Skip to main content

Roosevelt Island Bridge

Image
By

You may be familiar with the Roosevelt Island Tramway, which is an elevated tram that takes you from midtown Manhattan over the East River to Roosevelt Island, but did you know that there is a bridge that takes you from Roosevelt Island to the borough of Queens? The Roosevelt Island Bridge is that bridge, and is the only bridge that offers motor vehicle access from Roosevelt Island to the rest of New York City. The bridge was opened on May 18, 1955 at a total cost of $6,498,255.13 under the name of the Welfare Island Bridge, as Roosevelt Island was known as Welfare Island at the time. All vehicles, including emergency services, will find that the only way for getting onto the island is by going through Queens. The Roosevelt Island Bridge is a tower drive, vertical lift, movable bridge across the East Channel of the East River with a span length of 418 feet. The bridge was renamed the Roosevelt Island Bridge in 1973, in accordance with Welfare Island being renamed Roosevelt Island.

In comparison, the Roosevelt Island Bridge is small potatoes when you compare it to other bridges over the East River, such as the Brooklyn Bridge or the nearby Queensboro Bridge (officially known as the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, or the 59th Street Bridge, if you're feelin' groovy). Speaking of the Queensboro Bridge, the Roosevelt Island Bridge replaced a truck elevator from the Queensboro Bridge to Roosevelt Island built in 1916. Prior to the bridge being built, there was a car ferry from 78th Street in Manhattan to what was then known as Welfare Island, named because of the mental institutions that were once located on the island. Overcrowded and causing delays on the Queensboro Bridge, the elevator system was a mess which frequently broke down, plus the ferry service was inadequate for traffic demand, so work began on a new East River Bridge in 1952, which led to the opening of the bridge in 1955.  It is arguably easier to access Roosevelt Island now, and during a visit to New York City, I decided to check out Roosevelt Island and the bridge to get on and off the island.

Looking towards Queens from Roosevelt Island.

The Roosevelt Island Bridge's seamy underbelly.

The Roosevelt Island Bridge was relatively peaceful that Sunday afternoon.

Typically, the bridge has a clearance of 40 feet over the water. When the 418 foot long, 1000 ton vertical lift span is raised between the bridge's 170 foot tall towers, a 100 foot clearance is then provided for passing ships.

The Roosevelt Island Bridge has access for both vehicular traffic and pedestrians.

Bridge plaque for the Welfare Island Bridge. Like the nearby Pulaski Bridge over Newtown Creek, Frederick H. Zurmuhlen of the New York City Department of Public Works oversaw the design and construction of the Welfare Island Bridge. Zuhrmulen was one of the unsung men who built the modern city, and he served under three mayors.
The Queensboro Bridge, hiding behind the Roosevelt Island Bridge when you look towards the south.
A nice parting shot of the Roosevelt Island Bridge, as seen from Roosevelt Island.


How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
The History of the Roosevelt Island Bridge - Brownstoner
Movable Bridges over Smaller Waterways - New York City DOT
Roosevelt Island Bridge - NYCRoads.com
Labels:
Location: Roosevelt Island Bridge, New York, NY 10044, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more