Triborough Bridge

Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
Aerial view of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (left) and the Hell Gate Bridge (right). Queens is in the foreground, across from Wards Island. The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge continues out of view along the length of the island and forks to reach both The Bronx and Manhattan.
Official name	Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
Other name(s)	Triborough Bridge
Carries	8 lanes of I-278
Crosses	East River, Harlem River and Bronx Kill
Locale	Manhattan, New York, Bronx, New York and Queens, New York
Maintained by	Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA)
Design	Suspension bridge, Lift bridge and Truss bridge
Total length	847.34 meters (2,780 feet) (Suspension span) 234.70 meters (770 feet) (Lift span) 487.68 meters (1,600 feet) (Truss span)
Width	29.87 meters (98 feet) (Suspension span)
Longest span	420.62 meters (1,380 feet) (Suspension span) 94.49 meters (310 feet) (Lift span) 116.74 meters (383 feet) (Truss span)
Vertical clearance	14 feet 6 inches (4.4 m), but trucks onbound from Manhattan are limited to 13 feet 10 inches (4.2 m)
Clearance below	43.57 meters (143 feet) (Suspension span) 41.15 meters (135 feet) (when raised) (Lift span) 16.76 meters (55 feet) (Truss span)
AADT	165,670 (Suspension span, 2006) 93,657 (Lift span, 2007) 80,943 (Truss span, 2007)[1]
Opened	July 11, 1936
Toll	$5.50 as of July 12, 2009 (between any 2 boroughs per car in cash) ; discount available with New York State E-ZPass
Coordinates	40°46′48″N 73°55′36″W / 40.78°N 73.92667°W / 40.78; -73.92667Coordinates: 40°46′48″N 73°55′36″W / 40.78°N 73.92667°W / 40.78; -73.92667 (Suspension span) 40°48′2″N 73°55′41″W / 40.80056°N 73.92806°W / 40.80056; -73.92806 (Lift span) 40°47′57″N 73°55′9″W / 40.79917°N 73.91917°W / 40.79917; -73.91917 (Truss span)
Suspension span

The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, formerly named Triborough Bridge, is a complex of three bridges connecting the New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens on Long Island, using what were two islands, Ward's Island and Randall's Island, as intermediate rights-of-way between the water crossings. These two islands have been consolidated by landfill.

Often historically referred to as simply the Triboro, the spans were officially named the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in 2008. The bridges span the Hell Gate (a tidal channel of the East River), Harlem River, and Bronx Kill.

History

Plans for connecting Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx were first announced by Edward A. Byrne, chief engineer of the New York City Department of Plant and Structures, in 1916. While its construction had been long recommended by local officials, the Triborough Bridge did not receive any funding until 1925, when the city appropriated funds for surveys, test borings and structural plans.

Construction had begun on Black Friday in 1929, and the Triborough project's outlook began to look bleak. Othmar Ammann's assistance was enlisted to help simplify the structure. Ammann had collapsed the original two-deck roadway into one, requiring lighter towers, and thus, lighter piers. These cost-saving revisions saved $10 million on the towers alone. Using New Deal money, the project was resurrected in the early 1930s by Robert Moses and the bridge was opened to traffic on July 11, 1936. Its cost was greater than that of the Hoover Dam.

The structure used concrete from factories from Maine to Mississippi. To make the casings for pouring the concrete, a whole forest in Oregon was cut down.^[2]

The bridge is owned by the City of New York^{[citation needed]} and operated by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York).

At some point in the past, a sign on the bridge informed travelers, "In event of attack, drive off bridge", New York Times columnist William Safire wrote in 2008. The "somewhat macabre sign", he wrote, must have "drawn a wry smile from millions of motorists."^[3]

On November 19, 2008, and pursuant to a request made by the Kennedy family^[4], the Triborough Bridge was officially renamed after Robert F. Kennedy, who served New York as a senator, 40 years after his assassination.^[5][6][7] Since then, the term RFK-Triborough has become increasingly popular as a nickname for the bridge, with typical traffic reports using the name.^{[citation needed]}

Usage

Saddle housing

The toll revenues from the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge pays for a portion of the public transit subsidy for the New York City Transit Authority and the commuter railroads. The bridge carries approximately 200,000 vehicles per day.

The bridge has sidewalks in all three legs where the TBTA officially requires bicyclists to walk their bicycles across^[8] due to safety concerns.^[9] However, the signs stating this requirement have been usually ignored by bicyclists,^[10] while the New York City Government has recommended that the TBTA should reassess this kind of bicycling ban.^[11] Stairs on the 2 km (1.3 mile) Queens leg impede handicapped access. The Queens stairway along the southern side was demolished at the beginning of the 21st century, thus isolating that walkway, but the ramp of the Wards Island end of the walkway along the northern side was improved in 2007. The two sidewalks of the Bronx span are connected to only one ramp at the Randalls Island end.

The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority announced a toll increase on its facilities, effective March 16, 2008. The cash charge for passenger vehicles to cross the Triborough raised to $5.00 (from $4.50) in any direction. The toll for E-ZPass users raised to $4.15 (from $4.00). The crossing charge for a motorcycle raised to $2.25 (from $2.00), with motorcycle E-ZPass tolls rising to $1.81 (from $1.75). The return trip from Randall's Island to any borough is free.

The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority announced a toll increase on its facilities, effective July 12, 2009. The cash charge for passenger vehicles to cross the Triborough raised to $5.50 (from $5.00) in any direction. The toll for New York State E-ZPass users raised to $4.57 (from $4.15). The crossing charge for a motorcycle raised to $2.50 (from $2.25), with motorcycle tolls with a New York State E-ZPass rising to $1.99 (from $1.81). No discount is provided for out-of-state E-ZPasses.^[12] The return trip from Randall's Island to any borough is free.

The three sections of the bridge

East River suspension bridge (I-278)

A panorama of the Hell Gate Bridge and Robert F. Kennedy Bridge from Astoria Park

• Length of main span: 1,380 feet (421 m)
• Length of each side span: 700 feet (213 m)
• Length, anchorage to anchorage: 2,780 feet (847 m)
• Width of bridge: 98 feet (30 m)
• Number of traffic lanes: 8 lanes
• Height of towers above mean high water: 315 feet (96 m)
• Clearance at center above mean high water: 143 feet (44 m)
• Number of sidewalks: 1
• Connects to Grand Central Parkway and Brooklyn-Queens Expressway

Location of the bridge in New York City

Harlem River lift bridge (NY Reference Route 900G)

• Length of main lift-truss span: 310 feet (94 m)
• Length of each side truss span: 230 feet (70 m)
• Length, anchorage to anchorage: 770 feet (235 m)
• Height of towers: 210 feet (64 m)
• Clearance of lift span above mean high water: 55 feet (17 m)
• Clearance of lift span in raised position: 135 feet (41 m)
• Number of traffic lanes: 6 lanes
• Number of sidewalks: 2 (1 on each side)
• Connects to Harlem River Drive, FDR Drive, and 125th Street

Bronx Kills crossing (I-278)

• Length of main truss span: 383 feet (117 m)
• Length of approach truss span: 1,217 feet (371 m)
• Length, anchorage to anchorage: 1,600 feet (488 m)
• Clearance of truss span above mean high water: 55 feet (17 m)
• Number of traffic lanes: 8 lanes
• Number of sidewalks: 2 (1 on each side)
• Connects to Major Deegan Expressway and Bruckner Expressway

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Robert F. Kennedy Bridge

• MTA Triborough Bridge site
• Triborough Bridge historic overview at nycroads.com
• Triborough Bridge in the Structurae database
• Triborough Bridge Harlem River Lift Span in the Structurae database

Links to related articles v • d • e Bridges and tunnels in New York City Bridges Alexander Hamilton Bridge • Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge • Bayonne Bridge • Brooklyn Bridge • Bronx-Whitestone Bridge • City Island Bridge • Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge • George Washington Bridge • Goethals Bridge • Hell Gate Bridge • Henry Hudson Bridge • Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge • Kosciuszko Bridge • Madison Avenue Bridge • Manhattan Bridge • Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge • 145th Street Bridge • Outerbridge Crossing • Park Avenue Bridge • Pelham Bridge • Pulaski Bridge • Queensboro Bridge • Spuyten Duyvil Bridge  • Third Avenue Bridge • Throgs Neck Bridge • Robert F. Kennedy Bridge  • Verrazano-Narrows Bridge • Washington Bridge • Williamsburg Bridge • Willis Avenue Bridge Tunnels Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel • East River Tunnels • Holland Tunnel • Lincoln Tunnel • North River Tunnels • Queens–Midtown Tunnel Operators Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority • Port Authority of New York and New Jersey • New York City Department of Transportation • New York State Department of Transportation • Amtrak   Crossings of East River Upstream Hell Gate Bridge Amtrak Triborough Bridge (East River Suspension Span) Downstream Roosevelt Island Bridge   Crossings of Harlem River Upstream Willis Avenue Bridge Triborough Bridge (Harlem Lift Bridge) Downstream Ward's Island Bridge v • d • e MTA Bridges and Tunnels Bronx-Whitestone Bridge • Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel • Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge • Henry Hudson Bridge • Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge • Queens–Midtown Tunnel • Robert F. Kennedy Bridge • Throgs Neck Bridge • Verrazano-Narrows Bridge