From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Triborough Bridge is a New York City complex of three bridges connecting the boroughs of the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens, using what were two islands, Ward's Island and Randall's Island as intemediate 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 May 18, 2003, the crossing charge for a two-axle passenger vehicle is $4 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).
