East River Bridges and Tunnels
Manhattan Bridge
The third suspension bridge over the East River, connects Canal Street in Chinatown to Flatbush Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn. Has two levels, with four roadway lanes (two each direction) on the upper level and three reversible/bi-directional lanes along with four subway track on the lower deck.
This bridge was designed and built by Polish enigneer Ralph Modjeski using a defliction cable design. Beginning in the 1980s subway service over the bridge was subject to disruption due to neglect on the bridge. Heavy trains (BMT Standards and Triplexes, and later R27/30s and R68s) contributed to stress on the bridge structure. The tracks on the north side of the bridge (IND 6 Avenue line) were closed in 1995 and in 2001-04 and the Broadway BMT south tracks were closed from 1988-2001 except briefly in 1990.
Pedestrian and bike lanes have recently opened on the bridge. They are located on the south and north sides of the lower level, respectively.
Statistics:
Main span length: 1470 feet (448.05 m)
Total length: 6855 feet (2.09 km)
Opening date: December 31, 1909
Brooklyn Bridge
Perhaps New York's most famous bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge was built between 1869 and 1883 and cost the original builder's life as well as may other workers to construct. John A. Roebling, the bridge's planner died as he was surveying the site for a tower and died of a infection when his foot was crushed by a ferry. It took 14 years for his son Washington and wife Emily to complete the span, with its signature Gothic towers and view of Lower Manhattan.
When it opened, the Brooklyn Bridge carried horses and carriages, el trains, trolleys and pedestrians. Currently it has three lanes in each direction for passenger vehicles and the pedestrian/bicycle path that is a famous attraction.
Statistics:
Main span length:1595.5 feet (486.3 m)
Total length:6016 feet (1.83 km)
Opening date: May 24, 1883
Williamsburg Bridge
The largest and most massive of three East River suspension bridges, the Williamsburg was the first suspension bridge to be built entirely of steel. Leffert Buck and Henry Hornbostel (later designer of the Queensboro Bridge) were responsible for this design, which was probably derived from Gustave Eiffel, with massive steelwork and frame trusses.
The massive structure has 8 vehicular lanes (inner and outer), two pedestrian/bike lanes on the upper level and two subway tracks for the BMT Jamaica (J/M/Z) line. Since the 1980s the bridge has been under a constant state of reconstruction, with work done to rehabilitate the existing structure.
Statistics:
Main span length: 1600 feet(487.68 m)
Total length: 7308 feet (2.227 km)
Opening date: December 19, 1903
Photos:
Bridge overview
Superstructure
Midway point on the main span
Queensboro Bridge
Perhaps best known as the 59 Street Bridge, the Queensboro Bridge connects Queens Plaza in Long Island City, Queens and 59/60 Streets in East Midtown Manhattan. It is only cantilever bridge on the East River and among the handful in the New York area (the others including the Goethals Bridge, Outerbridge Crossing and Pulaski Skyway).
The Queensboro actually consist of 5 spans. From east to west they are the Queens anchor span, East Channel main span, Roosevelt Island center span, West Channel main span and Manhattan anchor span. Like the Manhattan, George Washingon and Verrazano bridges, there are two levels here. The upper level has four lanes (two each direction) and connects to 57/58 or 62/63 Streets in Manhattan and Queens Plaza in Queens via a long spiral ramp. The lower level has two lanes each direction plus a outer lane for eastbound only traffic. The north outer lane is a pedestrian/bike path and is used for the NYC Marathon every November.
When built, the upper level of the Queensboro Bridge was used for the Second Avenue Elevated Railway to provide through service to Astoria and Flushing. Service was terminated June 13, 1942. The outer lower deck lanes hosted trolley service of the Queensboro Bridge Railway until April 7, 1957.
Statistics:
Main span length: 1182 feet/360.27 m (west main span), 630 feet/192 m (Roosevelt Island span), 984 feet/299.92 m (east main span)
Total length: 7449 feet (2.27 km)
Opening date: March 30, 1909
Triborough Bridge
The Triborugh Bridge is actually a 3-bridge complex connecting Manhattan, Bronx and Queens via Randalls/Wards Island including a suspension bridge, truss span and vertical lift as well as a elevated viaduct connecting all three spans. It is the flagship facility of MTA Bridges and Tunnels (Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority)
Opened in 1936, the Art Deco stucture was concieved as a public work project during the peak of the Depression. Designed by Othmar Ammmann, the blend of designs can be seen on all three structures, including the through truss of the Bronx Kill Bridge to the Art Deco suspension bridge over the Hell Gate connecting Wards Island to Astoria. The spur to Manhattan conists of a lift span.
Statistics:
Main span length: 1380 feet/420.62 m (suspension span), 310 feet/94.49 m (lift span), 383 feet/116.74 m (truss spans)
Opening date: July 11, 1936
Photos:
East River (Hell Gate) suspension bridge
Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel
The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel is the longest underwater vehicular highway tunnel in North America. Carrying Interstate 478, it connects West Street in Lower Manhattan to the Gowanus Expressway in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Urban builder Robert Moses originally intended the Battery crossing to be a bridge, but was the plans were changed to a tunnel. Construction began in 1940 but was delayed by World War II and metal shortages. Work resumed at the end of the war in 1945 and the tunnel opened May 1950.
There are two tubes with two lanes each. The white building on the north end of Governors Island is actually a ventilation house for the tunnel.
Statistics:
Length: 9117 feet (2.78 km)
Opening date: May 25, 1950
Queens-Midtown Tunnel
Connecting 36 Street in East Midtown with the Long Island Expressway in Queens, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel is a two-tube tunnel operated by MTA Bridges and Tunnels. Construction began in the late 1930s and the tunnel opened in 1940. Recently this tunnel has been made famous in the 1997 film Men in Black with Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith.
Statistics:
Length: 6414 feet/1.95 km (north tube), 6272 feet/1.91 km (south tube)
Opening date: November 15, 1940