The Most Important Bridges of New York and Everything You Need to Know About Them

There are 2027 bridges in New York, 11 of which have historical status. More details about the 11 most important bridges of the metropolis told the publication Streeteasy.

The New York Transit Department controls 793 bridges in New York, the rest is under the control of the MTA, the Department of Parks and Leisure, the Department of the Environment, or Amtrak. 21 of these bridges connect Manhattan to other areas or New Jersey. Four bridges extend across the East River, and 25 are sliding.

Here are 11 major New York bridges that have the status of historic sites that you need to know about.

Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge

It is the longest of all bridges in New York. Named after Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and New Brunswick. Verrazzano-Narrows is a two-tier giant suspension bridge connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn.

Three workers died during its construction. When the bridge was officially opened on November 21, 1964, Robert Moses, who was directly involved in the project, did not invite any of the 12 thousand bridge builders to the ceremony. Workers staged a boycott, and instead attended a Mass in memory of the three fallen comrades. Moses also forgot to mention bridge architect Otmar Amman, who designed the bridges of George Washington and Triborough.

54 years after the bridge was opened, it finally got the right name –Verrazzano, with two Z.

The total length of the bridge is 4167 meters. It is open only to cars. A fare is required.

The Brooklyn Bridge

This neo-Gothic structure is one of the oldest in the United States. A hybrid quantum bridge connects Manhattan and Brooklyn, stretching across the East River. It was the first ever built steel-wire suspension bridge, on which about 106 thousand cars pass daily.

To finance the construction, which began in 1869 and ended in 1883, aisles and compartments located in the anchorage of the bridge were leased. For storage of wine used some arches, nicknamed the "Blue Grotto". Above the entrance to the grotto stood the shrine of the Virgin Mary, next to which the inscription was made: "He who loves neither wine, nor women, nor songs, remains a fool all his long life."

The total length is 1825 meters. The bridge is open for cars, pedestrians and cyclists.

Queensboro Bridge

Queensboro is also known as 59th Street Bridge, and since March 2011 - Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.

It extends along the East River, connecting Long Island City with Midtown in the east via Roosevelt Island. The construction of the bridge, which was completed in 1909, cost $ 18 million and 50 lives. At the opening ceremony, a two-hour firework was installed.

The total length of the bridge is 1135 meters. Open for cars, pedestrians, cyclists.

George Washington Bridge

From cliff to cliff, this impressive two-story suspension bridge extends across the Hudson River, connecting Washington Heights and Fort Lee, New Jersey. The bridge opened on October 24, 1931, and since then its throughput has grown to 103 million cars a year, making it the busiest traffic bridge in the world.

In addition to being the only 14-lane bridge in the country, George Washington Bridge has a distinctive feature that draws the attention of Le Corbusier, the legendary architect and designer. He called it "the most beautiful bridge in the world." “Made of ropes and steel beams, it shines in the sky like an inverted arch. He is blessed. This is the only place of grace in a disordered city, ”said Le Corbusier.

The total length of the bridge is almost 1451 meters. Open for cars, pedestrians, cyclists. Travel on the bridge is paid.

Manhattan bridge

This 108-year-old suspension bridge extends across the East River, connecting Lower Manhattan to Downtown Brooklyn. Following the opening on December 31, 1909, the Manhattan Bridge is now considered the forerunner of modern suspension bridges.

For the first time its name was proposed in 1902 and confirmed in 1904. It took five years to change it. The New York Times said in the early twentieth century that the name is “meaningless,” saying: “All bridges across the East River are bridges to Manhattan.”

The total length of the bridge is 1089 meters. Open to cars, pedestrians, cyclists, and trains B, D, N, and Q.

Williamsburg Bridge

When the Williamsburg Bridge opened on December 12, 1903, the cost of its construction was $ 24 million - today it is $ 624 million. But the costs paid off. Connecting the Lower East Side with Williamsburg and Brooklyn, the Williamsburg Bridge transports 140 cars daily.

On the subject: Secrets of the Brooklyn Bridge: wine cellars, bomb shelter and a pack of circus elephants

In 1903, a review of the bridge was made in Scientific American: “From an aesthetic point of view, the bridge (Williamsburg .– Ed.) is destined to always suffer compared to his neighbor, the Brooklyn Bridge. "

The total length of the bridge is 2227 meters. Open to cars, pedestrians, cyclists, and J, M, and Z trains.

Robert F. Kennedy / Triborough Bridge

The absolutely striking RFK / Triborough Bridge complex consists of three separate long bridges, several other smaller bridges, viaducts, freeways, parks, recreational areas, and even administrative offices. Bridges connect Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx.

The construction of this project began on October 25, 1929. It fell on the famous Black Thursday. Needless to say, because of financial difficulties, the bridge was opened seven years later, on July 11, 1936. The final cost of the bridge was $ 60 million - more than $ 1 billion today.

Total length: 847 meters (Queens span); 235 meters (Manhattan span); 488 meters (span of the Bronx). Open only for cars, fare - paid.

Kosciuszko Bridge

The first bridge built on this site was erected in 1803 and was originally called the Penny Bridge - a fee was charged for it - 1% per passenger. Then it was destroyed, rebuilt and destroyed again.

On August 13, 1939, a bridge connecting Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Blissville, Queens was opened at this place, like a bridge on Meeker Avenue. A year later, he was renamed in honor of Tadeusz Kosciuszko - a Polish volunteer who became a general in the American Revolutionary War. At the renaming ceremony in 1940, then-New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia promised that “Poland (again. - Ed.) will live".

In 2014, construction began on a much needed replacement. The new bridge was the first new bridge built in the city since Verrazzano in 1965. The opening of the second bridge took place in 2020.

The total length of the bridge is 1835 meters. It is open to cars and cyclists; there are also footpaths.

Henry Hudson Bridge

Connecting the Bronx and Inwood, the Heinrich Hudson (Hudson) Bridge is a steel arched structure stretching across the Spuyten Duyville Creek. The bridge was opened on December 12, 1936.

The idea of ​​creating a bridge in this place was proposed back in 1906, which gave the city three years to complete the project on the 300th anniversary of the journey of the English navigator Heinrich Hudson up the river of the same name. When the project was completed on December 12, 1936, he was only 13 years late.

Many residents of the surrounding areas claimed that this bridge would destroy the virgin beauty of the Inwood Hill Park forest. Therefore, from the very beginning it was painted green.

The total length of the bridge is 673 meters. Open to cars, cyclists and pedestrians. Need a fare.

The Bronx Whitestone Bridge

This suspension bridge extends across the East River, connecting Queens with the Bronx via I-678. Another brainchild of Robert Moses was officially opened on April 29, 1939.

Moses regarded this bridge as an important link connecting the new airport, which will ultimately be called LaGuardia Airport. The hope also was that the bridge would relieve congestion in Triborough. It was planned that with the help of this bridge, it will be easier for people to get to the 1939 World Exhibition, which was chaired by Moses himself.

The total length of the structure was planned 1149 meters. Directions - paid; the bridge is open only for cars.

The throgs neck bridge

January 11, 1961 the official opening of The Throgs Neck Bridge.

Stretching along the East River parallel to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, as well as connecting the Bronx with Queens and Long Island, the Throgs Neck Bridge was built primarily to relieve traffic. In practice, the movement has only increased.

The total length of this bridge is 887 meters. It is open only for cars, travel on it is paid.