Throgs Neck Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Throgs Neck Bridge is a suspension bridge
opened on January 11, 1961, which carries Interstate 295
over the East River where it meets the Long Island Sound
. The bridge connects the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx
with the Bay Terrace
section of Queens
. It is the newest bridge across the East River
and was built to relieve traffic on the adjacent Whitestone Bridge which opened in 1939.
The Throgs Neck Bridge is the easternmost bridge off of Long Island. Due to this and its proximity to both the Cross Bronx Expressway and the New England Thruway
, it is the preferred route from Long Island to New Jersey via the George Washington Bridge
, New York, Connecticut and points north and east from Long Island. Heading northbound, there are views of the Trump Towers in New Rochelle, Westchester County, and heading southbound on a clear day one can see the Manhattan skyline.
. His first plan for a Throgs Neck span dates back to 1945, six years after his last project, the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge, was completed two miles (3 km) to the west. This bridge was one of the few not intended for the Belt System of highways wrapping around Queens and Brooklyn. Moses commissioned famed New York City bridge designer Othmar Ammann
. Ammann was the man behind the George Washington
, Bronx-Whitestone, Verrazano-Narrows
, and Triborough Bridges. This was Ammann's first long span job after 1940, which saw the collapse of the original Tacoma Narrows Suspension Bridge
in Washington State. Instead of employing a rather streamlined-looking plate-girder system, Ammann constructed his bridge with 28 feet (8.5 m) deep stiffening trusses under the deck. These would weight the bridge and allow any wind to simply blow through, instead of against, the bridge.
Ammann designed the bridge with long, curved approaches (increasing the length of the roadway) in order to allow for water traffic beneath the span. The shores of Bay Terrace and Throggs Neck are rather low, so to build a bridge right over the water without approaches would leave almost no clearance under the bridge. Deck-raising began at each tower until crews met at the center, extending out to the approach viaducts.
The span is 1,800 feet (549 m) long, with an anchorage to anchorage total length of 2,910 feet (887 m). The bridge was designed without non-motorized access of any kind. There are also no regularly scheduled buses.
During planning, the bridge received the I-495
designation. During construction, the bridge became a part of I-78
. Not until 1971 did the Throgs Neck Bridge become a part of I-295.
Late in the 20th century the area underneath the Queens approaches became Little Bay Park.
On Friday July 10, 2009 at about 5:00 a.m., a construction worker's blow torch
sparked a three-alarm fire on the bridge during maintenance work to replace the deck. The fire closed the bridge for much of the day, sending traffic in both directions to the nearby Whitestone Bridge. Approximately 140 firefighters were needed to put out the fire, which lasted at least seven hours, and was fought from the scaffolding below the deck and from boats on the water. Traffic lanes on the Queens-bound side of the bridge reopened in the afternoon before the evening rush hour
, but only two Bronx-bound lanes were reopened later in the evening. The third lane remained closed due to repair work for exactly a month when it reopened on August 10.
As of December 30, 2010, the crossing charge for a two-axle passenger vehicle is $6.50 charged in each direction, with a $1.70 discount for New York State E-ZPass
users. The crossing charge for a motorcycle is $2.75 charged in each direction, with a $0.66 discount for New York State E-ZPass users. No discount is provided for out-of-state accountholders.
As of January 11, 2011, the Throgs Neck Bridge celebrated its fiftieth year of operation.
The Throgs Neck Bridge is owned by the City of New York
and operated by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority
, an affiliate agency of the MTA.
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
opened on January 11, 1961, which carries Interstate 295
Interstate 295 (New York)
Interstate 295 is a connector route within New York City. Measuring 9.10 miles in length, I-295 travels from the Bruckner Interchange, a junction with I-95/I-278/I-678 in The Bronx, across the toll Throgs Neck Bridge to the Grand Central Parkway in Queens...
over the East River where it meets the Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
. The bridge connects the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
with the Bay Terrace
Bay Terrace, Queens
Bay Terrace is an affluent neighborhood in the northeastern part of the New York City borough of Queens, and is often considered part of Bayside, despite Bayside's more suburban character. The construction of the Bay Terrace Cooperative apartment buildings and garden apartments in the 1950s, as...
section of Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
. It is the newest bridge across the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
and was built to relieve traffic on the adjacent Whitestone Bridge which opened in 1939.
The Throgs Neck Bridge is the easternmost bridge off of Long Island. Due to this and its proximity to both the Cross Bronx Expressway and the New England Thruway
New England Thruway
The New England Thruway is a portion of the U.S. Interstate highway system and of the New York State Thruway, within and operated by the New York State Thruway Authority, linking New York City with New England, specifically with southwestern Connecticut...
, it is the preferred route from Long Island to New Jersey via the George Washington Bridge
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
, New York, Connecticut and points north and east from Long Island. Heading northbound, there are views of the Trump Towers in New Rochelle, Westchester County, and heading southbound on a clear day one can see the Manhattan skyline.
History
The Throgs Neck Bridge was planned and managed by Robert MosesRobert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
. His first plan for a Throgs Neck span dates back to 1945, six years after his last project, the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge, was completed two miles (3 km) to the west. This bridge was one of the few not intended for the Belt System of highways wrapping around Queens and Brooklyn. Moses commissioned famed New York City bridge designer Othmar Ammann
Othmar Ammann
Othmar Hermann Ammann was a American structural engineer whose designs include the George Washington Bridge, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and Bayonne Bridge.-Biography:...
. Ammann was the man behind the George Washington
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
, Bronx-Whitestone, Verrazano-Narrows
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay....
, and Triborough Bridges. This was Ammann's first long span job after 1940, which saw the collapse of the original Tacoma Narrows Suspension Bridge
Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940)
The 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the first incarnation of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, a suspension bridge in the U.S. state of Washington that spanned the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. It opened to traffic on July 1, 1940, and dramatically collapsed...
in Washington State. Instead of employing a rather streamlined-looking plate-girder system, Ammann constructed his bridge with 28 feet (8.5 m) deep stiffening trusses under the deck. These would weight the bridge and allow any wind to simply blow through, instead of against, the bridge.
Ammann designed the bridge with long, curved approaches (increasing the length of the roadway) in order to allow for water traffic beneath the span. The shores of Bay Terrace and Throggs Neck are rather low, so to build a bridge right over the water without approaches would leave almost no clearance under the bridge. Deck-raising began at each tower until crews met at the center, extending out to the approach viaducts.
The span is 1,800 feet (549 m) long, with an anchorage to anchorage total length of 2,910 feet (887 m). The bridge was designed without non-motorized access of any kind. There are also no regularly scheduled buses.
During planning, the bridge received the I-495
Interstate 495 (New York)
Interstate 495 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway on Long Island in New York in the United States. The route extends for from the western portal of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel in the New York City borough of Manhattan to County Route 58 in Riverhead, Suffolk County...
designation. During construction, the bridge became a part of I-78
Interstate 78
Interstate 78 is an Interstate Highway in the Northeast United States, running 144 miles from Interstate 81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown, Pennsylvania, and western and northern New Jersey to the Holland Tunnel and Lower Manhattan in New York City.I-78 is a major road...
. Not until 1971 did the Throgs Neck Bridge become a part of I-295.
Late in the 20th century the area underneath the Queens approaches became Little Bay Park.
On Friday July 10, 2009 at about 5:00 a.m., a construction worker's blow torch
Blow torch
A blowtorch , blow torch , or blowlamp is a tool for applying lower-intensity and more diffuse flame and heat for various applications, than the oxyacetylene torch. Before aerosol cans and pressurized gas cylinders, fuel was pressurized by a syringe or pump...
sparked a three-alarm fire on the bridge during maintenance work to replace the deck. The fire closed the bridge for much of the day, sending traffic in both directions to the nearby Whitestone Bridge. Approximately 140 firefighters were needed to put out the fire, which lasted at least seven hours, and was fought from the scaffolding below the deck and from boats on the water. Traffic lanes on the Queens-bound side of the bridge reopened in the afternoon before the evening rush hour
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
, but only two Bronx-bound lanes were reopened later in the evening. The third lane remained closed due to repair work for exactly a month when it reopened on August 10.
As of December 30, 2010, the crossing charge for a two-axle passenger vehicle is $6.50 charged in each direction, with a $1.70 discount for New York State E-ZPass
E-ZPass
E-ZPass is an electronic toll-collection system used on most tolled roads, bridges, and tunnels in the northeastern US, south to Virginia and West Virginia, and west to Illinois. Currently, there are 25 agencies spread across 14 states that make up the . All member agencies use the same technology,...
users. The crossing charge for a motorcycle is $2.75 charged in each direction, with a $0.66 discount for New York State E-ZPass users. No discount is provided for out-of-state accountholders.
As of January 11, 2011, the Throgs Neck Bridge celebrated its fiftieth year of operation.
The Throgs Neck Bridge is owned by the City of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and operated by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority
Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority
MTA Bridges and Tunnels, legal name Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, is a division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, that operates seven intrastate toll bridges and two tunnels in New York City...
, an affiliate agency of the MTA.