The Triborough Bridge is a complex of three bridges connecting the New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens, using what were two islands, Ward's Island and Randall's Island as intermediate right-of-way between the water crossings. These two islands have been consolidated by landfill.

The bridges span the Hell Gate (a tidal channel of the East River), Harlem River, and Bronx Kill. Construction was begun in 1930, but was soon sidetracked by the Great Depression. Using New Deal money, the project was resurrected in the early 1930s by Robert Moses and the bridge was opened to traffic on July 11, 1936. Its cost was greater than that of the Hoover Dam.

The structure used concrete from factories from Maine to Mississippi. To make the casings for pouring the concrete a whole forest in Oregon was cut down.

The toll revenues from the Triborough Bridge and the other bridges operated by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) were and are enormous, amounting to USD$933.1 million in 2002. The money from the bridge gave Moses his power, and today pays for a significant portion of the public transit subsidy for the New York City Transit Authority and the commuter railroads. The bridge carries approximately 200,000 vehicles per day.

As of March 13, 2005, the crossing charge for a two-axle passenger vehicle is $4.50 charged between any two landfalls, with a $.50 discount for E-ZPass users.

The bridge is owned by the City of New York and operated by the TBTA, an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York).

The three sections of the bridge

East River suspension bridge (I-278)

• Length of main span: 1,380 feet (421 meters)
• Length of each side span: 700 feet (213 meters)
• Length, anchorage to anchorage: 2,780 feet (847 meters)
• Width of bridge: 98 feet (30 meters)
• Number of traffic lanes: 8 lanes
• Height of towers above mean high water: 315 feet (96 meters)
• Clearance at center above mean high water: 143 feet (44 meters)

Harlem River lift bridge (NY Route 900G)

• Length of main lift-truss span: 310 feet (94 meters)
• Length of each side truss span: 230 feet (70 meters)
• Length, anchorage to anchorage: 770 feet (235 meters)
• Height of towers: 210 feet (64 meters)
• Clearance of lift span above mean high water: 55 feet (17 meters)
• Clearance of lift span in raised position: 135 feet (41 meters)
• Number of traffic lanes: 6 lanes

Bronx Kills crossing (I-278)

• Length of main truss span: 383 feet (117 meters)
• Length of approach truss span: 1,217 feet (371 meters)
• Length, anchorage to anchorage: 1,600 feet (488 meters)
• Clearance of truss span above mean high water: 55 feet (17 meters)
• Number of traffic lanes: 8 lanes

External references

• Triborough Bridge Historic Overview