is no direct route for cyclists and pedestrians from Queens to Manhattan or the Bronx. Instead of following the traffic, the path drops you on Randall's Island from all directions.
You need to cross the island and find the correct span for the borough you are going to, making the bridge a two-step process.

I haven't actually taken the Manhattan entrance this year, so I can't vouch for it, but if the ramps are open, they're at 124/126th and Second Avenue. If not, the stairs are at 124/126th and First Avenue.
Alternately, there's the Ward's Island Bridge at 103rd Street and the FDR, which is for bicyclists and pedestrians only. Ward's Island connects to Randall's Island.

The Queens entrance is the stairs at 27th and Hoyt.

The Bronx entrance is the ramp structure at 133rd and Cypress.

Here's a question that I never thought I'd ask, but in the context of this blog is sort of important. Is this one bridge or five?

Construction started: October 25, 1929
Opened to traffic: July 11, 1936
Total length of approaches (Manhattan-Queens-Bronx): 13,820 feet
Cost of original structure: $60,300,000

EAST RIVER SUSPENSION BRIDGE

Length of main span: 1,380 feet
Length of each side span: 700 feet
Length, anchorage to anchorage: 2,780 feet
Height of towers above mean high water: 315 feet
Clearance at center above mean high water: 143 feet

HARLEM RIVER LIFT BRIDGE

Length of main lift-truss span: 310 feet
Length of each side truss span: 230 feet
Length, anchorage to anchorage: 770 feet
Height of towers: 210 feet
Clearance of lift span above mean high water: 55 feet
Clearance of lift span in raised position: 135 feet

BRONX KILLS CROSSING

Length of main truss span: 383 feet
Length of approach truss span: 1,217 feet
Length, anchorage to anchorage: 1,600 feet
Clearance of truss span above mean high water: 55 feet

WARD'S ISLAND VIADUCT

Structural steel used: 29,500 tons
Reinforcing steel used: 5,500 tons

RANDALL'S ISLAND INTERCHANGE

Reinforcing steel used: 9,500 tons
Concrete used in roadway and piers: 111,200 cubic yards

Bridge Statistics from nycroads.com

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The Verrazano - Narrows Bridge

2007-09-25T09:42:00.000-04:00

Only 2,022 more to go...

Spans - Brooklyn-Staten Island, The Narrows, New York Harbor.

According to the MTA, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was the world's longest suspension span when it opened in 1964.

"Its monumental 693 foot high towers are 1 5/8 inches farther apart at their tops than at their bases because the 4,260 foot distance between them made it necessary to compensate for the earth's curvature. Each tower weighs 27,000 tons and is held together with three million rivets and one million bolts. Seasonal contractions and expansions of the steel cables cause the double-decked roadway to be 12 feet lower in the summer than in the winter." (MTA website)

The Bridge at dawn as seen from the approach to New York Harbor

The bridge was designed by Othmar Ammann, who had also designed many of the most beautiful and iconic bridges in New York City, including the George Washington Bridge, the Bayonne Bridge, the Bronx Whitestone Bridge, the Triborough Bridge, Throgs Neck Bridge and the lovely, Hell Gate Bridge (AKA, The New York Connecting Railroad Bridge).
The dramatic silhouette of the span may be best known as the starting point for the annual NYC Marathon, but it is also featured in many films set in NYC. My personal favorite is from Saturday Night Fever when Tony Manero (John Travolta) and his Bay Ridge friends all get wasted and climb all over the cables.

View from the 69th Street Pier, looking South to the mouth of the harbor.

Crossing the span during the 2007, NYC 5Boro Bicycle Tour, one of the few opportunities for non-motorists to cross the bridge which has no provisions for pedestrians or bicyclists.

Type of bridge: Suspension
Construction started: August 13, 1959
Opened to traffic (upper deck): November 21, 1964
Opened to traffic (lower deck): June 28, 1969
Length of main span: 4,260 feet
Length of each side span: 1,215 feet
Length, anchorage to anchorage: 6,690 feet
Total length of bridge and approaches: 13,700 feet
Width of bridge: 103 feet
Number of decks: 2 decks
Number of traffic lanes: 12 lanes (6 upper, 6 lower)
Height of towers above mean high water: 693 feet
Clearance at center above mean high water: 228 feet
Deepest foundation below mean high water: 170 feet
Cost of original structure: $320,126,000

Bridge statistics from nycroads.com

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The Macombs Dam Bridge

2007-09-22T13:37:00.000-04:00

Only 2,023 more to go...

Spans - Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River.

The bridge and adjoining park were named for the Macomb family who operated a dam and mill on the site.
As use of the Harlem River increased in the 1830's, the dam, which blocked all but the smallest of boats became a local bone of contention. In 1838, a group of local citizens rammed the dam with a coal barge and destroyed it by chopping through it with axes.
In the course of the following lawsuit and court case, the dam was found to be "a public nuisance..." built "without authority of law...the Legislature did not authorize the obstruction of the navigation of the river in the manner in which it was done by the dam in question."

After the Brooklyn and Washington Bridges, Macomb's Dam Bridge is the third oldest major bridge in New York City. It was designated a city landmark in 1992.
At the time of its construction, its massive steel central swing span was considered to be the world's heaviest movable mass.

Type of bridge: Moveable - Swing
Construction started: April 1, 1892
Opened to traffic: May 1, 1895
Length of main span: 412 feet
Length of two channels: 150 feet
Total length of bridge and approaches: 2,540 feet
Width of bridge: 60 feet
Width of roadway: 40 feet
Number of traffic lanes: 4 lanes
Clearance at center above mean high water: 28 feet
Foundation type: Caisson
Cost of original structure: $1,800,000

Bridge statistics from nycroads.com

The bridge is a handy way to access Yankee Stadium and can get fairly crowded before or after a home game in the Bronx.

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The Broadway Bridge

2007-09-21T11:37:00.000-04:00

Only 2,024 more to go...

Spans - Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
View of the Harlem River from the Broadway Bridge.
This is more accurately the Harlem River Ship Channel as it is a man-made canal that was constructed in 1895.
The MTA, Marble Hill Station is in the foreground on the North side of the channel, the Circle Line is passing to the South, and the Henry Hudson Bridge is visible in the distance to the West.
Marble Hill is a truly strange example of NYC redistricting. The Harlem river originally passed to the North of the community, making it part of the island of Manhattan. When the channel was dug to facilitate the passing of larger ships, the area was cut off from the island, and the old river route filled in.
Marble Hill is still legally part of the borough of Manhattan.

View of the actual bridge crossing.
The subway runs on the upper level.

Type of bridge: Moveable - Vertical lift
Construction started: April 1, 1959
Opened to rail traffic: December 26, 1960
Opened to vehicular traffic: July 1, 1962
Length of main span: 304 feet
Total length of bridge and approaches: 557 feet
Number of traffic lanes: 6 lanes
Number of subway tracks: 3 tracks
Clearance over mean high water (closed position): 25 feet
Clearance over mean high water (open position): 136 feet
Steel used in structure: 2,500 tons
Cost of original structure: $13,400,000

Bridge statistics from nycroads.com

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Roosevelt Island Bridge

2007-09-20T11:31:00.000-04:00

2,025 to go...
View of the Queensboro Bridge from the span of the Roosevelt Island Bridge

Spans - East River East Channel from Queens to Roosevelt Island
The bridge is the only motor vehicle connection to the island.
Other access is provided by a tramway from Manhattan and Subway service.

Type of bridge:Vertical lift
Construction started:March 17, 1952
Opened to traffic:May 18, 1955
Length of main lift span:418 feet
Total length of bridge and viaduct approaches:2,877 feet
Width of bridge:40 feet
Number of traffic lanes:2 lanes
Clearance over mean high water (closed position):40 feet
Clearance over mean high water (open position):100 feet
Height of towers:170 feet
Cost of original structure:$6,500,000

Statistics from nycroads.com

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The Brooklyn Bridge

2007-09-19T20:14:00.002-04:00

2,026 to go...

No other bridge could be Number 1 on the list.

Span - Manhattan to Brooklyn across the East River

The Brooklyn Bridge, one of New York City’s most celebrated architectural wonders and arguably the most influential bridge in American history, was completed in 1883. Designed by John Augustus Roebling and completed by his son Washington Roebling, the Brooklyn Bridge was, at the time of its completion, the longest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span of 1595.5 feet.
It received landmark status in 1964 and is the oldest bridge that is open to passengers or vehicles.
The Brooklyn Bridge had 137,563 vehicle crossings on an average weekday in 2004.

Quoted from: Transportation Alternatives, The DOT, and
the Wikipedia entry for The Brooklyn Bridge

Pedestrian and Bicycle access to the Brooklyn Bridge -

Access to the bridge has improved markedly over the last few years.
The city recently added much needed signs and lighting to the Cadman Plaza Stairway entrance that is heavily used by tourists and pedestrians.
Last year, they added a two-way protected bike lane on Tillary Street to facilitate access to the bridge from the Downtown and Heights neighborhoods.
The Adams Street bike path is still basically unusable due to the fact that the Marriott allows livery cab drivers to park all along the length in front of the hotel.

The Manhattan entrance is easy to find, but hard to legally ride to on a bicycle. The safest thing to do is dismount and walk from the corner of Centre and Chambers Streets to the pedestrian entrance, due to traffic and crowds, but very few cyclists do this.

The pathway across the bridge is separated into two distinct lanes; the southern lane is for pedestrians, the northern lane for cyclists. These are clearly marked with icons, but are largely ignored by tourists who don't know any better.

Manhattan entrance: Park Row and Centre Street, across from City Hall Park.
Brooklyn entrance: Stairs under the overpass at Cadman Plaza East and Prospect Streets, or ramp to Tillary and Adams Streets.

Cyclists at dawn crossing the Brooklyn Bridge during the 2007 NYC Century

Sunrise over the Manhattan Bridge from the pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge

Type of bridge:Suspension
Construction started:January 3, 1870
Opened to traffic:May 24, 1883
Length of main span:1,595 feet, 6 inches
Length of side spans:930 feet
Length, anchorage to anchorage:3,455 feet, 6 inches
Total length of bridge and approaches:6,016 feet
Width of bridge:85 feet
Number of traffic lanes:6 lanes
Number of cables:4 cables
Height of towers above mean high water:276 feet, 6 inches
Clearance at center above mean high water:135 feet
Length of each of four cables:3,578 feet, 6 inches
Diameter of each cable:15¾ inches
Number of wires in each cable:5,434 wires
Total length of wires:14,060 miles
Total masonry in towers:85,159 cubic yards
Weight of suspended structure:6,620 tons
Total weight of bridge:14,680 tons
Cost of original structure:$15,100,000

Bridge facts from NYCRoads.com

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The Whole List

2007-09-19T19:47:00.000-04:00

By my count, this list is short about 1,971 crossings.

Any help in figuring out what those might be would be greatly appreciated.

BRIDGES
145th Street Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
East 174th Street Bridge, Bronx, Bronx River
East 153rd Street, Manhattan
Bayonne Bridge,
Borden Avenue Bridge, Queens, Dutch Kills
Broadway Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Bronx-Whitestone Bridge,
Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan to Brooklyn across the East River
Carroll Street Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
City Island Bridge, Bronx, Pelham Bay Narrows
Cropsey Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn, Coney Island Creek
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge,
Eastchester Bridge, Bronx, Eastchester Creek
Eastern Boulevard Bridge, Bronx, Bronx River
Flushing Bridge, Queens, Flushing Channel
Fresh Kills Bridge, Staten Island, Richmond Creek
George Washington Bridge,
Goethals Bridge,
Grand Street Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Hamilton Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
Henry Hudson Bridge,
Hook Creek Bridge, Queens, Hook Creek
Hutchinson River Parkway Bridge, Bronx, Eastchester Creek
Hunters Point Avenue Bridge, Queens, Dutch Kills
Kosciuszko Bridge,
Little Neck Bridge, Queens, Alley Creek
Macombs Dam Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Madison Avenue Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Manhattan Bridge, Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River
Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge,
Metropolitan Avenue, Bridge, Brooklyn English Kills
Midtown Highway Bridge, Queens, Dutch Kills
Mill Basin Bridge, Brooklyn, Mill Basin
Ninth Street Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
Outerbridge Crossing.
Pelham Bridge, Bronx, Eastchester Creek
Pulaski Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Queensboro Bridge, Manhattan-Queens, East River
Rikers Island Bridge, Queens, Rikers Island Channel
Roosevelt Avenue Bridge, Queens, Flushing River
Roosevelt Island Bridge, Queens, East River East Channel
Stillwell Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn, Coney Island Creek
Third Avenue Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Third Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn, Fifth Street Basin
Third Street Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
Throgs Neck Bridge,
Triborough Bridge,
Union Street Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
Unionport Bridge, Bronx, Westchester Creek
University Heights Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
Washington Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Westchester Avenue Bridge, Bronx, Bronx River
Williamsburg Bridge, Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River
Willis Avenue Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River

TUNNELS
Holland Tunnel,
Lincoln Tunnel,
Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel,
Queens Midtown Tunnel,

VIADUCTS & OVERPASSES
127th Street Viaduct

List By Borough

2007-09-19T14:55:00.000-04:00

This list is incomplete.
If you have any bridges to add, please do so in the comments of The Whole List

Inter – Borough

Manhattan
145th Street Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Broadway Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan to Brooklyn across the East River
George Washington Bridge, Manhattan-New Jersey, Hudson River
Henry Hudson Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Macombs Dam Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Madison Avenue Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Manhattan Bridge, Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River
Queensboro Bridge, Manhattan-Queens, East River
Roosevelt Island Bridge, Queens-Roosevelt Island, East River East Channel
Third Avenue Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Triborough Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx-Queens, Hell Gate (East River), Harlem River, Bronx Kill
University Heights Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Washington Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Williamsburg Bridge, Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River
Willis Avenue Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River

Holland Tunnel, Manhattan-New Jersey, Hudson River
Lincoln Tunnel, , Manhattan-New Jersey, Hudson River
Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River
Queens Midtown Tunnel, Manhattan-Queens, East River

Brooklyn
Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan to Brooklyn across the East River
Grand Street Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Kosciuszko Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Manhattan Bridge, Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River
Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Rockaway Inlet, Jamaica Bay
Pulaski Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Brooklyn-Staten Island, The Narrows, New York Harbor
Williamsburg Bridge, Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River

Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River

Queens
Bronx Whitestone Bridge, Bronx-Queens, East River
Grand Street Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Hook Creek Bridge, Queens-Nassau, Hook Creek
Kosciuszko Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Rockaway Inlet, Jamaica Bay
Pulaski Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Queensboro Bridge, Manhattan-Queens, East River
Rikers Island Bridge, Queens-Bronx, Rikers Island Channel, East River
Roosevelt Island Bridge, Queens-Roosevelt Island, East River East Channel
Throgs Neck Bridge, Queens-Bronx, East River
Triborough Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx-Queens, Hell Gate (East River), Harlem River, Bronx Kill

Queens Midtown Tunnel, Manhattan-Queens, East River

Bronx
145th Street Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Broadway Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Bronx Whitestone Bridge, Bronx-Queens, East River
Henry Hudson Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Macombs Dam Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Madison Avenue Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Rikers Island Bridge, Queens-Bronx, Rikers Island Channel, East River
Third Avenue Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Throgs Neck Bridge, Queens-Bronx, East River
Triborough Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx-Queens, Hell Gate (East River), Harlem River, Bronx Kill
University Heights Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Washington Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Willis Avenue Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River

Staten Island
Bayonne Bridge, Staten Island-New Jersey
Goethals Bridge, Staten Island-New Jersey, Arthur Kill
Outerbridge Crossing, Staten Island-New Jersey, Arthur Kill
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Brooklyn-Staten Island, The Narrows, New York Harbor

Intra – Borough

Manhattan
East 153rd Street, Manhattan (Overpass?)
127th Street Viaduct, Manhattan

Brooklyn
Carroll Street Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
Cropsey Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn, Coney Island Creek
Hamilton Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
Metropolitan Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn English Kills
Mill Basin Bridge, Brooklyn, Mill Basin
Ninth Street Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
Stillwell Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn, Coney Island Creek
Third Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn, Fifth Street Basin
Third Street Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
Union Street Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal

Queens
Borden Avenue Bridge, Queens, Dutch Kills
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge, Queens-Rockaway Peninsula, Broad Channel, Jamaica Bay
Flushing Bridge, Queens, Flushing Channel
Hunters Point Avenue Bridge, Queens, Dutch Kills
Little Neck Bridge, Queens, Alley Creek
Midtown Highway Bridge, Queens, Dutch Kills (Viaduct?)
Roosevelt Avenue Bridge, Queens, Flushing River

Bronx
East 174th Street Bridge, Bronx, Bronx River
City Island Bridge, Bronx, Pelham Bay Narrows
Eastchester Bridge, Bronx, Eastchester Creek
Eastern Boulevard Bridge, Bronx, Bronx River
Hutchinson River Parkway Bridge, Bronx, Eastchester Creek
Pelham Bridge, Bronx, Eastchester Creek
Unionport Bridge, Bronx, Westchester Creek
Westchester Avenue Bridge, Bronx, Bronx River

Staten Island
Fresh Kills Bridge, Staten Island, Richmond Creek

Done List

2007-09-19T00:32:00.009-04:00

Done sounds so final.
I love the bridges of NYC which is why I started doing this to begin with, so some of these I'll revisit over and over again.

BRIDGES

Broadway Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River
Carroll Street Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
George Washington Bridge, Manhattan, NY-Fort Lee, NJ, The Hudson River
Grand Street Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Hamilton Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
Macombs Dam Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Manhattan Bridge, Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River
Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Rockaway Inlet
Queensboro Bridge, Manhattan-Queens, East River
Roosevelt Island Bridge, Queens, East River East Channel
Triborough Bridge,Manhattan-Bronx-Queens, crossing Hell Gate (East River), The Harlem River, and the Bronx Kill.
Union Street Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
University Heights Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Brooklyn-Staten Island, The Narrows, New York Harbor
Williamsburg Bridge, Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River

To Do List

2007-09-19T00:28:00.007-04:00

I'm missing tons of crossings from the list.
If you can think of any, please add them to the comments of The Whole List

BRIDGES
145th Street Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
East 174th Street Bridge, Bronx, Bronx River
East 153rd Street, Manhattan
Bayonne Bridge,
Borden Avenue Bridge, Queens, Dutch Kills
Bronx-Whitestone Bridge,
City Island Bridge, Bronx, Pelham Bay Narrows
Cropsey Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn, Coney Island Creek
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge,
Eastchester Bridge, Bronx, Eastchester Creek
Eastern Boulevard Bridge, Bronx, Bronx River
Flushing Bridge, Queens, Flushing Channel
Fresh Kills Bridge, Staten Island, Richmond Creek
Goethals Bridge,
Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Henry Hudson Bridge,
Hook Creek Bridge, Queens, Hook Creek
Hutchinson River Parkway Bridge, Bronx, Eastchester Creek
Hunters Point Avenue Bridge, Queens, Dutch Kills
Kosciuszko Bridge,
Little Neck Bridge, Queens, Alley Creek
Madison Avenue Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Metropolitan Avenue, Bridge, Brooklyn English Kills
Midtown Highway Bridge, Queens, Dutch Kills
Mill Basin Bridge, Brooklyn, Mill Basin
Ninth Street Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
Outerbridge Crossing.
Pelham Bridge, Bronx, Eastchester Creek
Pulaski Bridge, Brooklyn-Queens, Newtown Creek
Rikers Island Bridge, Queens, Rikers Island Channel
Roosevelt Avenue Bridge, Queens, Flushing River
Stillwell Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn, Coney Island Creek
Third Avenue Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Third Avenue Bridge, Brooklyn, Fifth Street Basin
Third Street Bridge, Brooklyn, Gowanus Canal
Throgs Neck Bridge,
Unionport Bridge, Bronx, Westchester Creek
Washington Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River
Westchester Avenue Bridge, Bronx, Bronx River
Willis Avenue Bridge, Manhattan-Bronx, Harlem River

TUNNELS
Holland Tunnel,
Lincoln Tunnel,
Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel,
Queens Midtown Tunnel,

VIADUCTS & OVERPASSES
127th Street Viaduct

Types of Bridges

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According to most information out there on the internet, the majority of people group bridges into six main types:

Beam bridges - a rigid, horizontal structure that rests on two end supports. Beam bridges are the most basic of bridge design – like a log over a creek.

Cantilever bridges - a bridge built using cantilevers: structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end.
A simple cantilever span is formed by two arms that extend from opposite sides of the obstacle to be crossed and meet at the center.
The Queensboro Bridge is an example of a cantilever bridge.

Arch bridges - a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch.
The Hell Gate Bridge is an example of an arch bridge.

Suspension bridges - Suspended from two high locations over a river or canyon, simple suspension bridges follow a shallow downward arc. Advances led to the development of the suspended-deck suspension bridge, a modern bridge capable of carrying vehicles and light rail. Instead of the deck following the downward arc of the main load-bearing cables (or chains), these cables are suspended between towers, and vertical suspender cables carry the weight of the deck below, upon which traffic crosses.
The Brooklyn Bridge is an example of a suspension bridge.

Cable-Stayed bridges - a bridge that consists of one or more columns (normally referred to as towers or pylons), with cables supporting the bridge deck. The cable-stay design is the optimum bridge for a span length between that of cantilever bridges and suspension bridges.
The East 153rd Street Bridge is an example of a cable-stayed bridge.

Truss bridges - a bridge composed of connected elements (typically straight) which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. This type of bridge structure has a fairly simple design and is particularly cheap to construct owing to its efficient use of materials. The truss may carry its roadbed on top, in the middle, or at the bottom of the truss.
The Kosciuszco Bridge is an example of a truss bridge.

Subgroups of these include:
Aqueduct, Causeway, Clapper, Compression Arch Suspended Deck,
Girder, Pontoon, Segmental, Side Spar, Trestle, Tubular, and Viaduct.

Moveable bridges are seen as a separate engineering idea, and include:
Drawbridge - the bridge deck is hinged on one end
Bascule bridge - a drawbridge hinged on pins with a counterweight to facilitate raising
Folding bridge - a drawbridge with multiple sections that collapse together horizontally
Curling bridge - a drawbridge with multiple sections that curl vertically
Lift bridge - the bridge deck is lifted up by counterweighted cables mounted on towers
Table bridge - a lift bridge with the lifting mechanism mounted underneath it
Retractable bridge (Thrust bridge) - the bridge deck is retracted to one side
Rolling bascule bridge - an unhinged drawbridge which is lifted by the rolling of a large gear segment along a horizontal rack
Submersible bridge - the bridge deck is lowered down into the water
Tilt bridge - the bridge deck, which is curved, is lifted up at an angle
Swing bridge - the bridge deck rotates around a fixed point, usually at the center, but may resemble a gate in its operation
Transporter bridge - a structure high above carries a suspended, ferry-like structure
Jetway - a passenger bridge to an airplane

Most information taken from Wikipedia "Bridge" Entry
For a graphic layout of basic bridge types go to pghbridges.com

Frequently Asked Questions

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NYC Bridge Information from the DOT

Q: How many bridges are there in New York City? How many are under the jurisdiction of DOT?
A: There are 2,027 bridges in New York City. DOT's Division of Bridges is responsible for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of the 787 bridges (including 6 tunnels) and 67 culverts presently under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation.

Q: Who other than DOT operates bridges and tunnels in New York City?
A:MTA Bridges and Tunnels (formerly known as the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority) operates the following structures: Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge, Henry Hudson Bridge, Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, Queens Midtown Tunnel, Throgs Neck Bridge, Triborough Bridge, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The MetroNorth Railroad and the Long Island Railroad, both subsidiaries of the MTA, operate bridges and tunnels on their rail lines.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates the following bridges and tunnels: Bayonne Bridge, George Washington Bridge, Goethals Bridge, Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, Outerbridge Crossing.

Q: Which bridge carries the largest amount of daily traffic?
A: The Queensboro Bridge. On an average weekday in 2004, some 180,369 vehicles crossed this celebrated cantilevered bridge between 59th Street in Manhattan and Long Island City in Queens. The Brooklyn Bridge had 137,563 vehicle crossings, the Williamsburg Bridge had 110,528 and the Manhattan Bridge had 79,129.

Q: How many New York City bridges are classified as historic landmarks?
A: As of January 1, 1998, ten bridges in New York City had been awarded some degree of landmark status. They include seven that are under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Transportation: the Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queensboro, Washington, University Heights, Carroll Street and Macombs Dam Bridges. The three landmarked bridges not operated by DOT are the George Washington Bridge (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey), Highbridge (NYC Department of Environmental Protection), and Hell Gate Bridge (Amtrak).

Q: What was the first bridge built in New York City? What is the oldest bridge still standing in New York City?
A: New York City’s first bridge, known as the King’s Bridge, was constructed in 1693. Fitted with stone abutments and a timber deck, it spanned Spuyten Duyvil Creek between Manhattan and the Bronx. It was demolished in 1917. The oldest bridge still standing in New York City is Highbridge, which spans the Harlem River between Manhattan and the Bronx; it was built in 1843. Highbridge is an aqueduct that carries a water main; it is not accessible to passengers or vehicles. The oldest bridge that is open to passengers or vehicles is the Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883.

Q: When were the East River Bridges built? Which of the East River Bridges is the longest?
A: The four major bridges over the East River were constructed within four decades, from the start of construction on the Brooklyn Bridge in January 1870 to completion of the Manhattan Bridge in December 1909. The Brooklyn Bridge, one of New York City’s most celebrated architectural wonders and arguably the most influential bridge in American history, was completed in 1883. Designed by John Augustus Roebling and completed by his son Washington Roebling, the Brooklyn Bridge was, at the time of its completion, the longest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span of 1595.5 feet. The Williamsburg Bridge, with its 35-story steel towers, is the largest of the three suspension bridges that span the East River. When it was completed in 1903, it became the longest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span that is 1,600 feet long.
The two-decked Queensboro Bridge is one of the greatest cantilever bridges in the history of American bridge design. It was completed in March 1909. The last of the great bridges constructed across the East River, the Manhattan Bridge, opened on traffic on December 31, 1909.

Q: How many movable bridges does New York City operate?
A: There are 25 movable bridges in New York City, including two retractile bridges, seven swing bridges, four lift bridges, and twelve bascule (drawbridge) bridges.

Q: How many bridges connect Manhattan to other Boroughs or States?
A: There are 21 major bridges that connect to the island of Manhattan.

Manhattan Only - In order from West to East
(The Hudson to the Harlem to the East Rivers) and North to South.

George Washington Bridge
Spuyten Duyvil Rail Bridge
Henry Hudson Bridge
Broadway Bridge
University Heights Bridge
Washington Bridge
Alexander Hamilton Bridge
Highbridge
Macombs Dam Bridge
145th Street Bridge
Madison Avenue Bridge
Park Avenue Bridge
Third Avenue Bridge
Willis Avenue Bridge
Triborough Bridge
Wards Island Pedestrian Bridge
Roosevelt Island Bridge
Queensboro Bridge
Williamsburg Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge

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