Bridges and tunnels in New York City

J train on the Williamsburg Bridge

New York City's harbor and multiple waterways are what once made it the center of trade, but in modern times where water transport is less common they make it a city of bridges and tunnels. Over 2,000 of them provide uninterrupted vehicular movement throughout the region. Several agencies claim jurisdiction over this network of crossings including the New York City Department of Transportation, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), New York State Department of Transportation, New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Amtrak and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Nearly all of the city's major bridges and several of its tunnels, have broken or set records. The Holland Tunnel was the world's first vehicular tunnel when it opened in 1927. The Brooklyn Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, George Washington Bridge, and Verrazano-Narrows Bridge were the world's longest suspension bridges when opened in 1883, 1903, 1931, and 1964 respectively.

Bridges

New York's crossings date back to 1693, when its first bridge, known as the King's Bridge, was constructed over Spuyten Duyvil Creek between Manhattan and the Bronx. The bridge, composed of stone abutments and a timber deck, was demolished in 1917. The oldest crossing still standing is High Bridge which connects Manhattan to the Bronx over the Harlem River. This bridge was built to carry water to the city as part of the Croton Aqueduct system.

Ten bridges and one tunnel serving the city have been awarded some level of landmark status. The Holland Tunnel was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993 in recognition of its pioneering role as the first mechanically ventilated vehicular underwater tunnel, operating since 1927. The George Washington, High Bridge, Hell Gate, Queensboro, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Macombs Dam, Carroll Street, University Heights and Washington bridges have all received landmark status as well.

New York features bridges of all lengths and types, carrying everything from cars, trucks and subway trains to pedestrians and bicycles. The George Washington Bridge, spanning the Hudson River between New York City and Fort Lee, New Jersey, is the world's busiest bridge in terms of vehicular traffic. The George Washington Bridge, Verrazano Narrows Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge are considered among the most beautiful in the world. Others are more well known for their functional importance such as the Williamsburg Bridge which has two heavy rail transit tracks, eight traffic lanes and a pedestrian sidewalk.

Bridges by water body

East River

South Street Seaport, with the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and Williamsburg Bridge visible in the background

From south to north:

Name	Opening year	Length	Comments
Brooklyn Bridge	1883	1825 m	Oldest suspension bridge
Manhattan Bridge	1909	2089 m	(B D N Q subway service)
Williamsburg Bridge	1903	2227.48 m	(J M Z subway service)
Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge	1909	1135.0 m	NY-25 Also known as 59th Street Bridge
Roosevelt Island Bridge	1955	876.91 m	East channel only (no access to Manhattan)
Triborough Bridge	1936	1569.72 m	I-278 Formerly known as the Triborough Bridge
Hell Gate Bridge	1916	5181.6 m	Rail only
Rikers Island Bridge	1966	1280.16 m	Only connects Rikers Island to Queens
Bronx–Whitestone Bridge	1939	1149.10 m	I-678
Throgs Neck Bridge	1961	886.97 m	I-295

Harlem River

Ward's Island Bridge in "open" position

From south to north, east to west:

Name	Opening year	Length	Comments
Wards Island Bridge	1951	285.6m	Pedestrians and bicycles only
Triborough Bridge	1936	1569.72 m	Formerly known as the Triborough Bridge
Willis Avenue Bridge	1901	979 m
Third Avenue Bridge	1898
Park Avenue Bridge	1954		Metro-North only
Madison Avenue Bridge	1910	577 m
145th Street Bridge	1905	489 m
Macombs Dam Bridge	1895	774 m
High Bridge	1848	600 m	Oldest surviving bridge in New York City; Currently closed for repairs.
Alexander Hamilton Bridge	1963	724 m	I-95 US-1
Washington Bridge	1888	723.9 m
University Heights Bridge	1908	82 m
Broadway Bridge	1962		Also known as Harlem Ship Canal Bridge (1 subway service)
Henry Hudson Bridge	1936	673 m	Henry Hudson Parkway
Spuyten Duyvil Bridge	1899		Rail only

Hudson River

George Washington Bridge, spanning the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey. Historic American Engineering Record photo

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

Name	Opening year	Length	Comments
George Washington Bridge	1931	1450.85 m	I-95, US-1, US-9 US-46 Handles 280,718 vehicles per day (2010)

New York Bay

Name	Opening year	Length	Comments
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge	1964	2039.1 m	I-278

Newtown Creek

Name	Opening year	Length	Comments
Kosciuszko Bridge	1939	1,835 m	I-278
Pulaski Bridge	1954	860 m	McGuinness Boulevard
J. J. Byrne Memorial Bridge	1987	55 m	a.k.a. Greenpoint Avenue Bridge
Grand Street Bridge
Metropolitan Avenue Bridge

Other

The Bronx

Name	Opening year	Length	Comments
Hutchinson River (heading upriver)
Pelham Bridge	1908		Shore Road
Hutchinson River Parkway Bridge
Westchester Creek
Unionport Bridge
Bronx River
Eastern Boulevard Bridge			I-278
Pelham Bay
City Island Bridge	1901		City Island Avenue

Brooklyn

Ninth Street Bridge, spanning Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.

Name	Opening year	Length	Comments
Mill Basin
Mill Basin Bridge
Gowanus Canal
Union Street Bridge
Carroll Street Bridge
Third Street Bridge
Ninth Street Bridge			(F G subway service)
Hamilton Avenue Bridge
Rockaway Inlet (Brooklyn and Queens)
Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge	1937	1226 m

Queens

Name	Opening year	Length	Comments
Dutch Kills
Borden Avenue Bridge
Hunters Point Avenue Bridge
Jamaica Bay
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge	1970
The Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge
Grassy Bay Subway Bridge			(A subway service) Howard Beach to Broad Channel.
South Channel Subway Bridge			(A S subway service) Swing Bridge, Broad Channel to The Rockaways
102nd Street Bridge			Connecting Hamilton Beach at Russell Street with Howard Beach, also known as "Lenihan's Bridge".
Hawtree Creek Bridge			163rd Avenue and 99th Street in Howard Beach across to Hamilton Beach at Rau Court and Davenport Court
Rockaway Inlet (Brooklyn and Queens)
Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge	1937	1226 m

Staten Island

Name	Opening year	Length	Comments
Arthur Kill
Goethals Bridge	1928	2164.08 m	I-278
Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge	1959	170.08 m	CSX and M&E rail lines
Outerbridge Crossing	1928	3093 m	NJ 440/NY 440
Kill Van Kull
Bayonne Bridge	1931	1761.74 m	NY 440/NJ 440

Tunnels

The Queens–Midtown Tunnel

Each of the tunnels that run underneath the East and Hudson rivers were marvels of engineering when first constructed. The Holland Tunnel is the oldest of the vehicular tunnels, opening to great fanfare in 1927 as the first mechanically ventilated underwater tunnel. The Queens Midtown Tunnel was opened in 1940 to relieve the congestion on the city's bridges. Each of its tubes were designed 1½ feet wider than the Holland Tunnel in order to accommodate the wider cars of the period. When the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel opened in 1950 as the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, it was the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnel in the world, a title which it still holds. The Lincoln Tunnel has three tubes linking midtown Manhattan to New Jersey, a configuration which provides the flexibility to provide four lanes in one direction during rush-hour or three lanes in each direction.

All four underwater road tunnels were built by Ole Singstad: the Holland Tunnel's original chief engineer Clifford Milburn Holland died, as did his successor, Milton H. Freeman, after which Singstad became chief engineer, finishing the Holland Tunnel and then building the remaining tunnels.

East River

PATH train emerging from the Hudson tubes, into the Exchange Place station

Traveling through the Holland Tunnel, from Manhattan to Jersey City, New Jersey.

From south to north:

Name	Opening year	Length	Comments
Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel	1950	2,779 m (9,117 ft)	I-478
Joralemon Street Tunnel	1908		IRT Lexington Avenue Line (4 5 subway services)
Montague Street Tunnel	1920		BMT Broadway Line (N R subway services)
Clark Street Tunnel	1919	1,800 m (5,900 ft)	IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line (2 3 subway services)
Cranberry Street Tunnel	1933		IND Eighth Avenue Line (A C subway services)
Rutgers Street Tunnel	1936		IND Sixth Avenue Line (F subway service)
14th Street Tunnel	1924		BMT Canarsie Line (L subway service)
East River Tunnels	1910	1,204 m (3,949 ft)	part of the New York Tunnel Extension Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road (Northeast Corridor)
Queens–Midtown Tunnel	1940	1,955 m (6,414 ft)	I-495
Steinway Tunnel	1915		IRT Flushing Line (7 <7> subway services)
53rd Street Tunnel	1933		IND Queens Boulevard Line (E M subway services)
60th Street Tunnel	1920		BMT Broadway Line (N Q R subway services)
63rd Street Tunnel	1989	960 m (3,140 ft)	upper level: IND 63rd Street Line (F subway services) lower level: future LIRR to Grand Central Terminal

Harlem River

From south to north:

Name	Opening year	Length	Comments
Lexington Avenue Tunnel	1918		IRT Lexington Avenue Line (4 5 6 <6> subway services)
149th Street Tunnel	1905	195 m (641 ft)	IRT White Plains Road Line (2 subway service)
Concourse Tunnel	1933		IND Concourse Line (B D subway services)

Hudson River

From south to north:

Name	Opening year	Length	Comments
Downtown Hudson Tubes	1909	1,720 m (5,650 ft)	Montgomery-Cortlandt Tunnels Port Authority Trans-Hudson
Holland Tunnel	1927	south tube: 2,551 m (8,371 ft) north tube: 2,608 m (8,558 ft)	I-78
Uptown Hudson Tubes	1908	1,700 m (5,500 ft)	Hoboken-Morton Tunnels Port Authority Trans-Hudson
North River Tunnels	1910	1,900 m (6,100 ft)	part of New York Tunnel Extension Amtrak and New Jersey Transit (Northeast Corridor)
Lincoln Tunnel	south tube: 1957 center tube: 1937 north tube: 1945	south tube: 2,440 m (8,006 ft) center tube: 2,504 m (8,216 ft) north tube: 2,281 m (7,482 ft)	NJ 495/I-495

Other bridges and tunnels

• Murray Hill Tunnel, Manhattan
• Battery Park Underpass
• Cobble Hill Tunnel
• First Avenue Underpass from 42nd Street to 47th Street, Manhattan
• Trinity Place Bridge, Manhattan

Bridges and tunnels by use

The relative average number of inbound vehicles between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. to Midtown and Lower Manhattan is:

1. Queensboro Bridge: 31,000
2. Lincoln Tunnel: 25,944
3. Brooklyn Bridge: 22,241
4. Williamsburg Bridge: 18,339
5. Queens-Midtown Tunnel: 17,968
6. Holland Tunnel: 16,257
7. Brooklyn Battery Tunnel: 14,496
8. Manhattan Bridge: 13,818

Sources

• Bridge information
• Bridges by use

External links

• NYC DOT list of movable bridges