Major Bridges Bronx STATS 2020
area’s growth quickly necessitated
the construction of another, larger
bridge. The current bridge opened
on July 18, 1910, and is a four-lane,
four-span Swing Bridge, carrying
traffi c between Madison and Fifth
Avenues and East 138th Street in
Manhattan and East 138th Street
and Grand Concourse in the Bronx.
PARK AVENUE BRIDGE
Opened: 1956 (replacing 1897
bridge)
Bridge Type: Vertical Lift Bridge
Size: It has a length of 340 feet.
Purpose: Connects Manhattan to the
Bronx over the Harlem River and carries
three tracks of the Metro-North
Railroad.
Maintenance: Metropolitan
Transit Authority
Information: In 1867, a wooden
drawbridge was replaced with
an iron one and by the 1880s,
the bridge was crossed by
more than 200 trains a day.
However, the bridge was soon
made obsolete by heavy traffic
and dredging of the Harlem
River Ship Canal. Alfred P.
Boller worked with the railroad
to create a new four-tracked
swing bridge. The railroad and
the city split the cost. The
new bridge was built in conjunction
with the Army Corps
Engine 38/Ladder 51
3446 Eastchester Road
Squad 41
330 E. 150th Street
Engine Company 42
1781 Monroe Avenue
Engine 43/Ladder
Company 59
1901 Sedgwick Avenue
Engine 45/Ladder
Company 58/Battalion 18
925 E. Tremont Avenue
Engine 46/Ladder
Company 27
460 Cross Bronx Expressway
Engine 48/Ladder
Company 56
2417 Webster Avenue
Engine 50/Ladder
Company 19 Battalion 26
1155 Washington Avenue
Engine 52/Ladder
Company 52
4450 Henry Hudson
Parkway E.
Engine 60/Ladder
Company 17/Battalion 14
341 E 143 Street
Squad 61/Battalion 20
1518 Williamsbridge Road
Engine 62/Ladder
Company 32
3431 White Plains Road
Engine 63/Ladder
Company 39/Battalion 15
of Engineers’ project to build
the Harlem River Ship Canal.
Between 1954 and 1956, the
New York, New Haven, and
Hartford Railroad built a third
rail bridge on the site. The new
bridge had four tracks and
consists of two parallel double
track spans, 340 feet long. It
has 25 feet of clearance when
closed and 135 when open.
During the 1960s, the bridge
came under the ownership of
several different companies,
including Penn Central Railroad.
Today, Metro-North operates
it.
THIRD AVENUE BRIDGE
Opened: August 1, 1898
Bridge Type: Swing-Type Bridge
Size: It has a length of 340 feet.
Purpose: Connects Manhattan
to the Bronx over the Harlem
River.
Maintenance: New York City Department
of Transportation
Daily Traffi c: 58,510 (last measured
in 2008)
Information: The Third Avenue
Bridge carries traffi c south from
Third Avenue, E. 135th Street,
Bruckner Boulevard, and Lincoln
Avenue in the Bronx, to E. 128th
Street, E. 129th Street, Lexington
Avenue, and the Harlem River
Drive in Manhattan, traveling
over the Metro-North Railroad
755 East 233 Street
Engine 64/Ladder
Company 47
1214 Castle Hill Avenue
Engine 66/Ladder
Company 61
21 Asch Loop
Engine 68/Ladder 49
1160 Ogden Avenue
Engine 70/Ladder
Oak Point Link, the Harlem River,
and Harlem River Drive. The main
span over the Harlem River is a
swing-type bridge. It is located
about 750 meters south of the
Madison Avenue Bridge and 600
meters northwest of the Willis
Avenue Bridge. The Department
of Transportation undertook a
$118 million project to replace the
previous Third Avenue Bridge. As
part of the major reconstruction
project, a new swing span was
fl oated into place on October 29,
2004. Additional work covered
redesign of the approach ramps
to the bridge on the Bronx side
and off the bridge in Manhattan.
As reconstructed, the bridge
carries fi ve lanes of Manhattanbound
traffi c from the Bronx,
which split to three ramps in
Manhattan: to East 128 Street
and Second Avenue; to Lexington
Avenue and East 129 Street; and
to the southbound Harlem River
Drive/FDR Drive.
WILLIS AVENUE BRIDGE
Opened: October 2, 2010 (replacing
bridge built in 1901)
Bridge Type: Swing Bridge
Purpose: Connects Manhattan
to the Bronx over the Harlem
River.
Maintenance: New York City Department
of Transportation
Size: The total length is 3,212
Company 53
169 Schofi eld Street
Engine 71/Ladder
Company 55
720 Melrose Avenue
Engine Company 72
3929 E. Tremont Avenue
Engine 73/Ladder
Company 42
655 Prospect Avenue
50 BRONX STATS - NOVEMBER 20, 2020 BTR
feet. Its longest span is 304
feet.
Daily Traffi c: 62,167 (last measured
in 2008)
Information: The Willis Avenue
Bridge extends from First Avenue
and E. 124th Street in Manhattan
to Willis Avenue and E.
134th Street in the Bronx. Oriented
north-south, the bridge is
a northbound route and works
in concert with the nearby Third
Avenue Bridge, which carries
southbound traffi c. By the turn
of the 20th century, intensifi ed
manufacturing development in
the southern Bronx had rendered
the Third Avenue Bridge
inadequate for traffi c demand.
In 1894, the State Legislature
authorized a new bridge to be
built in the same location where
a ferry ran in the 17th century.
After a delay due to a right-ofway
confl ict with the New Haven
Railroad, the bridge opened
on August 22, 1901, at a cost
of $2,444,511. Signifi cant work
to strengthen the structure was
performed in 1916, when the
Union Railway Company routed
a trolley line across the bridge.
By the early 2000s, the Willis
Avenue Bridge exhibited the effects
of age, weather and the
continual, daily usage by motor
vehicles. As part of a $612
million project, DOT completely
replaced the bridge, including
the FDR Drive approach ramp
and the ramp onto Bruckner
Boulevard in 2010. On July
12, 2010 the swing span was
loaded onto barges and began a
135 nautical mile journey to NY
Harbor passing underneath 14
bridges. On July 26, the 2,400
ton bridge traveled on barges to
its permanent location along the
East River. The new Willis Avenue
Bridge was built to current
engineering design standards
and features a direct connection
from the FDR to the northbound
Major Deegan Expressway
in the Bronx. It has wider
lanes than the old bridge, and
a combined pedestrian/bicycle
pathway along its north side.
The project is ongoing, as DOT
completes reconstruction work
on surrounding ramps and approaches.
A symbolic portion of
the original Willis Avenue Bridge
will be retained as a monument
in Harlem River Park.
CITY ISLAND BRIDGE
Opened: July 4, 1901
Bridge Type: Swing Bridge
Size: It has a length of 950 feet
Purpose: Connects the Bronx
with the rest of City Island over
Pelham Bay.
Maintenance: New York City Department
of Transportation
Daily Traffi c: 14,313 (last measured
in 2008)
Information: The City Island
Bridge is of stone and steel
construction. Construction
was begun in 1899 and completed
in 1901, at a cost of
$200,000. It consists of five
fixed spans and a central
swing section which was converted
to fixed spans in 1963.
The bridge is scheduled for
demolition and replacement
by a cable stayed bridge.
The idea of a new bridge was
the subject of much debate
within the community until
a compromise was reached
on a bridge that satisfied the
requirements of the Department
of Transportation and
the hope of City Island residents
that the bridge would
not destroy the nautical
feel of the community. The
original schedule was for the
project to begin in 2007 with
completion in 2010, but the
project was pushed back to
start in 2012. The total cost
of the project jumped from
$50 million to an estimated
$120 million due to redesigns
and the addition of related
projects.
Engine 75/Ladder
Company 33/Battalion
618 East 138th Street
Engine 88/Ladder
Company 38
2225 Belmont Avenue
Engine 89/Ladder
Company 50
2924 Bruckner Blvd
Engine 90/Ladder
Company 41
1841 White Plains Road
Engine 92/Ladder
Company 44/Battalion 17
1259 Morris Avenue
Engine 94/ Ladder
Company 48/Battalion 3
1226 Seneca Avenue
Engine 96/Ladder
Company 54
Engine 80
1689 Story Avenue
Engine Company 97
1454 Astor Avenue
Rescue 3
453 East 176th Street. Rescue
Co. 3 is one of fi ve elite Rescue
Companies in the NYC Fire
Department. Rescue Co. 3 is the
citywide, fi ve borough collapse
rescue team.
from Page 49
Firehouses Bronx STATS 2020