TRIBOROUGH BRIDGE

Pride and Joy

The Metropolitan Transport Authority of New York never tires of singing the praises of the Triborough Bridge. None of today officials had any hand in conceiving of this intricate transport system that has served Manhattan, Queens and Bronx since 1936, but that does not stop anyone from giving the system its due credit.

The name Triborough Bridge is inappropriate for the large and complex network of approach roads and multiple spans that serve to inter-link the 3 boroughs. The nerve center is Randall’s Island, where traffic from all 3 boroughs can congregate, pay their toll and be on their way. The Downing Stadium leads a host of sporting facilities and spots for picnics that make Randall’s Islands a destination in its own right for motorists, cyclists and pedestrian users of the Triborough Bridge.

The East River Suspension Bridge is accepted by many as the leading arm of the Triborough. It connects to the plush area of Astoria with its fine shops and homes, and from there to the rest of Queens. The Grand Central Parkway and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway are directly linked with the East River Suspension Bridge.

The Harlem River Lift Bridge is the Manhattan part of the Triborough. It is the best way to move between Queens, Bronx and the busy heart of Harlem. The Harlem River Drive, the Roosevelt Drive and 125th Street are the main arteries that lead to the Harlem River Lift section of the Triborough Bridge.

The Bronx Crossing is the third part of the Triborough Bridge. It puts the Port Morris Industrial Area and Southern Bronx in touch with the areas in Harlem and Astoria that also connect to the Triborough. The Bruckner Expressway and the Deegan are important roads that are in direct touch with the Bronx Crossing.

The Triborough Bridge that has such a central role in New York’s logistics today had a difficult gestation in the early part of the last century. Its ground-breaking ceremony in 1929 was just one day before the crash that marked the beginning of the Great Depression. Its concept and design had earlier suffered the interminable discussions and delay that marked all New York bridge construction at that time.

The Triborough Bridge had run up a $ 60 million tab by the time it was ready for inauguration by President Roosevelt. Nevertheless the money and time were well spent in view of the enormous contribution it has made to Manhattan, Queens and Bronx, especially in the years of rapid growth that followed World War II.

Randall’s Island has undergone a major overhaul in the 1960s, but the Triborough Bridge has withstood the rigors of climate and traffic remarkably well for more than 6 decades. A major, multi-stage modernization program is underway, and will be completed around 2010. The Triborough Bridge has a daily traffic of some 200 thousand vehicles. It is part of the I-278, the only road system common to all of New York’s boroughs. This is symbolic of the central role that the system has in the transport system of the metropolis.