Greenpoint Avenue Bridge

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Greenpoint Avenue Bridge
Greenpoint Av Bridge from below in Brooklyn jeh.jpg
From Brooklyn
Coordinates 40°44′00″N73°56′25″W / 40.7333°N 73.9404°W / 40.7333; -73.9404
Crosses Newtown Creek
Locale Brooklyn and Queens, New York City
Official nameJ. J. Byrne Memorial Bridge
Maintained by New York City Department of Transportation
Preceded by Pulaski Bridge
Followed by Kosciuszko Bridge
Characteristics
Design Bascule bridge
Width70 feet (21 m)
Longest span180 feet (55 m)
Clearance below 26 feet (7.9 m)
History
Opened1987
Statistics
Daily traffic 31,622 (2016) [1]
Location
Greenpoint Avenue Bridge

The Greenpoint Avenue Bridge is a drawbridge that carries Greenpoint Avenue across Newtown Creek between the neighborhoods of Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Blissville, Queens in New York City. Also known as the J. J. Byrne Memorial Bridge, the bridge is named after James J. Byrne, who served as Brooklyn Borough President from September 1926 until he died in office on March 14, 1930. Previously, Byrne was the Brooklyn Commissioner of Public Works. [2]

Contents

History

Opened for a ship, viewed from Newtown Creek Greenpoint Avenue Bridge opened for a ship (2010).jpg
Opened for a ship, viewed from Newtown Creek

The Greenpoint Avenue Bridge is the sixth bridge to cross Newtown Creek in this location. In the 1850s, Neziah Bliss built the first drawbridge, which was called the Blissville Bridge. It was followed by three other bridges before being replaced by a new bridge in March 1900. [3] A new bridge opened in 1929 and after suffering from mechanical problems it was replaced by the current structure in 1987. [4]

Designed by Hardesty & Hanover, the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge was the recipient of an American Institute of Steel Construction Award in 1991. [5]

The bridge while open, viewed from Brooklyn GpointbridgeS1320005.jpg
The bridge while open, viewed from Brooklyn

On March 30, 2009, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a press conference at the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, announcing that it would receive $6 million in federal stimulus funds, which will be used to rehabilitate the bridge. [6]

In 2011, the NYCDOT proposed an extension of the existing Greenpoint Avenue bike lane on the Brooklyn side across the bridge into Queens. The project was completed in 2015. [7]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenpoint, Brooklyn</span> Neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City

Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at Bushwick Inlet Park and McCarren Park; on the southeast by the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway and East Williamsburg; on the north by Newtown Creek and the neighborhood of Long Island City in Queens; and on the west by the East River. The neighborhood has a large Polish immigrant and Polish-American community, containing many Polish restaurants, markets, and businesses, and it is often referred to as Little Poland.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulaski Bridge</span> Bridge between Brooklyn and Queens, New York

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newtown Creek</span> Heavily-polluted tributary of the East River in New York City, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedford Avenue</span> Avenue in Brooklyn, New York

Bedford Avenue is the longest street in Brooklyn, New York City, stretching 10.2 miles (16.4 km) and 132 blocks, from Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint south to Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, and passing through the neighborhoods of Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Flatbush, Midwood, Marine Park, and Sheepshead Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenpoint and Roosevelt Avenues</span> Avenue in Brooklyn and Queens, New York

Roosevelt Avenue and Greenpoint Avenue are main thoroughfares in the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. Roosevelt Avenue begins at 48th Street and Queens Boulevard in the neighborhood of Sunnyside. West of Queens Boulevard, the road is named Greenpoint Avenue and continues through Sunnyside and Long Island City across the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge into the borough of Brooklyn, terminating at WNYC Transmitter Park on the East River in the neighborhood of Greenpoint. Roosevelt Avenue goes through Woodside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Corona, Flushing Meadows–Corona Park and Flushing. In Flushing, Roosevelt Avenue ends at 156th Street and Northern Boulevard.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">McGuinness Boulevard</span> Boulevard in Brooklyn, New York

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borden Avenue Bridge</span> Bridge in Queens, New York

The Borden Avenue Bridge is a retractable bridge in New York City, in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. It carries vehicular and pedestrian traffic across Dutch Kills, a tidal waterway that is a tributary of Newtown Creek. The main span is 84 feet long, and it retracts by sliding on rails. It was last retracted to allow marine traffic to pass in 2005. It was designed by Edward Abraham Byrne and opened on March 25, 1908.

References

  1. "New York City Bridge Traffic Volumes" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. 2016. p. 9. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  2. "J.J. Byrne Park Historical Sign". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation . Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  3. "Greenpoint Avenue Bridge Over Newtown Creek". New York City Department of Transportation . Archived from the original on February 21, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  4. "State Will Build New City Bridge". The New York Times . Associated Press. September 6, 1984. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  5. Guide to Civil Engineering Projects In and Around New York City (2nd ed.). Metropolitan Section, American Society of Civil Engineers. 2009. pp. 45–46.
  6. Lisberg, Adam (March 30, 2009). "Brooklyn Bridge to get face-lift thanks to Feds, says Bloomberg". Daily News . New York. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  7. "NYC DOT Completes Installation of Protected Bike Lanes on Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, Connecting Queens and Brooklyn" (Press release). New York City Department of Transportation. July 2, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2017.