BRONX WHITESTONE BRIDGE

The 'Bronx Whitestone Bridge', colloquially referred to as the "Whitestone Bridge" or simply "The Whitestone", is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River and connects the boroughs of Queens and The Bronx via Interstate 678. The bridge was designed by Othmar Ammann and opened to traffic with four lanes on April 29, 1939.

Contents

History

Major repairs

Road Connections

The bridge in popular culture

References

External links

History

The idea for a crossing between The Bronx and Whitestone, Queens had come as early as 1905. At the time, residents around the proposed area of the bridge protested construction in fear of losing the then-rural character of the area.
In 1929, however, the Regional Plan Association had proposed another bridge from the Bronx to northern Queens to allow motorists from upstate New York and New England to reach Queens and Long Island without traveling through the traffic-ridden communities of western Queens. On February 25, 1930, Robert Moses proposed a Ferry Point Park-Whitestone Bridge as a part of his Belt highway system around Brooklyn and Queens.
As the 1930s progressed, Moses found it more and more necessary to build his bridge: to serve as a link to the 1939 New York World's Fair as well as provide a link to LaGuardia Airport (then known as North Beach Airport). In addition, the Whitestone Bridge was to provide congestion relief to the Triborough Bridge.
The New York State legislature approved Moses' plan in April of 1937.
Moses had raised controversy when he quickly decided to destroy 17 homes in the Queens community of Malba. Moses argued such measures were necessary to complete the bridge on schedule.
The RPA had also said that the Whitestone Bridge should have rail connections, or at least be able to accommodate them in the future, but had no allies on the project, to Moses' relief.
Designer Othmar Ammann had several plans for the bridge that would keep construction on its tight schedule. The two 377-foot towers were constructed in a short 18 days and were the first to have no diagonal cross bracing. Unlike other suspension bridges, the Whitestone Bridge did not have a stiffening truss system. Instead, 11-foot I-beam girders gave the bridge an art deco streamlined appearance.
The Bronx-Whitestone Bridge opened on April 29, 1939. The bridge featured pedestrian walkways as well as four lanes of vehicular traffic, which carried 17,000 vehicles during the year 1940. Toll was 25 cents. The 2,300-foot center span was the fourth longest in the world at the opening.
Ammann's plan to use I-beam girders proved to be a poor one after the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington. The Narrows Bridge employed an 8-foot deep girder system, much like the Whitestone Bridge. In 1943, the pedestrian walkways were removed and the four lanes of roadway traffic was widened to six in a project to install 14-foot high trusses on either side of the deck to weigh down the bridge in an effort to reduce oscillation. These trusses detracted the look of the once-streamlined looking span.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority planned to spend $286 million in bridge renovations which started in August 2001. These renovations, which are still in progress, include removing the cable stays installed in the 1940s, removing the 14-foot trusses (which proved to be too heavy for the bridge's suspension cables which were not designed to hold such weight) and installing variable message signs. Replacing the deck of the bridge and assisting in lightening the deck by 6,000 pounds are projected to be done by 2008. The bridge remains in service during overhaul, but a reduced number of lanes lead to traffic backups and signs suggesting use of the Throgs Neck Bridge. Trucks over 40 tons are prohibited from using the span since 2005.
Originally built to connect the Hutchinson River Parkway in the Bronx to the Whitestone Parkway in Queens, it was redesignated Interstate 678 in the late 1950's. The approaches to the bridge were soon after converted to Interstate Highway standards. The Whitestone Parkway became the Whitestone Expressway, and part of the Hutchinson was converted to an expressway. They now share the I-678 designation with the bridge itself.
The sidewalks that had been included when originally constructed were removed from the bridge to allow for wider vehicular lanes. After the removal of the sidewalks, bicyclists were able to use QBx1 buses of the Queens Surface Corporation, which could carry bicycles on the front-mounted bike racks. However, since the Metropolitan Transportation Authority absorbed the bus routes formerly operated by Queens Surface, the bike racks have been eliminated ^[2]. Bicyclists are now forced to detour to the Triborough Bridge or possibly try hitchhiking across, which is illegal ^[3] and considered very dangerous in New York City.
From March 13, 2005, the crossing charge for a two-axle passenger vehicle is $4.50 charged in each direction, with a $.50 discount for E-ZPass users. The crossing charge for a motorcycle is $2.00 charged in each direction, with a $0.25 discount for E-ZPass users.
The Bronx Whitestone Bridge is owned by the New York City and operated by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Major repairs

As of June 2004, the Whitestone Bridge has had major repairs. New lighting systems (including the beacons of the bridge and bulbs), repainting the two towers and the deck of the bridge.

Road Connections

The Bronx-Whitestone Bridge assists I-678 in crossing the East River. From the Queens side, the Whitestone Expressway carries I-678 to the bridgehead. The Cross Island Parkway meets up with the Whitestone Expressway 1/2 mile before the bridge.
On the Bronx side, the bridge leads directly into the Bruckner Interchange, which serves as the northern terminus of I-678, which is where the Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95), Bruckner Expressway (I-278 & I-95), Hutchinson River Parkway, and the Cross Bronx Expressway extension (I-295) meet. The segment of I-678 between the bridge and the Bruckner Interchange is a depressed freeway.

The bridge in popular culture

Although the neighborhood of Whitestone is located in Queens, several businesses on the Bronx side of the bridge include "Whitestone" in their names, owing to the bridge's often-shortened name.

References

1. 2005 NYSDOT Traffic Data Report: AADT Values for Select Toll Facilities
2. Bronx-Whitestone Bridge (I-678) Bicycling information at Transportation Alternatives
3. Section 4-04(e)(2) of the New York City Traffic Rules

External links

★ Metropolitan Transportation Authority site

★ NYCRoads.com Bronx-Whitestone Bridge

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