List of bridges and tunnels in New York City

The Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge on the East River in 1981

New York City is home to 789 bridges and tunnels.

Several agencies manage this network of crossings. The New York City Department of Transportation owns and operates almost 800. ^[1] The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New York State Department of Transportation and Amtrak have many others.

Many of the city's major bridges and tunnels have broken or set records. Opened in 1927, the Holland Tunnel was the world's first mechanically ventilated underwater vehicular tunnel. The Brooklyn Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, George Washington Bridge, and Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge were the world's longest suspension bridges when opened in 1883, ^[2] 1903, ^[3] 1931, ^[4] and 1964 ^[5] respectively.

Bridges

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

New York City's water 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, located in the present-day Kingsbridge neighborhood. The bridge, composed of stone abutments and a timber deck, was demolished in 1917. The oldest crossing still standing is High Bridge, built in 1848. This bridge carried the water of the Croton Aqueduct over the Harlem River to the city as part of the Croton Aqueduct system. ^[6]

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, Hell Gate, Queensboro, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Macombs Dam, Carroll Street, University Heights, and Washington Bridges have all received landmark status, as well. ^[6]

New York features bridges of many lengths and types, carrying vehicular, bicycle, pedestrian, and subway traffic. 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. ^{[7] [8]} The George Washington, Verrazzano-Narrows, and Brooklyn Bridges are noted for their architecture, while others are more well known for their functional importance, such as the Williamsburg Bridge with 8 vehicular lanes, 2 subway tracks, a bike lane, and pedestrian walkways.

Bridges by body of water

East River

From south to north:

Name	Opening year	Length		Carries	Notes	Image	Ref.
		feet	meters
Brooklyn Bridge	1883	5,988	1,825	5 lanes of roadway (2 Manhattan-bound, 3 Brooklyn-bound)	Oldest suspension bridge in NYC. Also oldest suspension/cable-stayed hybrid bridge.
Manhattan Bridge	1909	6,854	2,089	7 lanes of roadway and ​ ​ ​ trains	Double-decker bridge with 5 westbound lanes and 2 eastbound lanes. 3 of the westbound lanes and the subway are below the other 4 lanes.
Williamsburg Bridge	1903	7,308.0	2,227.48	8 lanes of roadway (4 in each direction) and ​trains
Queensboro Bridge	1909	3,724	1,135	9 lanes of NY 25 (Queens Boulevard)	Officially known as the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. Also known as 59th Street Bridge. Reversible 4 lanes on the upper deck, and 2 westbound/3 eastbound lanes on the lower deck.
Roosevelt Island Bridge	1955	2,877.0	876.91	2 lanes of roadway (1 in each direction)	East channel only
Triborough Bridge (Suspension Bridge)	1936	2,790	850	8 lanes of I-278 (4 in each direction)	Officially known as the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
Hell Gate Bridge	1916	1,020	310	3 rail tracks (2 of Northeast Corridor, 1 of New York Connecting Railroad)
Rikers Island Bridge	1966	4,200.0	1,280.16	2 lanes of roadway	Only connects Rikers Island to Queens
Bronx–Whitestone Bridge	1939	3,770.0	1,149.10	6 lanes of I-678 (Whitestone Expressway)
Throgs Neck Bridge	1961	2,910.0	886.97	6 lanes of I-295 (Throgs Neck Expressway)

Harlem River

From south to north, east to west:

Name	Opening year	Length		Carries	Notes	Image
		feet	meters
Wards Island Bridge	1951	937	285.6	Pedestrians and bicycles only
Triborough Bridge (Vertical-Lift Bridge)	1936	750	230	2 lanes of exit ramp from F.D.R. Drive	Officially known as the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
Willis Avenue Bridge	1901	3,212	979	4 lanes of roadway	Northbound traffic only
Third Avenue Bridge	1898	2,800.0	853.44	5 lanes of roadway	Southbound traffic only
Park Avenue Bridge	1956	330	100	4 tracks of Metro-North
Madison Avenue Bridge	1910	1,893	577	4 lanes of roadway
145th Street Bridge	1905	1,604	489	4 lanes of roadway
Macombs Dam Bridge	1895	2,539	774	4 lanes of roadway
High Bridge	1848	2,000	600	Pedestrian walkway and bicycle lanes	Oldest surviving bridge in New York City
Alexander Hamilton Bridge	1963	2,375	724	8 lanes of I-95 and US 1
Washington Bridge	1888	2,375	723.9	6 lanes of roadway
University Heights Bridge	1908	269	82	2 lanes of roadway
Broadway Bridge	1962	558.0	170.08	4 lanes of Broadway/ US 9 and the train	Also known as Harlem Ship Canal Bridge
Henry Hudson Bridge	1936	2,208	673	6 lanes of NY 9A  / Henry Hudson Parkway	Double-decked bridge
Spuyten Duyvil Bridge	1899	610	186	1 track of Empire Corridor	Swing bridge

Hudson River

Name	Opening year	Length		Carries	Comments	Photo
		feet	meters
George Washington Bridge	1931	4,760.0	1,450.85	14 lanes of I-95  / US 1  / US 9  / US 46	Double-deck, 8 lanes on upper level, 6 lanes on lower level. 7 lanes in each direction.

New York Bay

Name	Opening year	Length		Carries	Comments	Photo
		feet	meters
Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge	1964	13,701	4,176	13 lanes of I-278	Double-deck, 7 lanes on upper level; 3 in each direction and 1 reversible HOV 3+ lane. 6 lanes on lower level; three in each direction.

Newtown Creek

See also: Newtown Creek bridges

Name	Opening year	Length		Carries	Comments	Image
		feet	meters
Kosciuszko Bridge	2017, 2019	6,020	1,835	6 lanes of I-278	Eastbound span opened in April 2017, and westbound span opened in August 2019. It replaces the original bridge
Pulaski Bridge	1954	2,820	860	6 lanes of McGuinness Boulevard	Drawbridge
Greenpoint Avenue Bridge	1987 [9]	180	55	4 lanes of Greenpoint Avenue	a.k.a. J. J. Byrne Memorial Bridge Drawbridge
Grand Street Bridge	1903 [9]	227	69.2	1 lane of Grand Avenue	Swing bridge; one-lane bridge
Metropolitan Avenue Bridge	1933 [9]	111	33.8	4 lanes of Grand Street and Metropolitan Avenue	Drawbridge; Crosses English Kills, a tributary of Newtown Creek [9]

Other

The Bronx

Name	Opening year	Length	Carries	Comments
Bronx Kill
Robert F. Kennedy Bridge	1936	1,610 feet (490 m)	8 lanes of I-278	Formerly known as the Triborough Bridge
Hutchinson River (heading downriver)
Eastchester Bridge	1926	0.4 miles	4 lanes of Boston Road ( US 1)
I-95 bridge	1961	5,280 feet	6 lanes of I-95
Hutchinson River Parkway Bridge	1941	673 feet (205 m)	6 lanes of Hutchinson River Parkway	Drawbridge
Pelham Bay Bridge	1908	81 feet (25 m)	Northeast Corridor (Amtrak)	Also called Amtrak Pelham Bay Bridge
Pelham Bridge	1908	892 feet (272 m)	4 lanes of Shore Road	Drawbridge
Westchester Creek
Unionport Bridge	1953	526 feet (160.3 m)	7 lanes of I-278 ( Bruckner Boulevard ) / I-95
Bronx River
Eastern Boulevard Bridge	1953	634 feet (193.2 m)	I-278	Drawbridge
Eastchester Bay
City Island Bridge	1901	950 feet (290 m)	3 lanes of City Island Avenue

Brooklyn

Name	Opening year	Length	Carries	Comments	Image
Gowanus Canal
Union Street Bridge	1905 [10]	600 feet	2 lanes of Union Street	Drawbridge
Carroll Street Bridge	1889 [10]	300 feet	2 lanes of Carroll Street	New York City Designated Landmark and one of four retractable bridges in the country [11]	The Carroll Street Bridge in Gowanus, Brooklyn
Third Street Bridge	1905 [10]	350 feet	Third Street
Ninth Street Bridge	1999 [10]	700 feet	Ninth Street	Vertical Lift Bridge	Ninth Street Bridge, spanning Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn
Culver Viaduct	1933 [12]	0.6 miles	​ trains	passes over the Ninth Street Bridge, carrying 4 tracks, 2 express and 2 local	Ninth Street Bridge, spanning Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn
Hamilton Avenue Bridge	1942 [10]	0.7 miles	Hamilton Avenue	passes under the Gowanus Expressway and carries four lanes of traffic in each direction	A view facing west from the edge of the Hamilton Ave bride in Brooklyn, with the Gowanus expressway above
Gowanus Expressway	1941 [13]		9 lanes of I-278 (Gowanus Expressway)
Mill Basin
Mill Basin Bridge	2017		6 lanes of Belt Parkway	The bridge has a combined bicycle and pedestrian pathway on the eastbound side of the bridge which carries the Jamaica Bay Greenway
Mill Basin Drawbridge (demolished)	1940	825 ft	6 lanes of Belt Parkway	Twin-leaf bascule bridge; demolished in 2018 and replaced by Mill Basin Bridge
Rockaway Inlet (Brooklyn and Queens)
Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge	1937	1226 m	4 lanes of Flatbush Avenue	also has a narrow combined bicycle and pedestrian path on the southbound side of the bridge

Queens

Name	Opening year	Length	Carries	Comments	Image
Dutch Kills
Borden Avenue Bridge	1908 [9]	100 feet	2 lanes of Borden Avenue	One of four retractable bridges in the country [11]
Hunters Point Avenue Bridge	1910 [9]	500 feet	Hunters Point Avenue
Cabin M Bridge			1 track of the Montauk Cutoff	There is another abandoned track on the bridge
DB Cabin Bridge			1 track of the Montauk Branch	The bridge was originally built to carry three tracks
Jamaica Bay
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge	1970	0.7 miles	6 lanes Cross Bay Boulevard
Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge	1971	0.7 miles	6 lanes of Cross Bay Boulevard
North Channel Swing Bridge			train	Not actually a movable bridge. Howard Beach to Broad Channel.
Beach Channel Drawbridge			​ trains	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	Also known as "Joel Miele Sr. Bridge".
Rockaway Inlet (Brooklyn and Queens)
Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge	1937	1226 m	4 lanes of Flatbush Avenue

Staten Island

Name	Opening year	Length	Carries	Comments
Arthur Kill
Goethals Bridge	2018 [14] [15]	2225.04 m	6 lanes of I-278	Replaced the old Goethals Bridge (completed 1928); the two new spans are a cable-stayed design
Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge	1959	170.08 m	CSX and M&E rail lines
Outerbridge Crossing	1928	3093 m	4 lanes of Route 440; NY 440
Kill Van Kull
Bayonne Bridge	1931	1761.74 m	4 lanes of NY 440; Route 440	raised and rebuilt in 2019

Tunnels

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 1.5 feet (0.46 m) wider than the Holland Tunnel in order to accommodate the wider cars of the period. When the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel opened in 1950, it was the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnel in North America, a title it still holds. ^[16] The Lincoln Tunnel has three tubes linking midtown Manhattan to New Jersey, a configuration that provides the flexibility to provide four lanes in one direction during rush hours, or three lanes in both 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

From south to north:

Name	Opening year	Length	Carries	Comments	Image
Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel	1950	2,779 m (9,117 ft)	4 lanes of I-478	Officially known as the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel
Joralemon Street Tunnel	1908	2,709 m (8,888 ft)	​ trains
Montague Street Tunnel	1920	2,136 m (7,009 ft)	​ trains
Clark Street Tunnel	1919	1,800 m (5,900 ft)	​ trains
Cranberry Street Tunnel	1933		​ trains
Rutgers Street Tunnel	1936		​trains
14th Street Tunnel	1924		train
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)	4 lanes of I-495 ( Long Island Expressway )		The Queens–Midtown Tunnel
Steinway Tunnel	1915		​trains
53rd Street Tunnel	1933		​ trains
60th Street Tunnel	1920		​ ​ trains
63rd Street Tunnel	1989	960 m (3,140 ft)	Upper level: ​trains Lower level: LIRR to Grand Central Madison
Ravenswood Tunnel	1892		Electricity, natural gas, steam, and number 6 fuel oil	First tunnel under the East River and Roosevelt Island, between Big Allis power plant in Astoria and Upper East Side [17] [18]

Harlem River

From south to north:

Name	Opening year	Length	Carries	Comments
Lexington Avenue Tunnel	1918	391 m (1,283 ft)	​ ​ trains
149th Street Tunnel	1905	195 m (641 ft)	train
Concourse Tunnel	1933		​ trains

Hudson River

From south to north:

Name	Opening year	Length	Carries	Comments	Image
Downtown Hudson Tubes	1909	1,720 m (5,650 ft)	Montgomery-Cortlandt Tunnels Port Authority Trans-Hudson		PATH train emerging from the Hudson tubes, into the Exchange Place station
Holland Tunnel	1927	south tube: 2,551 m (8,371 ft) north tube: 2,608 m (8,558 ft)	4 lanes of I-78 (Canal Street); Route 139 (NJ side)		Traveling through the Holland Tunnel, from Manhattan to Jersey City, New Jersey
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	north tube: 1945 center tube: 1937 south tube: 1957	south tube: 2,440 m (8,006 ft) center tube: 2,504 m (8,216 ft) north tube: 2,281 m (7,482 ft)	6 lanes of NY 495 (NY side); Route 495 (NJ side)

Newtown Creek

Name	Opening year	Carries	Comments
Greenpoint Tube	1933	train

Bridges and tunnels spanning land only

• Park Avenue Tunnel (33rd–40th Streets), Park Avenue Viaduct, and Park Avenue Tunnel (45th–97th Streets), Manhattan
• Battery Park Underpass, Manhattan
• Cobble Hill Tunnel, Brooklyn
• First Avenue Tunnel from 42nd Street to 47th Street, Manhattan
• Riverside Drive Viaduct, Riverside Drive, Manhattan ^[19]
• Seeley Street Bridge over Prospect Avenue, Brooklyn
• Trinity Place Bridge, Manhattan

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in New York (state)
• List of tunnels documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in New York (state)
• List of fixed crossings of the East River
• List of crossings of the Harlem River
• List of fixed crossings of the Hudson River

References

• New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT). "Movable Bridges in the Bronx." Accessed 2015-08-25.

1. "NYC DOT – Bridges". www1.nyc.gov. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
2. "NYC DOT – Brooklyn Bridge" . Retrieved February 24, 2012.
3. "NYC DOT – Williamsburg Bridge" . Retrieved February 24, 2012.
4. "History – George Washington Bridge – The Port Authority of NY & NJ" . Retrieved February 24, 2012.
5. "Verrazano-Narrows Bridge" . Retrieved February 24, 2012.
6. "NYC DOT – Frequently Asked Questions about Bridges" . Retrieved February 24, 2012.
7. "Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - George Washington Bridge". The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
8. Bod Woodruff; Lana Zak & Stephanie Wash (November 20, 2012). "GW Bridge Painters: Dangerous Job on Top of the World's Busiest Bridge". ABC News. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
9. "Movable Bridges over Newtown Creek and its Tributaries". New York City. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
10. New York City Dept. of Transportation. "Bridges over the Gowanus Canal". New York City. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
11. Berger, Joseph (May 13, 2013). "Antique Bridge Closed to Traffic While It's Open for Repairs". New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
12. "City Subway Extended". The New York Times. October 7, 1933. p. 16. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved December 18, 2018.
13. "Gowanus Expressway". nycroads.com. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
14. Porpora, Tracey (June 11, 2017). "Goethals Bridge now open in both directions". SILive.com. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
15. Grunlund, Maura (May 21, 2018). "First a.m. rush hour for new Goethals Bridge to New Jersey". SILive.com. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
16. "Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (formerly Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel)". MTA Bridges & Tunnels. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
17. Tunnel Under The East River
18. How the First East River Tunnel was built
19. Daley, Suzanne (May 22, 1985). "Rebuilding the Riverside Drive Viaduct". The New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

External links

• Bridge information
• Bridges by use
• NYC DOT list of movable bridges
• Bridges NYC [history of bridges in New York City and surrounding areas]