Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
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The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (RFK Bridge; also known by its previous name, the Triborough Bridge) is a complex of bridges and elevated expressway viaducts<ref name=MTA /> in New York City. The bridges link the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. The viaducts cross Randalls and Wards Islands, previously two islands and now joined by landfill.
The RFK Bridge, a toll bridge, carries Interstate 278 (I-278) as well as the unsigned highway New York State Route 900G. It connects with the FDR Drive and the Harlem River Drive in Manhattan, the Bruckner Expressway (I-278) and the Major Deegan Expressway (Interstate 87) in the Bronx, and the Grand Central Parkway (I-278) and Astoria Boulevard in Queens. The three primary bridges of the RFK Bridge complex are:<ref name="MTA">Template:Cite web</ref>
- The vertical-lift bridge over the Harlem River, the largest in the world, connecting Manhattan Island to Randalls Island (all within Manhattan)
- The truss bridge over Bronx Kill, connecting Randalls Island to the Bronx
- The suspension bridge over Hell Gate (a strait of the East River), connecting Wards Island to Astoria in Queens
These three bridges are connected by an elevated highway viaduct across Randalls and Wards Islands and Template:Convert of support roads. The viaduct includes a smaller span across the former site of Little Hell Gate, which separated Randalls and Wards Islands.<ref name=MTA/><ref name="NYC Parks">See:
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web</ref> Also part of the complex is a grade-separated T-interchange on Randalls Island, which sorted out traffic in a way that ensured that drivers paid a toll at only one bank of tollbooths.Template:Sfn The tollbooths have since been removed, and all tolls are collected electronically at the approaches to each bridge.
The bridge complex was designed by Allston Dana with the collaboration of Othmar Ammann and architect Aymar Embury II,<ref name=encnyc>Shanor, Rebecca Read. "Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge [Triborough Bridge]" in Template:Cite enc-nyc2</ref> and has been called "not a bridge so much as a traffic machine, the largest ever built".Template:Sfn The American Society of Civil Engineers designated the Triborough Bridge Project as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1986.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The bridge is owned and operated by MTA Bridges and Tunnels (formally the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, or TBTA), an affiliate of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Description
The RFK Bridge is made of four segments. The three primary spans traverse the East River to Queens; the Harlem River to Manhattan; and Bronx Kill to the Bronx,<ref name="Duffus 1936">Template:Cite web</ref> while the fourth is a T-shaped approach viaduct that leads to an interchange plaza between the three primary spans on Randalls Island. The Queens arm of the viaduct formerly crossed Little Hell Gate, a creek located between Randalls Island to the north and Wards Island to the south.<ref name=MTA/> Excluding elevated ramps, the segments are a total of Template:Convert long, with a Template:Convert span between the Bronx and Queens, and a Template:Convert span between Manhattan and the interchange plaza.Template:Sfn<ref name="The New York Times 1932">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Duffus 1936" /> In total, the bridge contains Template:Convert of roadway, including elevated ramps.<ref name="The New York Times 1936">Template:Cite web</ref>
The bridge was primarily designed by chief engineer Othmar H. Ammann and architect Aymar Embury II.<ref name="encnyc" /> Wharton Green served as the Public Works Administration (PWA)'s resident engineer for the project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
East River suspension bridge (I-278)
The East River span, a suspension bridge across the Hell Gate of the East River, connects Queens with Wards Island. It carries eight lanes of Interstate 278, four in each direction, as well as a sidewalk on the northeastern side. The span connects to Grand Central Parkway, and indirectly to the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway (I-278), in Astoria, Queens.<ref name="google">Template:Google maps</ref> Originally it connected to the intersection of 25th Avenue and 31st Street; the former was later renamed Hoyt Avenue.<ref name="The New York Times 1931" /> The suspension span was designed by chief engineer Othmar Ammann.Template:Sfn The span was originally designed to be double-decked, with eight lanes on each deck.Template:Sfn<ref name="The New York Times 1932" /> When the construction of the Triborough Bridge was paused in 1932 due to lack of funding, the suspension span was downsized to a single deck. There are Warren trusses on each side of the span, which stiffen the deck.Template:Sfn
The center span between the two suspension towers is Template:Convert long,Template:Sfn<ref name="p1269892716">Template:Cite news</ref> and the side spans between the suspension towers and the anchorages are each Template:Convert long.Template:Sfn The total length of the bridge is Template:Convert, and the deck is Template:Convert wide.Template:Sfn The columns under the Wards Island approach roadway were originally placed atop 400,000 steel ball bearings, allowing the roadway to move sideways by up to Template:Convert in either direction.<ref name="p1269892716" />
At mean high water, the towers are Template:Convert tall, and there is Template:Convert of clearance under the middle of the main span.Template:Sfn The suspension towers were originally designed by Arthur I. Perry. Each tower was supposed to have two ornate arches at the top, similar to the Brooklyn Bridge, and was to have been supported by four legs: two on the outside and two in the center.Template:Sfn<ref name="The New York Times 1932" /> A 1932 article described that each tower would be made of 5,000 tons of material, including 3,680 tons of steel.<ref name="The New York Times 1932" /> The final design of the suspension towers, by Ammann, consists of comparatively simple cross bracing supported by two legs.Template:Sfn The tops of each tower contain cast iron saddles in the Art Deco style, over which the bridge's main cables run. These are topped by Template:Convert decorative lanterns with red aircraft warning lights.Template:Sfn
The span is supported by two main cables, which suspend the deck and are held up by the suspension towers. Each cable is Template:Convert in diameter and contains Template:Convert of individual wires.<ref name="Feuer 2009" /> Each main cable is composed of 37 strands of 248 wires, for a total of 9,176 wires in each cable. The wires are fastened together by "strand shoes", placed at regular intervals.<ref name="p1221973115">Template:Cite news</ref> At the Wards Island and Astoria ends of the suspension span, there are two anchorages that hold the main cables.<ref name="The New York Times 1932" /><ref name="p1221973115" /> The anchorages contain a combined 133,500 tons of concrete.<ref name="Feuer 2009" /> There are also bents atop each anchorage, which conceal the ends of each main cable.<ref name="p1221973115" />
Harlem River lift bridge (NY 900G)
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The Harlem River span is a lift bridge that connects Manhattan with Randalls Island, designed by chief engineer Ammann.Template:Sfn It carries six lanes of New York State Route 900G (NY 900G), an unsigned reference route, as well as two sidewalks, one on each side.<ref name="p1237390911">Template:Cite news</ref> The span connects to FDR Drive and Harlem River Drive, as well as the intersection of Second Avenue and East 125th Street, in East Harlem, Manhattan. At the time of its completion, the Harlem River lift bridge had the largest deck of any lift bridge in the world, with a surface area of Template:Convert. To lighten the deck, it was made of asphalt paved onto steel girders, rather than of concrete.Template:Sfn
The movable span is Template:Convert long<ref name="p1237390911" />Template:Sfn and Template:Convert wide.<ref name="p1237390911" /> The side spans between the movable span and the approach viaducts are each Template:Convert long. The total length of the bridge is Template:Convert.Template:Sfn The towers are Template:Convert above mean high water. Each of the lift towers is supported by two clusters of four columns, which supports the bridge deck. A curved truss at the top of each pair of column clusters forms an arch directly underneath the deck.Template:Sfn
The lift span is Template:Convert above mean high water in the "closed" position, but can be raised to Template:Convert.<ref name="p1237390911" />Template:Sfn The movable section is suspended by a total of 96 wire ropes, which are wrapped around pulleys with Template:Convert diameters.Template:Sfn These pulleys, in turn, are powered by four motors that can operate at Template:Convert.Template:Sfn<ref name="Brock 1935">Template:Cite web</ref>
Exit list
NY 900G is officially maintained as a north–south route, despite its largely east-west progression.<ref name=2014tdr/> Template:NYinttop Template:NYCint Template:NYCint Template:Jctbridge Template:NYCint Template:NYCint Template:NYCint Template:Jctbtm
Bronx Kill crossing (I-278)
The Bronx Kill span is a truss bridge that connects the Bronx with Randalls Island. It carries eight lanes of I-278, as well as two sidewalks, one on each side. The span connects to Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) and the Bruckner Expressway (I-278) in Mott Haven, Bronx.<ref name="google"/> It originally connected to the intersection of East 134th Street and Cypress Avenue, a site now occupied by the interchange between I-87 and I-278.<ref name="The New York Times 1931" /> The truss span was designed by consulting engineers Ash-Howard-Needles and Tammen.Template:Sfn
The Bronx Kill span contains three main truss crossings, which are fixed spans because the Bronx Kill is not used by regular boat traffic.<ref name="Brock 1935" /> The main truss span across the Bronx Kill is Template:Convert long,Template:Sfn while the approaches are a combined Template:Convert.<ref name="NYC Parks"/>Template:Sfn The total length of the bridge is Template:Convert. The truss span is Template:Convert above mean high water.Template:Sfn
Interchange plaza and approach viaducts
The three spans of the RFK Bridge intersect at a grade-separated T-interchange on Randalls Island.<ref name="google" /> The span to Manhattan intersects perpendicularly with the I-278 viaduct between the Bronx and Queens spans.<ref name="Brock 1935" /> Although I-278 is signed as a west-east highway, the orientation of I-278 on the bridge is closer to a north-south alignment, with the southbound roadway carrying westbound traffic, and the northbound roadway carrying eastbound traffic.<ref name="google" /> Two circular ramps carry traffic to and from eastbound I-278 and the RFK lift bridge to Manhattan.<ref name="google" />Template:Sfn<ref name="Brock 1935 2">Template:Cite web</ref> Randalls and Wards Islands are accessed via exits and entrances to and from westbound I-278; to and from the westbound lift bridge viaduct; to eastbound I-278; and from the eastbound lift bridge viaduct. Eastbound traffic on I-278 accesses the island by first exiting onto the lift bridge viaduct.<ref name="google" />
The interchange plaza originally contained two tollbooths: one for traffic traveling to and from Manhattan, and one for traffic traveling on I-278 between the Bronx and Queens. The tollbooths were arranged so vehicles only paid one toll upon entering Randalls and Wards Islands, and there was no charge to exit the island.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="Brock 1935 2" /> The elevated toll plazas had a surface area of about Template:Convert and were supported by 1,700 columns, all hidden behind a concrete retaining wall.Template:Sfn In 2017, the MTA started collecting all tolls electronically at the approaches to each bridge,<ref name="NY1 2017" /> and the tollbooths were removed from the toll plazas on the RFK Bridge and all other MTA Bridges and Tunnels crossings.<ref name="Walker 2017">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Newsday"/>
The Robert Moses Administration Building, a two-story Art Deco structure designed by Embury, served as the headquarters of the TBTA (now the MTA's Bridges and Tunnels division). The building was next to the Manhattan span's plaza, to which it was connected. In 1969, the Manhattan span's toll plaza was moved west and the I-278 toll plaza was moved south, and both toll plazas were expanded more than threefold. This required the destruction of the building's original towers. A room was built in 1966 to store Moses's models and blueprints of planned roads and crossings, but they were moved to the MTA's headquarters at 2 Broadway in the 1980s. The building was renamed after Moses in 1989.<ref name="Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) 2011">Template:Cite web</ref>
The interchange plaza connects with the over-water spans via a three-legged concrete viaduct that has a total length of more than Template:Convert. The segments of the viaduct rest atop steel girders, which in turn are placed perpendicularly between concrete piers spaced Template:Convert apart.Template:Sfn Each pier is supported by a set of three octagonal columns. The viaduct is mostly eight lanes wide, except at the former locations of the toll plazas, where it widens. The viaduct once traversed Little Hell Gate, a small creek that formerly separated Randalls Island to the north and Wards Island to the south; the waterway has since been filled in.Template:Sfn The viaduct rose Template:Convert above the mean high water of Little Hell Gate.<ref name="Brock 1935" />
Development
Planning
Initial plans
Edward A. Byrne, chief engineer of the New York City Department of Plant and Structures, first announced plans for connecting Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx in 1916.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn The next year, the Harlem Boards of Trade and Commerce and the Harlem Luncheon Association announced their support for such a bridge, which was proposed to cost $10 million. The "Tri-Borough Bridge", as it was called, would connect 125th Street in Manhattan, St. Ann's Avenue in the Bronx, and an as-yet-undetermined location in Queens. It would parallel the Hell Gate Bridge, a railroad bridge connecting Queens and the Bronx via Randalls and Wards Islands.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Plans for the Tri-Borough Bridge were bolstered by the 1919 closure of a ferry between Yorkville in Manhattan and Astoria in Queens.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A bill to construct the bridge was proposed in the New York State Legislature in 1920.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Gustav Lindenthal, who had designed the Hell Gate Bridge, criticized the Tri-Borough plan as "uncalled for", as the new Tri-Borough Bridge would parallel the existing Hell Gate Bridge. He stated that the Hell Gate Bridge could be retrofitted with an upper deck for vehicular and pedestrian use.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Queens borough president Maurice K. Connolly also opposed the bridge, arguing that there was no need to construct a span between Queens and the Bronx due to low demand. Connolly also said that a bridge between Queens and Manhattan needed to be built further downstream, closer to the Queensboro Bridge, which at the time was the only bridge between the two boroughs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Port of New York Authority included the proposed Tri-Borough Bridge in a report to the New York state legislature in 1921.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The following year, the planned bridge was also included in a "transit plan" published by Mayor John Francis Hylan, who called for the construction of the Tri-Borough Bridge as part of the city-operated Independent Subway System (see Template:Section link).<ref name="NYTimes-Subway-1922">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NYDN-Subway-1922">Template:Cite news</ref> In March 1923, a vote was held on whether to allocate money to perform surveys and test borings, as well as create structural plans for the Tri-Borough Bridge. The borough presidents of Manhattan and the Bronx voted for the allocation of the funds, while the presidents of Queens and Staten Island agreed with Hylan, who preferred the construction of the new subway system instead of the Tri-Borough Bridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The bridge allocation was ultimately not approved.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Another attempt at obtaining funds was declined in 1924, although there was a possibility that the bridge could be built based on assessment plans that were being procured.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Funding
The Tri-Borough Bridge project finally received funding in June 1925, when the city appropriated $50,000 for surveys, test borings and structural plans. Work started on a tentative design for the bridge.<ref name="NYC Parks" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By December 1926, the $50,000 allotment had been spent on bores.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Around the same time, the proposal to convert the Hell Gate Bridge resurfaced.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Albert Goldman, the Commissioner of Plant and Structures, had finished a tentative report for the Tri-Borough Bridge by that time; however, it was not immediately submitted to the New York City Board of Estimate as a result of a reorganization of the city's proposed budget.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Goldman finally published the report in March 1927, stating that the bridge was estimated to cost $24.6 million.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He explained that the Hell Gate Bridge only had enough space for five lanes of roadway, so a new bridge would have to be constructed parallel to it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Though two mayoral committees endorsed the Tri-Borough plan,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as did several merchants' associations,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> construction was delayed for a year because of a lack of funds.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Board of Estimate did approve $150,000 in May 1927 for preliminary borings and soundings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That September, a group of entrepreneurs proposed to fund the bridge privately.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Under this plan, the bridge would be set up as a toll bridge, and ownership would be transferred to the city once the bridge was paid for.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In August 1928, Mayor Jimmy Walker received a similar proposal from the Long Island Board of Commerce to build the Tri-Borough Bridge using $32 million of private capital.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Queens Chamber of Commerce also favored setting up tolls on the bridge to pay for its construction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Yet another plan called for financing the bridge using proceeds from a bond issue, which would also pay for the proposed Queens–Midtown Tunnel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Tri-Borough Bridge was being planned in conjunction with the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway, which would create a continuous highway between the Bronx and Brooklyn with a southward extension over The Narrows to Staten Island. In January 1929, New York City aldermanic president Joseph V. McKee endorsed the bridge, saying there was enough funding to begin one of four proposed bridges on the expressway's route.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The newly elected borough president of Queens, George U. Harvey, also endorsed the bridge, as did Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce leader George Vincent McLaughlin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trade groups petitioned Mayor Walker to take up the bridge's construction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By the end of the month, Walker acquiesced, and he had included both the Tri-Borough Bridge and a tunnel under the Narrows in his 10-year traffic program.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The preliminary borings were completed by late February 1929.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The results of the preliminary borings showed that the bedrock in the ground underneath the proposed bridge was sufficient to support the spans' foundations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In early March, the Board of Estimate voted to start construction on the bridge and on the Narrows tunnel once funding was obtained. The same month, the board allocated $3 million toward the bridge's construction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Separately, the Board of Estimate voted to create an authority to impose toll charges on both crossings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In April 1929, the New York state legislature voted to approve the Tri-Borough Bridge as well as a prison on Rikers Island before adjourning for the fiscal year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The same month, New York state governor Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill to approve the move of about 700 beds in Wards Island's mental hospital, which were in the way of the proposed bridge's suspension span to Queens.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The New York state legislature later approved a bill that provided for moving the Queens span's Wards Island end, Template:Convert to the west, thereby preserving hospital buildings from demolition.<ref name="The New York Times 1929" />
Finalization of plans
The bridge was ultimately planned to cost $24 million and was planned to start construction in August 1929.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By July, the groundbreaking was scheduled for September.<ref name="The New York Times 1929 2">Template:Cite web</ref> The preliminary Triborough Bridge proposal comprised four bridges: a suspension span across the East River to Queens; a truss span across Bronx Kill to the Bronx; a fixed span across the Harlem River to Manhattan; and a steel arch viaduct across the no-longer-extant Little Hell Gate between Randalls and Wards Islands.<ref name="The New York Times 1929 2" />
In August 1929, plans for the bridge were submitted to the United States Department of War for approval to ensure that the proposed Tri-Borough Bridge would not block any maritime navigation routes. Railroad and shipping groups objected that the proposed Harlem River span, with a height of Template:Convert above mean high water, was too short for most ships, and suggested building a Template:Convert suspension span over the Harlem River instead.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Because of complaints about maritime navigational clearance, the Department of War approved an increase in the Harlem River fixed bridge's height to Template:Convert, as well as an increase in the length of the Hell Gate suspension bridge's main span from Template:Convert.<ref name="The New York Times 1929" />
Initial construction
The scale of the Triborough Bridge project, including its approaches, was such that hundreds of large apartment buildings were demolished to make way for it. The structure used concrete from factories "from Maine to the Mississippi", and steel from 50 mills in Pennsylvania. To make the formwork for pouring the concrete, a forest's worth of trees on the Pacific Coast was cut down.Template:Sfn Robert Caro, the author of a biography on Long Island State Parks commissioner and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority chairman Robert Moses, wrote about the project:
Triborough was not a bridge so much as a traffic machine, the largest ever built. The amount of human energy expended in its construction gives some idea of its immensity: more than five thousand men would be working at the site, and these men would only be putting into place the materials furnished by the labor of many times five thousand men; before the Triborough Bridge was completed, its construction would have generated more than 31,000,000 man-hours of work in 134 cities in twenty states.Template:Sfn
First contracts
The Board of Estimate approved the first contracts for the Triborough Bridge in early October 1929, specifically for the construction bridge piers on Randalls and Wards Islands and in Queens. This allowed for the start of construction on the Triborough Bridge's suspension span to Queens.<ref name="The New York Times 1929">Template:Cite web</ref> A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Astoria Park, Queens, on October 25, 1929, just a day after Black Thursday, which started the Great Depression.<ref name="Feuer 2009">Template:Cite web</ref> Mayor Walker turned over the first spadeful of dirt for the bridge in front of 10,000 visitors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the groundbreaking ceremony, further construction was delayed because the company originally contracted to build the piers, the Albert A. Volk Company, refused to carry out the contract. In early December, the contract for the piers was reassigned to the McMullen Company.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Meanwhile, the Board was condemning the land in the path of the bridge's approaches.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, this process was also postponed because homeowners wanted to sell their property to the city at exceedingly high prices.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The War Department gave its approval to the Bronx Kills, East River, and Little Hell Gate spans in late April 1930, after construction was already underway on the Queens suspension span across the East River.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A week later, the War Department also approved the Harlem River span, with another amendment: the span was now a movable lift bridge, which could be raised to allow maritime traffic to pass.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Shortly afterward, a special mayoral committee sanctioned a $5 million expenditure for the Triborough project,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and in July 1930, a $5 million bond issue to fund the Triborough Bridge's construction was passed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Plans for an expressway to connect to the bridge's Queens end were also filed in July 1930. This later became the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway, which was connected to the bridge via the Grand Central Parkway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There were also proposals for an expressway to connect to the Bronx end of the bridge along Southern Boulevard.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Robert Moses, the Long Island state parks commissioner, wanted to expand Grand Central Parkway from its western terminus at the time, Union Turnpike in Kew Gardens, Queens, northwest to the proposed bridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway proposal, which would create a highway from the Queens end of the bridge to Queens Boulevard in Woodside, Queens, was also considered.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A contract to build the suspension anchorage on Wards Island was awarded in January 1931.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the time, progress on the bridge approaches was proceeding rapidly, and it was expected that the entire Triborough Bridge complex would be completed in 1934.<ref name="The New York Times 1931">Template:Cite web</ref> By August 1931, it was reported that the Wards Island anchorage was 33% completed, and that the corresponding anchorage on the Queens side was 15% completed. Work on drainage dikes, as well as contracts for bridge approach piers, were also progressing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A report the next month indicated that the overall project was 6% completed, and that another $2.45 million in contracts was planned to be awarded over the following year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In October, contracts for constructing the bridge piers were advertised.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By December 1931, the project was 15% completed,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the city was accepting designs for the Queens span's suspension towers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The granite foundations in the water near each bank of the East River, which would support the suspension towers, were completed in early or mid-1932.<ref name="Daily News 1932">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the time, there were no funds to build six additional piers on Randalls Island and one in Little Hell Gate, nor were there funds to build the suspension towers themselves.<ref name="Daily News 1932" />
Funding issues
The Great Depression severely impacted the city's ability to finance the Triborough Bridge's construction.<ref name="Feuer 2009" /> City comptroller Charles W. Berry had stated in February 1930 that the city was in sound financial condition, even though other large cities were nearing bankruptcy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, the New York City government was running out of money by that July.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Triborough project's outlook soon began to look bleak. Chief engineer Othmar Ammann was enlisted to help guide the project, but the combination of Tammany Hall graft, the stock market crash, and the Great Depression which followed it, brought the project to a virtual halt.Template:Sfn Investors shied away from purchasing the municipal bonds needed to fund it.<ref name="encnyc" />
By early 1932, the Triborough Bridge project was in danger of cancellation.<ref name="fednyc">Template:Cite fednyc</ref> As part of $213 million in cuts to the city's budget, Berry wanted to halt construction on the span in order to avoid a $43.7 million budget shortage by the end of that year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With no new contracts being awarded, the chief engineer of the Department of Plant and Structures, Edward A. Byrne, warned in March 1932 that construction on the Triborough Bridge would have to be halted.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Though Queens borough president Harvey objected to the impending postponement of the bridge's construction,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the project was still included in the $213 million worth of budget cuts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following this, Goldman submitted a proposal to fund the planning stages for the remaining portions of construction, so that work could resume immediately once sufficient funding was available.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In August 1932, Senator Robert F. Wagner announced that he would ask for a $26 million loan from the federal government, namely President Herbert Hoover's Reconstruction Finance Corporation, so there could be funds for the construction of both the Triborough Bridge and Queens-Midtown Tunnel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Queens borough president Harvey also went to the RFC to ask for funding for the bridge.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Soon after, the RFC moved to prepare the loan for the Triborough Bridge project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, when Mayor Walker resigned suddenly in September 1932, his successor Joseph V. McKee refused to seek RFC or other federal aid for the two projects, stating, "If we go to Washington for funds to complete the Triborough Bridge [...] where would we draw the line?"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Governor Al Smith agreed, saying that such requests were unnecessary because the bridge could pay for itself.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Harvey continued to push for federal funding for the Triborough Bridge, prioritizing its completion over other projects such as the development of Jamaica Bay in southern Queens.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Civic groups also advocated for the city to apply for RFC funding.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In February 1933, a nine-person committee, appointed by Lehman and chaired by Moses, applied to the RFC for a $150 million loan for projects in New York state, including the Triborough Bridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, although the RFC favored a loan for the Triborough project,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the new mayor, John P. O'Brien, banned the RFC from giving loans to the city.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Instead, O'Brien wanted to create a bridge authority to sell bonds to pay for the construction of the Triborough Bridge as well as for the Queens-Midtown Tunnel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Robert Moses was also pushing the state legislature to create an authority to fund, build, and operate the Triborough Bridge.Template:Sfn A bill to create the Triborough Bridge Authority (TBA) passed quickly through both houses of the state legislature,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was signed by Governor Herbert H. Lehman that April. The bill included a provision that the authority could sell up to $35 million in bonds and fund the remainder of construction through bridge tolls.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> George Gordon Battle, a Tammany Hall attorney, was appointed as chairman of the new authority, and three commissioners were appointed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Shortly after the TBA bill was signed, the War Department extended its deadline for the Triborough Bridge's completion by three years, to April 28, 1936.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lehman also signed bills to clear land for a bridge approach in the Bronx,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and he promised to resume construction of the bridge.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That May, the TBA asked the RFC for a $35 million loan to pay for the bridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The RFC ultimately agreed in August to grant $44.2 million, to be composed of a loan of $37 million, as well as a $7.2 million subsidy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, the loan would only be given under a condition that 18,000 workers be hired first,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> so the city's Board of Estimate voted to hire 18,000 workers to work on the Triborough project.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The funds for the Triborough Bridge, as well as for the Lincoln Tunnel from Manhattan to New Jersey, were ready by the beginning of September.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Construction resumes
The city purchased land in the path of the Triborough Bridge in September 1933,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and construction on the Triborough Bridge resumed that November.<ref name="fednyc" /> By January 1934, contracts were being prepared for the completion of the suspension span and the construction of the other three spans;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> one of these contracts included the construction of the bridge's piers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That February, the TBA contemplated condensing the Queens span's 16-lane, double-deck roadway into an 8-lane, single deck road, as well as simplify the suspension towers' designs, to save $5 million.<ref name="p1240114691">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> According to the agency, it would take 40 years for the bridge to reach a level of traffic where all sixteen lanes were needed.Template:Sfn In April, a new plan was approved that would reduce the bridge's cost from $51 million to $42 million.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news</ref> Chief engineer Ammann had decided to collapse the original design's two-deck roadway into one, requiring lighter towers and lighter piers.Template:Sfn The steel company constructing the towers challenged the TBA's decision in an appellate court, but the court ruled in favor of the TBA.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1934 progress
By January 1934, the TBA was in turmoil: one of the TBA's commissioners had resigned,<ref name="p537592701">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> and New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia was trying another TBA commissioner, John Stratton O'Leary, for corruption.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The TBA's general counsel also resigned.<ref name="p1240094792">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> As a result, Public Works Administration (PWA) administrator Harold L. Ickes refused to distribute more of the RFC grant until the existing funds could be accounted for.<ref name="p129265945">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Ickes also warned that he would cancel the RFC grant if the political disputes regarding the TBA were not cleared up.<ref name="n142878263">Template:Cite news</ref> After O'Leary was removed, La Guardia appointed Moses to fill O'Leary's position,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Ickes also promised to give $1.5 million toward the bridge's construction,<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news</ref> which the city received that March.<ref name="p1243054471">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Moses became the chairman of the TBA in April 1934, after a series of interim chairmen had held the post.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Moses, who also had positions in the state and city governments, sought to expedite the project,<ref name="fednyc" /> awarding a contract in May for the construction of an approach highway to the Queens span.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A contract to clear land in the bridge's right-of-way was awarded in April 1934,<ref name="p1114813190a">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> and work began that month.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Over 300 buildings had to be destroyed.<ref name="p1114841582">Template:Cite news</ref> Families living in the path of the bridge's approaches protested the eviction notices given to them.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Harlem Market on First Avenue, which stood in the way of the Manhattan approach, was to be moved to the Bronx Terminal Market.<ref name="The New York Times 1934 n047">Template:Cite web</ref> The construction of the Triborough Bridge across Little Hell Gate also required the demolition of hospital buildings on Randalls and Wards Islands.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The New York City Department of Hospitals applied for funds to build the Seaview Hospital on Staten Island, which would house the hospital facilities displaced by the Triborough Bridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Homes in Astoria and wooden docks were also demolished to make way for the bridge.<ref name="p278802969">Template:Cite news</ref>
Moses continued to advocate for new roads and parkways to connect with the bridge as part of an interconnected parkway system.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The complex of roads included the Grand Central Parkway and Astoria Boulevard in Queens; 125th Street, the East River Drive (now the FDR Drive), and Harlem River Drive in Manhattan; and Whitlock Avenue and Eastern Boulevard (now Bruckner Expressway) in the Bronx.Template:Sfn The first of those roads, the Grand Central Parkway, was planned to start construction in early 1934.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That July, the Department of War approved the Bronx Kill span as a fixed truss span, since the Bronx Kill was not a navigable waterway; the span could be replaced with a lift bridge if needed.Template:Sfn<ref name="p1242838649">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> The same month, the city approved the first segment of the East River Drive, leading from the intersection of York Avenue and 92nd Street to the Triborough Bridge approach at 125th Street.Template:Sfn<ref name="p1222210420">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The bridge approach on the Bronx side was also finalized, running along Southern and Eastern boulevards,<ref name="p1222210420" /> with a future extension to Pelham Bay Park in the northeastern Bronx.<ref name="Robbins 1935">Template:Cite web</ref>
Civic groups advocated for an approach highway from the West Bronx,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Bronx borough president James J. Lyons tried to block the Board of Estimate from approving the Manhattan approach highway until a West Bronx approach was also provided for.<ref name="p1243765460">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Despite this, in October 1934, the Board of Estimate approved the East River Drive approach while rejecting the West Bronx approach.<ref name="p513607663">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> While reformers embraced Moses's plans to expand the parkway system, state and city officials were overwhelmed by their scale, and slow to move to provide financing for the vast system.Template:Sfn Partial funding came from interest-bearing bonds issued by the Triborough Bridge Authority, to be secured by future toll revenue.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Harvnb. The bonds not only helped to finance the project, but also assured that the Authority would be self-perpetuating and immune from legislative oversight, as the Authority's contractual obligations to the bond-holders were paramount and could not, according to the Authority's legal theory, be altered by legislative action. They also assured that the Triborough would never be toll free.</ref>
1935 progress
Financing disputes with the PWA involved complex political infighting.Template:Sfn The disputes peaked in January 1935, when Ickes passed a rule that effectively prohibited PWA funding for the TBA unless Moses resigned the post of either TBA chairman or New York City Parks Commissioner.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> This came as a result of Moses's criticism that New Deal funding programs like the PWA were too slow to disburse funds.<ref name=":0" /> Moses refused to resign in spite of Ickes's persistence,<ref name="p1221946237">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> and Ickes threatened to withhold salaries for TBA workers as well.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Though La Guardia was supportive of Moses, even petitioning Roosevelt for help,<ref name="The New York Times 1935 t187">Template:Cite web</ref> he was willing to replace the TBA chairman if it resulted in funding for the bridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In mid-March, Ickes suddenly backed down on his ultimatum; not only was Moses allowed to keep both of his positions, but the PWA also resumed its payments to the TBA.<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> La Guardia re-appointed Moses to the TBA the same year.<ref name="p1244948373">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref>
Meanwhile, in February 1935, the TBA awarded a contract to construct the piers for the Harlem River lift structure.<ref name="p1243958468">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Despite an impending lack of funds due to the dispute between Moses and Ickes, the TBA announced its intent to open bids for bridge steelwork.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By March, the suspension towers for the East River span to Queens were nearing completion, and support piers on Randalls and Wards Islands had progressed substantially.<ref name="p1221564975">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Robbins 1935" /> After the Moses–Ickes dispute had subsided, the TBA started advertising for bids to build the steel roadways of the Randalls and Wards Islands viaducts, as well as the East River suspension span.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Less than a week afterward, the first temporary wires were strung between the two towers of the suspension span.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The wires in the main cables were laid by machines that traveled along these temporary wires.<ref name="p1221973115" /> A contract for the Harlem River lift span's steel superstructure was awarded that May,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> followed by a contract for the Bronx Kill truss span's structure the following month.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The spinning of the main span's suspension cables was finished in July 1935. By that time, half of the $41 million federal grant had been spent on construction, and the bridge was expected to open the following year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The bridge was expected to relieve traffic on nearby highways,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and, with the upcoming 1939 New York World's Fair being held in Queens, would also provide a new route to the fairground at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The construction of the Bronx approach was delayed after the city's corporation council found that the approach could not be built using federal funds.<ref name="The New York Times 1935 u328">Template:Cite web</ref> By October 1935, the Queens approach and the Randalls and Wards Islands viaduct was nearly complete. Vertical suspender cables had been hung from the main cables of the Queens suspension span, and the steel slabs to support the span's roadway deck were being erected. The concrete piers supporting Bronx span were still being constructed, and the site of the Manhattan span was marked only by its foundations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The deck of the Queens suspension span was completed the following month.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The work was dangerous, as some workers fell off the scaffolding that had been erected to allow them to build the suspension span, while others died due to lead poisoning.<ref name="p278802969" />
In November 1935, a controversy emerged over the fact that the Triborough Bridge would use steel imported from Nazi Germany, rather than American producers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although American steel producers objected to the contract, the PWA approved of it anyway, because the German steel contract was cheaper than any of the bids presented by American producers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Moses also approved of the decision because it would save money,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> and the TBA said that federal regulations had forced the agency to turn to a German manufacturer.<ref name="p1329340744">Template:Cite news</ref> La Guardia blocked the deal, writing that "the only commodity we can get from Hitlerland [Germany] is hatred, and we don't want any in our country",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Ickes also banned the use of imported materials on PWA projects.<ref name="p1221717653a">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> The TBA then re-awarded the contract to the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company.<ref name="p1329992785">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref>
1936 progress
By February 1936, the TBA had awarded contracts for paving the Bronx Kill and East River spans, as well as for constructing several administrative buildings for the TBA near the bridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lyons continued to object to Moses's plans for the bridge's Bronx approach.<ref name="The New York Times 1936 d446">Template:Cite web</ref> Moses wanted to speed up construction on the Triborough Bridge so that it would meet a deadline of July 11, 1936.<ref name=":1" /> He objected to Ickes's decision, in March 1936, to decentralize control of PWA resident engineers, who would report to state PWA bosses instead of directly to the PWA's main office in Washington, D.C. Moses believed that the PWA boss for New York, Arthur S. Tuttle, was indecisive.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="p150899869">Template:Cite news</ref> In return, Ickes assured Moses of Tuttle's full cooperation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The 300-by-84-foot superstructure of the Harlem River lift span was assembled in Weehawken, New Jersey. It was floated northward to the Triborough Bridge site in April 1936.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Early the next month, the 200-ton main lift span was hoisted into place above the Harlem River in a process that took sixteen minutes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, the city gave the New York City Omnibus Corporation a temporary permit to operate bus routes on the Triborough Bridge, connecting the bus stops at each of the bridge's ends, during the summer months.<ref name="p128880639">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Moses appealed to Ickes to increase the construction workers' workweeks from 30 to 40 hours so the bridge would be able to open on time, but was initially rejected.<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> A 40-hour workweek was approved that June.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As late as the day before the bridge's opening on July 11, workers were still putting finishing touches on the bridge and surrounding highways.<ref name="p1243506057">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1330097912">Template:Cite news</ref>
A byproduct of the Triborough project was the creation of parks and playgrounds in the lands underneath the bridges and approaches.<ref name="fednyc"/> The largest of these parks was Randall's Island Park, located on Wards and Randalls Islands.Template:Sfn<ref name="p1114826013"/> The park on Randalls Island was approved in February 1935<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and included an Olympic-sized running track called Downing Stadium, work on which began in mid-1935;Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news</ref> the stadium was incomplete at the time of the bridge's opening.<ref name="p1330097912" /> The plan included infilling a strait, Little Hell Gate, between the two islands.<ref name="p1114826013">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Smaller parks were also built in Astoria and Manhattan.<ref name="fednyc" /><ref name="NYC Parks" />
When the Triborough Bridge was finished, it was the largest PWA project in the eastern U.S.,<ref name="Bernstein 1936">Template:Cite web</ref> having cost $60.3 million (equivalent to $Template:Round billion in Template:Inflation-year) according to final TBA figures.<ref name="p1243506170">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=nyt-2009-06-26/> Based on expenditures, the PWA had originally estimated the bridge's cost to be as high as $64 million.<ref name="Bernstein 1936" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In either case, the Triborough Bridge was one of the largest public works projects of the Great Depression, more expensive than the Hoover Dam.<ref name="NYC Parks" />Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Of this, $16 million came from the city and $9 million directly from the PWA. The latter also purchased $35 million worth of TBA bonds, which were eventually bought back and resold to the public.<ref name="fednyc" /> The PWA had finished giving out the $35 million loan by February 1937,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation had sold the last of the TBA's funds that July.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Additional income came from toll collection: the toll was initially set at 25 cents per passenger car, with lower rates for motorcycles and higher rates for commercial vehicles.<ref name="The New York Times 1936 3">Template:Cite web</ref>
Operational history
Opening
The toll rates for the bridge were decided upon in March 1936.<ref name="The New York Times 1936 d902">Template:Cite web</ref> By May, the opening ceremonies for both the Triborough Bridge and the Downing Stadium were scheduled for July 11.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The dedication was scheduled to occur on the Manhattan lift span, prompting objections from both Bronx and Queens officials.<ref name="p1237410297">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Due to the previous conflicts between President Roosevelt and Robert Moses, the attendance of the former was not certain until two weeks before the ceremony.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> PWA administrator Ickes's attendance was finalized only four days beforehand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The completed structure, described by The New York Times as a "Y-shaped sky highway",<ref name="The New York Times 1936 2" /> was dedicated on Saturday, July 11, 1936, along with Downing Stadium.<ref name="The New York Times 1936 2" /><ref name="p1243473862a">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The ceremony for the Triborough Bridge was held at the interchange plaza, and was attended by Roosevelt, La Guardia, Lehman, Ickes, and Postmaster General James A. Farley, who all gave speeches.<ref name="p1243473862a" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Robert Moses acted as the master of ceremonies.<ref name="The New York Times 1936 2">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn The ceremonies were broadcast nationwide via radio,Template:Sfn and a parade was also held on 125th Street in Manhattan to celebrate the bridge's opening.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Queens residents, excluded from the official ceremony, hosted an unofficial gathering in Astoria.<ref name="p278802969" /> The Triborough Bridge opened to the general public at 1:30 p.m.,<ref name="p1248051331">Template:Cite news</ref> and by that midnight an estimated 200,000 people had visited the bridge.<ref name="The New York Times 1936 2" /><ref name="The New York Times 1936" /> The bridge saw 40,000 vehicles on its first full day, July 12,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and about 1,000 vehicles an hour on July 13, its first full weekdays.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The TBA recorded 242,000 total vehicles in the bridge's first week,<ref name="p128886478">Template:Cite news</ref> 953,100 during the first month,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and 2.7 million in its first three months.<ref name="p1223317305">Template:Cite news</ref>
After the bridge's opening, one Queens civic group predicted that the bridge would increase real-estate values in Queens and on Long Island at large.<ref name="p1348913060">Template:Cite news</ref> The ferry between Yorkville, Manhattan, and Astoria, Queens, was made redundant by the new Triborough Bridge,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the city had closed the ferry by the end of July 1936.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Traffic on the Queensboro Bridge, the only other vehicular bridge that connected Manhattan and Queens, declined after the Triborough Bridge opened,<ref name="p1240505622">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> though not by as much as city officials had anticipated.<ref name="p1222207327">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1937, the first full year of the bridge's operation, it generated $2.85 million (equivalent to $Template:Round million in Template:Inflation-year) in revenue from 11.18 million vehicles.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was far more than the 8 million vehicles that TBA officials had originally anticipated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The American Institute of Steel Construction declared the Triborough Bridge the "most beautiful" steel bridge constructed during 1936.<ref name="p515366438">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Newsday, writing retrospectively in 1994, said: "More than any other structure, the Triborough unified the boroughs of New York City."<ref name="p278802969" />
1930s to mid-1960s
Highway construction
When the bridge opened, none of the spans had direct connections to the greater system of highways in New York City.<ref name="Duffus 1936" /> In Queens, the Grand Central Parkway extension to the Triborough Bridge was nearly completed at the time of the bridge's opening. The Manhattan span was planned to connect to the East River Drive (now the FDR Drive), the first segments of which were still under construction.<ref name="Duffus 1936" /> The section of the East River Drive from the bridge south to 92nd Street opened that October.<ref name=p1237427444>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Originally, there was no direct access from the Queens span to Wards Island, but in November 1937, Moses announced the construction of a ramp from the Queens span that would lead down to the island.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The next year, a lawsuit was filed by two Wards Islands landowners, who alleged that the Triborough Bridge had been built on portions of their land. They each received nominal damages of $1.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Bronx span ended in local traffic at the no-longer extant intersection of 135th Street and Cypress Avenue.<ref name="Duffus 1936" /> The first of two approach highways in the Bronx was approved late in 1936<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was partially funded by the PWA.<ref name="p128804535">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Consisting of ramps to the intersection of 138th Street and Grand Concourse,<ref name=p1244862702>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> this highway opened in April 1939<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and later became part of the Major Deegan Expressway (Interstate 87).<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> Another approach highway in the Bronx, the present Bruckner Boulevard, was approved in 1938<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and extended eastward to the Bruckner Interchange.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both Bronx approach roads were completed in time for the 1939 New York World's Fair, which was held in Queens.<ref name=":2" />
Moses continued expanding the system of highways in the mid-20th century, including arteries that led to the Triborough Bridge, namely the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Queens<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both highways became part of I-278, as did the Queens and Bronx spans of the Triborough Bridge, by the 1960s.<ref name="1970log">Template:Cite book</ref> In the 1950s, there were also plans for a highway to be constructed between the Triborough Bridge's Manhattan span and a never-built 125th Street Hudson River bridge, which would have allowed direct highway access to the New Jersey Turnpike.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Bridge traffic and modifications
The Triborough Bridge Authority was headquartered in an administration building adjacent to the Manhattan span's toll plaza, where by 1940, it controlled the operation of all toll bridges located entirely within New York City.<ref name="Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) 2011" /> Though the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge between the Bronx and Queens opened in April 1939,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Triborough Bridge did not see any initial decline in traffic, likely because both spans were heavily used during the World's Fair.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Soon after, vehicle rationing caused by the onset of World War II resulted in a decline in traffic at crossings operated by the TBA including the Triborough Bridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Still, by 1940, the Triborough Bridge was the most profitable crossing operated by the TBA.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The New York Times, describing the bridge as "generally recognized as a monument to engineering ingenuity", attributed the bridge's popularity to the design of its three spans.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1941, one of the lift span's original gates was removed after a motorist damaged it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Traffic decreased significantly during the war, declining to 5.1 million vehicles in 1943, though traffic counts again increased afterward.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p131691462">Template:Cite news</ref> The TBA became the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) in 1946, though TBTA operations continued to be managed from the Triborough Bridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The bridge was repainted for the first time in September 1946 for $600,000.<ref name="p131691462" /><ref name="p1287125267a">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The bridge recorded over 100 million total vehicles in its first decade of operation.<ref name=":3" /> By 1951, the bridge accommodated 29.4 million vehicles a year, more than any other toll road in the U.S.;<ref name="p131928811">Template:Cite news</ref> the TBTA claimed in early 1952 that the bridge was the busiest toll road in the world.<ref name="p1324193941">Template:Cite news</ref>
Late 1960s to 1990s
In 1968, the Triborough Bridge received its first major renovation in its 31-year history. Seven tollbooths were added, three at the Manhattan span's toll plaza and four at the Queens/Bronx spans' toll plaza, and several ramps were widened at a cost of $20 million. The project also added a direct ramp from the Manhattan span to the southbound lanes of Second Avenue in East Harlem.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The TBTA administration building was also expanded during this project.<ref name="Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) 2011" /> Traffic from the Manhattan span was temporarily diverted during this project.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
At some point in the 20th century, a sign on the bridge informed travelers, "In event of attack, drive off bridge"; according to New York Times columnist William Safire, the "somewhat macabre sign" must have "drawn a wry smile from millions of motorists".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The TBTA replaced the movable toll gates across all of its toll booths in 1989, including those at the Triborough Bridge.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By that year, pieces of concrete were falling off the bridge, prompting concerns about deterioration.<ref name="p278078024">Template:Cite news</ref> By the early 1990s, the bridge accommodated about 160,000 daily vehicles, and the TBTA employed 140 toll collectors there.<ref name="nyt-1990-04-02">Template:Cite news</ref> During that decade, the TBTA discovered high concentrations of lead under the bridge's Queens approaches, prompting the agency to remove the lead.<ref name="p278664353">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The TBTA also rearranged the lanes at the bridge's toll plazas in 1992.<ref name="p278632135">Template:Cite news</ref> The Triborough Bridge remained the TBTA's busiest facility in the 1990s, with over 200,000 daily vehicles.<ref name="nyt-1996-08-21">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1997, more renovations of the bridge were announced.<ref name="MTA 2008">Template:Cite press release</ref> The project consisted of three phases. The first phase involved renovating the Queens span and approach ramps, as well as replacing the suspender cables;<ref name=":4" /><ref name="p2638143497">Template:Cite news</ref> work on the Queens span's anchorage began in February 1997.<ref name="p2638143497" /> On the Queens side, an exit ramp from westbound I-278 to 31st Street necessitated the destruction of the entrance to the southern sidewalk.<ref>Kadinsky, Sergey Secrets of the Triboro Forgotten NY November 10, 2024</ref> The second phase involved renovating the Bronx span and approach ramps. The third phase involved renovating the Manhattan span and approach ramps.<ref name=":4">Guide to Civil Engineering Projects in and around New York City, Metropolitan Section, American Society of Engineers, 1997, available from ASCE Metropolitan Section Template:Webarchive.</ref> By early 1999, there were more than 500 potholes on the bridge, requiring workers to use Template:Convert of concrete and Template:Convert of asphalt to repave the deck.<ref name="n143349571">Template:Cite news</ref> Work on replacing the Queens span's suspender cables and adding an orthotropic deck to the Queens suspension span started in 2000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The replacement of the deck was estimated to cost $125 million.<ref name="p235703745">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
2000s to present
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In January 2008, then-governor Eliot Spitzer proposed renaming the bridge after former U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy, who had been assassinated during a 1968 presidential bid.<ref name="New York Daily News 2008 g912">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web</ref> Though the Kennedy family supported the renaming,<ref name="New York Daily News 2008 g912"/> there were initial doubts over whether local residents would use the new name.<ref name="Chan 2017 b119">Template:Cite web</ref> The New York State Legislature approved the bill that June,<ref name="Press 2008 s533">Template:Cite web; Template:Cite web; Template:Cite web</ref> and the Triborough Bridge was officially renamed after Kennedy on November 19, 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="WNYC 2008 c606">Template:Cite web; Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news</ref> The MTA announced further renovations to the Triborough Bridge in 2008; the work included the replacement of the roadways at the toll plazas, as well as the rehabilitation of various ramps and the construction of a new service building.<ref name="MTA 2008" /> The same year, the MTA awarded contracts to renovate the Queens span's anchorages.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>
In 2015, the MTA started two reconstruction projects on different parts of the bridge<ref name="Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)">Template:Cite web</ref> as part of a $1 billion, 15-year program to renovate the bridge complex.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The MTA commenced construction on a $213 million rehabilitation of the 1930s-era toll plaza between the Queens and Bronx spans, which included a rebuilding of the roadway and the supporting structure underneath. The new toll plaza structure was completed in 2019.<ref name="Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)" /> Cashless tolling was implemented on June 15, 2017,<ref name="NY1 2017" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> allowing drivers to pay tolls electronically via E-ZPass or Toll-by-Mail without having to stop at any tollbooths.<ref name="NY1 2017" /> Shortly afterward, the tollbooths were demolished.<ref name="Walker 2017" /><ref name="Newsday">Template:Cite web</ref>
A ramp from the Manhattan span to the northbound Harlem River Drive was being built for $68.3 million, and was to be finished by December 2017;<ref name="Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)" /> this was delayed pending the reconstruction of the Harlem River Drive viaduct around the area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In February 2020, the northbound Harlem River Drive ramp's completion was tentatively announced for 2021,<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite web</ref> though the ramp ultimately opened in November 2020.<ref name="Hamodia 2020">Template:Cite web</ref> The project was expected to cost $72.6 million<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and involved designing a new overpass to fit between the Harlem River Drive's two existing roadways.<ref name="Engineering News-Record 2022 p840">Template:Cite web</ref> The Harlem River lift span was also rehabilitated prior to 2020.<ref name="Engineering News-Record 2020 m710">Template:Cite web</ref>
On December 15, 2021, the MTA Board approved a contract to construct a ramp to connect the walkway on the north side of the bridge's Manhattan span to a future park to be constructed along the Manhattan Greenway by the New York City Economic Development Corporation along the Harlem River south of East 127th Street. Work was expected to cost $19.6 million, and would be bundled with a $26 million project to upgrade and renew elements of the bridge. Work was expected to be done by spring 2023, with the ramp opening with the expected completion of the park in 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Usage
The toll revenues from the RFK Bridge pay for a portion of the public transit funding for the New York City Transit Authority and the commuter railroads.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The bridge had annual average daily traffic of 164,116 in 2014. For that year, the bridge saw annual toll-paying traffic rise by 2.9% to 59.9 million, generating $393.6 million in revenue at an average toll of $6.57.<ref>"Appendix E: History and Projection of Traffic, Toll Revenues and Expenses and Review of Physical Conditions of the Facilities of Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority" Template:Webarchive, Stantec for the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, April 30, 2015. Accessed November 5, 2015.</ref>
Pedestrian and bicycle sidewalks
The bridge has sidewalks on all three spans where the TBTA officially requires bicyclists to walk their bicycles across<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> due to safety concerns.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, the signs stating this requirement have been usually ignored by bicyclists,<ref name="New York City Department of City Planning 1997">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp and the New York City Government has recommended that the TBTA should reassess this kind of bicycling ban.<ref name="New York City Department of City Planning 1997" />Template:Rp Stairs on the Template:Convert Queens span impede access by disabled people, and only the northern sidewalk on that span is open to traffic; the Queens end of the southern sidewalk was demolished in the early 2000s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The two sidewalks of the Bronx span are connected to one long and winding ramp at the Randalls Island end,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> though another pedestrian bridge between Randalls Island and the neighborhood of Port Morris, Bronx, opened to the east of the RFK Bridge in November 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Public transportation
The RFK Bridge carries the Template:NYC bus link bus routes operated by MTA New York City Transit, as well as several express bus routes operated by the MTA Bus Company: Template:NYC bus link. The M35 travels from Manhattan to Randalls and Wards Islands (with the X80 also operating during special events), while the M60 SBS runs between Manhattan and Queens, and the MTA Bus express routes travel between Manhattan and the Bronx.<ref>See:
- Template:Cite NYC bus map
- Template:Cite NYC bus map
- Template:Cite NYC bus map</ref> The M60 has used the bridge since the early 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In the 1920s, John F. Hylan proposed building the Triborough Bridge as part of his planned Independent Subway System. The proposal entailed extending the New York City Subway's BMT Astoria Line along the same route the Triborough now follows. It would have created a crosstown subway line along 125th Street, as well as a new subway line in the Bronx under St. Ann's Avenue.<ref name=NYTimes-Subway-1922/><ref name=NYDN-Subway-1922/><ref>"New subways: proposed additions to rapid transit system to cost $218,000,000 ..." Template:Webarchive MOA website (University of Michigan)</ref>
Tolls
Template:As of, drivers pay $11.19 per car or $4.71 per motorcycle for tolls by mail/non-NYCSC E-Z Pass. E-ZPass users with transponders issued by the New York E‑ZPass Customer Service Center pay $6.94 per car or $3.02 per motorcycle. Mid-Tier NYCSC E-Z Pass users pay $8.36 per car or $3.57 per motorcycle. All E-ZPass users with transponders not issued by the New York E-ZPass CSC will be required to pay Toll-by-mail rates.<ref name=car-toll-rates>Template:Cite web</ref>
When the Triborough Bridge opened, it had a combined 22 tollbooths spread across two toll plazas.<ref name="The New York Times 1936 3" /> Motorists were first able to pay with E‑ZPass in lanes for automatic coin machines at the toll plazas on August 21, 1996;<ref name="p278934210">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> in contrast to other MTA Bridges & Tunnels facilities where E-ZPass lanes were interspersed with cash only lanes, all of the E-ZPass lanes at either of the Triborough Bridge's toll plazas were grouped together.<ref name="n143349298">Template:Cite news</ref> The implementation of E-ZPass allowed each toll lane to accommodate 900 vehicles an hour, compared with the 250 to 400 vehicles that the old toll lanes could accommodate.<ref name="nyt-1996-08-21" />
Open-road cashless tolling began on June 15, 2017.<ref name="NY1 2017">Template:Cite web</ref> The tollbooths were dismantled, and drivers are no longer able to pay cash at the bridge. Instead, there are cameras mounted onto new overhead gantries manufactured by TransCore<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> near where the booths were formerly located.<ref name="Siff 2016" /><ref name="WABC 2016" /> A vehicle without an E-ZPass has a picture taken of its license plate and a bill for the toll is mailed to its owner.<ref name="MTA cashless">Template:Cite web</ref> For E-ZPass users, sensors detect their transponders wirelessly.<ref name="Siff 2016">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="WABC 2016">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="MTA cashless" />
Historical tolls
See also
- List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in New York
- List of reference routes in New York
References
Notes Template:Notelist
Citations Template:Reflist
Bibliography
External links
- Template:Official website
- Triborough Bridge historic overview at nycroads.com
- Template:HAER
- Template:Structurae
- Template:Structurae
Template:NYC Bridge Template:Crossings navbox Template:Crossings navbox Template:Robert F. Kennedy Template:Authority control
- Pages with non-numeric formatnum arguments
- Bridges by Othmar Ammann
- Bridges completed in 1936
- Bridges in Manhattan
- Bridges in Queens, New York
- Bridges in the Bronx
- Bridges over the Harlem River
- Concrete bridges in the United States
- Historic American Engineering Record in New York City
- Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks
- Interstate 78
- Public Works Administration in New York (state)
- Randalls and Wards Islands
- Road bridges in New York City
- Robert Moses projects
- Steel bridges in the United States
- Suspension bridges in New York City
- Toll bridges in New York City
- Tolled sections of Interstate Highways
- Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority
- Vertical lift bridges in New York City
- Walkable bridges on the Interstate Highway System