154-764: The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge (colloquially referred to as the Whitestone Bridge or simply the Whitestone ) is a suspension bridge in New York City , carrying six lanes of Interstate 678 over the East River . The bridge connects Throggs Neck and Ferry Point Park in the Bronx , on the East River's northern shore, with the Whitestone neighborhood of Queens on the southern shore. Although
308-410: A cable-stayed bridge in which the deck is in compression. Cable-stayed bridges and suspension bridges may appear to be similar, but are quite different in principle and in their construction. In suspension bridges, large main cables (normally two) hang between the towers and are anchored at each end to the ground. The main cables, which are free to move on bearings in the towers, bear the load of
462-606: A concrete ramp. The Bronx side's approach descended 1,861 feet (567 m) on a plate girder viaduct, then another 266 feet (81 m) on a concrete ramp. A toll booth was located on the Bronx side immediately after the end of the concrete ramp. The span is supported by two main cables, which suspend the deck and are held up by the suspension towers. Each cable is 3,965 feet (1,209 m) long and contains 9,862 wires, amounting to around 14,800 miles (23,800 km) of cable length. Each cable contains 37 strands of 266 wires, which in turn measure 0.196 inches (5.0 mm) thick. Each of
616-460: A 200 feet span (also termed Beose Bridge) was constructed near Sagar, India during 1828–1830 by Duncan Presgrave, Mint and Assay Master. The Clifton Suspension Bridge (designed in 1831, completed in 1864 with a 214 m central span), is similar to the Sagar bridge. It is one of the longest of the parabolic arc chain type. The current Marlow suspension bridge was designed by William Tierney Clark and
770-649: A belief that the Whitestone Bridge might be unstable, as Moses later related. Shortly after the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse, Moses announced that steel cable stays would be installed on the bridge's towers to reduce oscillation. To mitigate the risk of failure from high winds, eight stay cables, two on each side of both suspension towers, were proposed for installation. The stays were supposed to be completed in January 1941. Although $ 1 million
924-526: A boom period during 1900–1929, with a population growth by a factor of six from 200,000 in 1900 to 1.3 million in 1930. The Great Depression and post World War II years saw a slowing of growth leading into an eventual decline. The mid to late century were hard times, as the Bronx changed during 1950–1985 from a predominantly moderate-income to a predominantly lower-income area with high rates of violent crime and poverty in some areas. The Bronx has experienced an economic and developmental resurgence starting in
1078-492: A bridge has a tendency to collapse simply because of the gravitational forces acting on the materials of which the bridge is made. Live load refers to traffic that moves across the bridge as well as normal environmental factors such as changes in temperature, precipitation, and winds. Dynamic load refers to environmental factors that go beyond normal weather conditions, factors such as sudden gusts of wind and earthquakes. All three factors must be taken into consideration when building
1232-468: A bridge. Silver Bridge (USA) was an eyebar chain highway bridge, built in 1928, that collapsed in late 1967, killing forty-six people. The bridge had a low-redundancy design that was difficult to inspect. The collapse inspired legislation to ensure that older bridges were regularly inspected and maintained. Following the collapse a bridge of similar design was immediately closed and eventually demolished. A second similarly-designed bridge had been built with
1386-788: A bridge. The principles of suspension used on a large scale also appear in contexts less dramatic than road or rail bridges. Light cable suspension may prove less expensive and seem more elegant for a cycle or footbridge than strong girder supports. An example of this is the Nescio Bridge in the Netherlands, and the Roebling designed 1904 Riegelsville suspension pedestrian bridge across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. The longest pedestrian suspension bridge, which spans
1540-467: A ceremony of 4,000 people. Both the Whitestone and College Point neighborhoods had celebrations for the new project, which Moses described as a "logical and inevitable part of the Belt Parkway program". The bridge featured pedestrian walkways and four lanes of vehicular traffic, and passenger vehicles were initially charged 25 cents. The 2,300-foot (700 m) center span was the fourth longest in
1694-638: A fixed crossing between Ferry Point at Clason Point, Bronx , and Whitestone Point at Whitestone, Queens , was first proposed in 1905 by real estate speculators who wanted to develop Whitestone. At the time, residents around the proposed area of the bridge protested construction in fear of losing the then-rural character of the community. Plans for the bridge were submitted to the Whitestone Improvement Association in 1909, but they were not acted upon. Queens public administrator Alfred J. Kennedy later recalled that in 1911, while he
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#17327729920651848-799: A free bridge across the Harlem River. After the American Revolutionary War , the King's Bridge toll was abolished. The territory now contained within Bronx County was originally part of Westchester County , one of the 12 original counties of the English Province of New York . The present Bronx County was contained in the town of Westchester and parts of the towns in Yonkers , Eastchester , and Pelham . In 1846,
2002-403: A higher margin of safety and remained in service until 1991. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge , (USA), 1940, was vulnerable to structural vibration in sustained and moderately strong winds due to its plate-girder deck structure. Wind caused a phenomenon called aeroelastic fluttering that led to its collapse only months after completion. The collapse was captured on film. There were no human deaths in
2156-558: A mostly poor African American and Hispanic (largely Puerto Rican ) population in the West Bronx. One significant factor that shifted the racial and economic demographics was the construction of Co-op City , built to house middle-class residents in family-sized apartments. The high-rise complex played a significant role in draining middle-class residents from older tenement buildings in the borough's southern and western fringes. Most predominantly non-Hispanic White communities today are in
2310-426: A new town was created by division of Westchester, called West Farms. The town of Morrisania was created, in turn, from West Farms in 1855. In 1873, the town of Kingsbridge was established within the former borders of the town of Yonkers, roughly corresponding to the modern Bronx neighborhoods of Kingsbridge, Riverdale , and Woodlawn Heights , and included Woodlawn Cemetery . Among the famous people who settled in
2464-572: A pedestrian suspension bridge over the Machchhu River in the city of Morbi, Gujarat, India collapsed, leading to the deaths of at least 141 people. The Bronx The Bronx ( / b r ɒ ŋ k s / BRONKS ) is the northernmost borough of New York City , coextensive with Bronx County , in the U.S. state of New York . It is south of Westchester County ; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan , across
2618-407: A place for "the vicious elements, bootleggers, gamblers and their friends in all walks of life" to cooperate and to "evade the law, escape punishment for their crimes, [and] to deter the police from doing their duty". Between 1930 and 1960, moderate and upper income Bronxites (predominantly non-Hispanic Whites) began to relocate from the borough's southwestern neighborhoods. This migration has left
2772-866: A promontory on the Hudson in Riverdale . Nearer the borough's center, and along the Bronx River , is Bronx Park ; its northern end houses the New York Botanical Gardens , which preserve the last patch of the original hemlock forest that once covered the county, and its southern end the Bronx Zoo , the largest urban zoological gardens in the United States. In 1904 the Chestnut Blight pathogen ( Cryphonectria parasitica )
2926-647: A proposal by Robert Stevenson for a bridge over the River Almond near Edinburgh . Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct (begun 1847) consists of three sections supported by cables. The timber structure essentially hides the cables; and from a quick view, it is not immediately apparent that it is even a suspension bridge. The main suspension cables in older bridges were often made from a chain or linked bars, but modern bridge cables are made from multiple strands of wire. This not only adds strength but improves reliability (often called redundancy in engineering terms) because
3080-541: A sequence generally described as follows. Depending on length and size, construction may take anywhere between a year and a half (construction on the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge took only 19 months) up to as long as a decade (the Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge's construction began in May 1986 and was opened in May 1998 – a total of twelve years). Suspension bridges are typically ranked by the length of their main span. These are
3234-422: A series of experiments on the bridge's design, Ammann concluded that additional measures to stiffen the Whitestone Bridge were unnecessary. A Princeton University professor separately created a model of the bridge, finding that the Whitestone Bridge's main span could still oscillate in as many as three segments. Even so, the public was scared by the fact that the two bridges were similar in design, and this led to
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#17327729920653388-485: A system of major Bronx parks connected by park-like thoroughfares is usually attributed to John Mullaly . Woodlawn Cemetery , located on 400 acres (160 ha) and one of the largest cemeteries in New York City, sits on the western bank of the Bronx River near Yonkers . It opened in 1863, in what was then the town of Yonkers, at the time a rural area. Since the first burial in 1865, more than 300,000 people have been interred there. The borough's northern side includes
3542-499: A temporary walkway. Poured sockets are used to make a high strength, permanent cable termination. They are created by inserting the suspender wire rope (at the bridge deck supports) into the narrow end of a conical cavity which is oriented in-line with the intended direction of strain. The individual wires are splayed out inside the cone or 'capel', and the cone is then filled with molten lead-antimony-tin (Pb80Sb15Sn5) solder. Most suspension bridges have open truss structures to support
3696-550: Is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridges , which lack vertical suspenders, have a long history in many mountainous parts of the world. Besides the bridge type most commonly called suspension bridges, covered in this article, there are other types of suspension bridges . The type covered here has cables suspended between towers , with vertical suspender cables that transfer
3850-409: Is based on the Bronx River , while the other strictly separates South Bronx from the rest of the borough. The Bronx River divides the borough nearly in half, putting the earlier-settled, more urban, and hillier sections in the western lobe and the newer, more suburban coastal sections in the eastern lobe. It is an accurate reflection on the Bronx's history considering that the towns that existed in
4004-645: Is considered the last remaining Inca rope bridge and is rebuilt annually. The first iron chain suspension bridge in the Western world was the Jacob's Creek Bridge (1801) in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania , designed by inventor James Finley . Finley's bridge was the first to incorporate all of the necessary components of a modern suspension bridge, including a suspended deck which hung by trusses. Finley patented his design in 1808, and published it in
4158-601: Is directly connected to its strategic location between New England and New York ( Manhattan ). Control over the bridges across the Harlem River plagued the period of British colonial rule. The King's Bridge, built in 1693 where Broadway reached the Spuyten Duyvil Creek , was a possession of Frederick Philipse , lord of Philipse Manor . Local farmers on both sides of the creek resented the tolls, and in 1759, Jacobus Dyckman and Benjamin Palmer led them in building
4312-529: Is divided by the Bronx River into a hillier section in the west , and a flatter eastern section. East and west street names are divided by Jerome Avenue . The West Bronx was annexed to New York City in 1874, and the areas east of the Bronx River in 1895. Bronx County was separated from New York County (modern-day Manhattan) in 1914. About a quarter of the Bronx's area is open space, including Woodlawn Cemetery , Van Cortlandt Park , Pelham Bay Park ,
4466-691: Is land and 15 square miles (39 km ) (27%) is water. The Bronx is New York City's northernmost borough, New York State's southernmost mainland county and the only part of New York City that is almost entirely on the North American mainland, unlike the other four boroughs that are either islands or located on islands. The bedrock of the West Bronx is primarily Fordham gneiss , a high-grade heavily banded metamorphic rock containing significant amounts of pink feldspar . Marble Hill – politically part of Manhattan but now physically attached to
4620-652: The 1964 New York World's Fair , which was also held in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Also by the 1950s, the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge was nearing its traffic capacity because it was the easternmost crossing of the East River between the Bronx and Queens. To alleviate traffic loads on the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge, planning for the Throgs Neck Bridge to the east, started in 1955, and construction of that bridge began in 1957. After
4774-508: The Bedford Park neighborhood; the reservoir was built in the 1890s on the site of the former Jerome Park Racetrack . Further south is Crotona Park , home to a 3.3-acre (1.3 ha) lake, 28 species of trees, and a large swimming pool. The land for these parks, and many others, was bought by New York City in 1888, while land was still open and inexpensive, in anticipation of future needs and future pressures for development. Some of
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4928-684: The Dominican Republic ), and immigrants from West Africa (particularly from Ghana and Nigeria ), African American migrants from the Southern United States , Nicaraguans , Panamanians , Hondurans , and South Asians . The Bronx contains the poorest congressional district in the United States , New York's 15th . The borough also features upper- and middle-income neighborhoods, such as Riverdale , Fieldston , Spuyten Duyvil , Schuylerville , Pelham Bay , Pelham Gardens , Morris Park , and Country Club . Parts of
5082-471: The Harlem River ; and north of the New York City borough of Queens , across the East River . The Bronx, the only New York City borough not primarily located on an island, has a land area of 42 square miles (109 km ) and a population of 1,472,654 at the 2020 census . Of the five boroughs, it has the fourth-largest area, fourth-highest population, and third-highest population density . The Bronx
5236-536: The Hutchinson River (named after the religious leader Anne Hutchinson , killed along its banks in 1641), passes through the East Bronx and empties into Eastchester Bay . The Bronx also includes several small islands in the East River and Long Island Sound , such as City Island and Hart Island . Rikers Island in the East River, home to the large jail complex for the entire city, is also part of
5390-836: The Mahakam River , located in Kutai Kartanegara Regency , East Kalimantan district on the Indonesia island of Borneo , was built in 1995, completed in 2001 and collapsed in 2011. Dozens of vehicles on the bridge fell into the Mahakam River . As a result of this incident, 24 people died and dozens of others were injured and were treated at the Aji Muhammad Parikesit Regional Hospital. Meanwhile, 12 people were reported missing, 31 people were seriously injured, and 8 people had minor injuries. Research findings indicate that
5544-524: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority . With a center span of 2,300 feet (700 m), the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge once had the fourth-largest center span of any suspension bridge in the world. The bridge has a total length of 3,700 feet (1,100 m), and its towers reach 377 feet (115 m) above water level. The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge has a 2,300-foot (700 m) main span between its two suspension towers, with
5698-730: The New York Botanical Garden , and the Bronx Zoo in the borough's north and center. The Thain Family Forest at the New York Botanical Garden is thousands of years old and is New York City's largest remaining tract of the original forest that once covered the city. These open spaces are primarily on land reserved in the late 19th century as urban development progressed north and east from Manhattan. The word "Bronx" originated with Swedish -born (or Faroese -born) Jonas Bronck , who established
5852-514: The New York City Subway contributed to the increase in population as thousands of immigrants came to the Bronx, resulting in a major boom in residential construction. Among these groups, many Irish Americans , Italian Americans , and especially Jewish Americans settled here. In addition, French , German , Polish , and other immigrants moved into the borough. As evidence of the change in population, by 1937, 592,185 Jews lived in
6006-706: The Q44 SBS operated by MTA New York City Transit , and the Q50 Limited (formerly part of the QBx1), operated by the MTA Bus Company . After the removal of the sidewalks starting in 1943, bicyclists were able to use QBx1 buses of the Queens Surface Corporation , which could carry bicycles on the front-mounted bike racks. However, since the Metropolitan Transportation Authority absorbed
6160-662: The Regional Plan Association (RPA) proposed a bridge from the Bronx to northern Queens to allow motorists from upstate New York and New England to reach Queens and Long Island without having to first travel through the traffic congestion in western Queens. The RPA believed that it was necessary to connect the proposed Belt Parkway (now Cross Island Parkway ) on the Queens side with the Hutchinson River Parkway and Bruckner Boulevard on
6314-465: The Spuyten Duyvil Creek ; Marble Hill's postal ZIP code , telephonic area codes and fire service, however, are shared with the Bronx and not Manhattan. The Bronx River flows south from Westchester County through the borough, emptying into the East River; it is the only entirely freshwater river in New York City. It separates the West Bronx from the schist of the East Bronx . A smaller river,
Bronx–Whitestone Bridge - Misplaced Pages Continue
6468-484: The Throgs Neck Bridge (approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) east) since 2005, the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge is suggested as an alternative route for heavy trucks. Tractor-trailers exceeding 53 feet (16 m) and traveling between central Queens and the Bronx, as well as all heavy trucks over 53 feet that are banned from the Throgs Neck Bridge, are required to use the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge. The idea for
6622-541: The Whitestone and Cross Island Parkways. The process of spinning the bridge's cables commenced in September 1938. The first cable, which contained 266 strands, was completed within a week. The suspender cables were completed within 41 days. That October, work started on the Cross Island Parkway approach to the bridge in Queens. The bridge's opening date was formalized in January 1939, and the last girder
6776-708: The Whitestone Expressway (I-678) extends south to an interchange with the Cross Island Parkway , located just past the end of the bridge's approach ramps. There is an exit from the bridge to the southbound Whitestone Expressway service road , and an entrance and exit from the northbound Whitestone Expressway to the northbound service road. In the Bronx , the bridge leads to the Hutchinson River Expressway (I-678). The expressway has exits and entrances in both directions to
6930-470: The definite article as "the Bronx" or "The Bronx", both legally and colloquially. The "County of the Bronx" also takes "the" immediately before "Bronx" in formal references, like the coextensive "Borough of the Bronx". The United States Postal Service uses "Bronx, NY" for mailing addresses. The region was apparently named after the Bronx River and first appeared in the "Annexed District of The Bronx", created in 1874 out of part of Westchester County . It
7084-448: The live and dead loads of the deck below, upon which traffic crosses. This arrangement allows the deck to be level or to arc upward for additional clearance. Like other suspension bridge types, this type often is constructed without the use of falsework . The suspension cables must be anchored at each end of the bridge, since any load applied to the bridge is transformed into tension in these main cables. The main cables continue beyond
7238-438: The 62nd and last county to be created by the state, effective in 1914. Bronx County's courts opened for business on January 2, 1914 (the same day that John P. Mitchel started work as Mayor of New York City ). Marble Hill, Manhattan , was now connected to the Bronx by filling in the former waterway, but it is not part of the borough or county. The history of the Bronx during the 20th century may be divided into four periods:
7392-488: The Bronx (43.9% of the borough's population), while only 54,000 Jews lived in the borough in 2011. Many synagogues still stand in the Bronx, but most have been converted to other uses. Bootleggers and gangs were active in the Bronx during Prohibition (1920–1933). Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Polish gangs smuggled in most of the illegal whiskey, and the oldest sections of the borough became poverty-stricken. Police Commissioner Richard Enright said that speakeasies provided
7546-557: The Bronx began in 1639. The Bronx was originally part of Westchester County , but it was ceded to New York County in two major parts ( West Bronx , 1874 and East Bronx , 1895) before it became Bronx County. Originally, the area was part of the Lenape 's Lenapehoking territory inhabited by Siwanoy of the Wappinger Confederacy. Over time, European colonists converted the borough into farmlands. The Bronx's development
7700-404: The Bronx during the 19th and early 20th centuries were author Willa Cather , tobacco merchant Pierre Lorillard , and inventor Jordan L. Mott , who established Mott Haven to house the workers at his iron works. The consolidation of the Bronx into New York City proceeded in two stages. In 1873, the state legislature annexed Kingsbridge, West Farms, and Morrisania to New York, effective in 1874;
7854-407: The Bronx saw a steep decline in population, livable housing, and quality of life starting from the mid-to-late 1960s, continuing throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, ultimately culminating in a wave of arson in the late 1970s, a period when hip hop music evolved. The South Bronx , in particular, experienced severe urban decay . The borough began experiencing new population growth starting in
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#17327729920658008-500: The Bronx side. The next year, urban planner Robert Moses formally proposed a Clason Point-to-Whitestone bridge as part of the Belt Parkway around Brooklyn and Queens. At the time, it was expected that the bridge would cost $ 25 million to construct. In 1932, the New York City Board of Estimate started soliciting applications from private companies to build and operate the crossing as a toll bridge. One such application
8162-701: The Bronx was designated an All America City by the National Civic League , acknowledging its comeback from the decline of the mid-century. In 2006, The New York Times reported that "construction cranes have become the borough's new visual metaphor, replacing the window decals of the 1980s in which pictures of potted plants and drawn curtains were placed in the windows of abandoned buildings." The borough has experienced substantial new building construction since 2002. Between 2002 and June 2007, 33,687 new units of housing were built or were under way and $ 4.8 billion has been invested in new housing. In
8316-532: The Bronx – is so-called because of the formation of Inwood marble there as well as in Inwood, Manhattan , and parts of the Bronx and Westchester County. The Hudson River separates the Bronx on the west from Alpine , Tenafly and Englewood Cliffs in Bergen County, New Jersey ; the Harlem River separates it from the island of Manhattan to the southwest; the East River separates it from Queens to
8470-508: The Bronx's decline may have been the development of high-rise housing projects , particularly in the South Bronx . Yet another factor may have been a reduction in the real estate listings and property-related financial services offered in some areas of the Bronx, such as mortgage loans or insurance policies—a process known as redlining . Others have suggested a " planned shrinkage " of municipal services, such as fire-fighting. There
8624-542: The Bronx-based organization Great and Glorious Grand Army of The Bronx, arguing the definite article is part of the proper name. In particular, the Great and Glorious Grand Army of The Bronx is leading efforts to make the city refer to the borough with an uppercase definite article in all uses, comparing the lowercase article in the Bronx's name to "not capitalizing the 's' in 'Staten Island ' ". European colonization of
8778-577: The Bronx. The Bronx's highest elevation at 280 feet (85 m) is in the northwest corner, west of Van Cortlandt Park and in the Chapel Farm area near the Riverdale Country School . The opposite (southeastern) side of the Bronx has four large low peninsulas or "necks" of low-lying land that jut into the waters of the East River and were once salt marsh : Hunt's Point, Clason's Point, Screvin's Neck and Throggs Neck . Further up
8932-483: The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge carried 35 million vehicles annually, more than the 33 million recorded in 1960, before the Throgs Neck Bridge had opened as an alternate route. There had been several plans to build a Long Island Sound bridge east of the Bronx–Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges to relieve traffic on these crossings, although such a bridge remained unbuilt in the 21st century. After concrete debris fell from
9086-486: The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge in the early 1940s, and it was widened to six lanes during the same project. The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge was also renovated in 1988–1991 to repair the anchorages, roadways, and drainage. The stiffening trusses were removed during a renovation in the mid-2000s, and the bridge's deck and approach viaducts were replaced soon afterward. The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge is owned by New York City and operated by MTA Bridges and Tunnels , an affiliate agency of
9240-574: The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge originally did not have a stiffening truss system. Instead, 11-foot (3.4 m) I-beam girders gave the bridge an Art Deco streamlined appearance. After the 1940 collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge , a bridge of similar design, trusses were added on the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge to minimize the span's oscillations. Further modifications to the bridge were made in 1988–1991 and in 2003–2005. The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge carries Interstate 678 (I-678). In Queens ,
9394-412: The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge's construction was proposed as early as 1905, it was not approved until 1936. The bridge was designed by Swiss-American architect Othmar Ammann and design engineer Allston Dana and opened to traffic with four lanes on April 29, 1939. The bridge's design was similar to that of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge , which collapsed in 1940. As a result, extra stiffening trusses were added to
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#17327729920659548-438: The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge's lifespan indefinitely. These improvements also accommodated the bridge's high traffic volumes: by 2008, the bridge was being used by an average of 120,000 vehicles a day, amounting to 43 million crossings that year. The Queens and Bronx approaches were replaced in a project that started in 2008. As part of the project, each of the approaches' lanes was widened to 12 feet (3.7 m). The replacement of
9702-569: The Hutchinson River Expressway service roads, which in turn connect to Lafayette Avenue. The expressway continues north to the Bruckner Interchange , where I-678 ends and becomes the Hutchinson River Parkway ; there are also connections to the Cross Bronx Expressway ( I-95 ) and to Bruckner Expressway ( I-278 and I-95). As most trucks carrying over 80,000 lb (36,000 kg) have been prohibited from using
9856-672: The Hutchinson River Parkway became the Hutchinson River Expressway. In addition, the Van Wyck Expressway between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Kew Gardens was extended northward to connect with the Whitestone Expressway and the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge. By 1966, the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge had been designated as part of Interstate 678 , along with the Whitestone Expressway. These highway upgrades were performed in preparation for
10010-502: The MTA restored the classic lines of the bridge by removing the stiffening trusses and installing fiberglass fairing along both sides of the road deck. The lightweight fiberglass fairing is triangular in shape, giving it an aerodynamic profile that allows crosswinds to flow through the bridge rather than hit the trusses. The removal of the trusses and other changes to the decking reduced the bridge's weight by 6,000 tons, accounting for some 25% of
10164-486: The New York E-ZPass CSC will be required to pay Toll-by-mail rates. The toll plaza of the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge, located on the Bronx side, originally contained 10 toll lanes but was later expanded. Four self-service toll-collection machines were installed at the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge during the 1950s, but they were removed in 1959 because motorists repeatedly dropped their coins at the machines. E-ZPass
10318-777: The Philadelphia journal, The Port Folio , in 1810. Early British chain bridges included the Dryburgh Abbey Bridge (1817) and 137 m Union Bridge (1820), with spans rapidly increasing to 176 m with the Menai Bridge (1826), "the first important modern suspension bridge". The first chain bridge on the German speaking territories was the Chain Bridge in Nuremberg . The Sagar Iron Suspension Bridge with
10472-440: The River Paiva, Arouca Geopark , Portugal, opened in April 2021. The 516 metres bridge hangs 175 meters above the river. Where such a bridge spans a gap between two buildings, there is no need to construct towers, as the buildings can anchor the cables. Cable suspension may also be augmented by the inherent stiffness of a structure that has much in common with a tubular bridge . Typical suspension bridges are constructed using
10626-450: The South Bronx. The IRT White Plains Road Line ( 2 and 5 trains) began to show an increase in riders. Chains such as Marshalls , Staples , and Target opened stores in the Bronx. More bank branches opened in the Bronx as a whole (rising from 106 in 1997 to 149 in 2007), although not primarily in poor or minority neighborhoods, while the Bronx still has fewer branches per person than other boroughs. In 1997,
10780-425: The TBA started selling $ 25 million in bonds to fund the bridge's construction. A $ 1.13 million contract for the construction of the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge's towers was awarded in June 1937 to the American Bridge Company , which had beaten the only other competitor, Bethlehem Steel . The same month, the city started buying property that was in the right-of-way for the Whitestone Bridge and Parkway; shortly afterward,
10934-417: The Third Avenue Bridge as people buy apartments and renovate them. Several boutique and chain hotels opened in the 2010s in the South Bronx . New developments are underway. The Bronx General Post Office on the corner of the Grand Concourse and East 149th Street is being converted into a market place, boutiques, restaurants and office space with a USPS concession. The Kingsbridge Armory , often cited as
11088-451: The Throgs Neck Bridge opened in 1961, the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge recorded a corresponding 40% decline in traffic; according to a TBTA executive, traffic on the bridge ultimately decreased by more than half. Soon afterward, the 1964 World's Fair resulted in an increase in traffic on the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge. In 1968, a heavy storm with winds of up to 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) caused the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge's deck to bounce, though
11242-640: The Throgs Neck Bridge was being repaired simultaneously, this caused major traffic jams at both bridges. During the renovation, the bridge's expansion joints were replaced by the American Bridge Company, which had originally built the suspension towers. However, in 1993, the sealant around the joints was observed to be deteriorating, necessitating additional repairs. By 2001, the TBTA's successor Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) planned to spend $ 286 million in bridge renovations. In 2003,
11396-608: The Whitestone Bridge was to provide congestion relief to the Triborough Bridge , further to the west, which also connected Queens to the Bronx. Real estate speculators predicted that the new bridge would also encourage development in the Bronx. New residential units in the Bronx were being planned before construction on the bridge itself even started. The RPA had also recommended that the Whitestone Bridge have rail connections, or space for such connections, but Moses ultimately did not include any provisions for rail connections on
11550-537: The Whitestone and Cross Island parkways. By the late 1950s, the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge was carrying nearly 30 million vehicles a year. Concurrently, the Whitestone Parkway and the portion of the Hutchinson River Parkway between the bridge and the Bruckner Interchange were converted to Interstate Highway standards . The Whitestone Parkway became the Whitestone Expressway , and the upgraded part of
11704-687: The acquired land was set aside for the Grand Concourse and Pelham Parkway , the first of a series of boulevards and parkways ( thoroughfares lined with trees, vegetation and greenery). Later projects included the Bronx River Parkway , which developed a road while restoring the riverbank and reducing pollution, Mosholu Parkway and the Henry Hudson Parkway . In 2006, a five-year, $ 220-million program of capital improvements and natural restoration in 70 Bronx parks
11858-423: The additional trusses helped to reduce vertical movements. No one was injured, and officials stated that the bridge was not in danger of collapsing during the storm. In the long run, use of the bridge continued to grow. By the bridge's 40th anniversary in 1979, there were about 31 million vehicles using the bridge annually. The bridge had recorded a total of 858 million vehicular crossings over its lifetime. By 1985,
12012-492: The borough's name is sometimes disputed. Generally, the definite article is lowercase in place names ("the Bronx") except in some official references. The definite article is capitalized ("The Bronx") at the beginning of a sentence or in any other situation when a normally lowercase word would be capitalized. However, some people and groups refer to the borough with a capital letter at all times, such as Bronx Borough Historian Lloyd Ultan , The Bronx County Historical Society , and
12166-475: The bridge could carry up to 4,000 cars per hour in each direction. Within the first two months of the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge's opening, it had carried just over a million vehicles, and the bridge was collecting an average of $ 4,232 a day in tolls. In 1940, the American Institute of Steel Construction recognized the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge as the "most beautiful monumental steel bridge completed during
12320-432: The bridge deck. Before the deck is installed, the cables are under tension from their own weight. Along the main cables smaller cables or rods connect to the bridge deck, which is lifted in sections. As this is done, the tension in the cables increases, as it does with the live load of traffic crossing the bridge. The tension on the main cables is transferred to the ground at the anchorages and by downwards compression on
12474-616: The bridge on schedule. In addition, land in Ferry Point was taken for the construction of the bridge; this land would become Ferry Point Park upon the completion of the bridge. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in November 1937, when the Mayor of New York City , Fiorello H. La Guardia , laid the cornerstone for the bridge's Bronx anchorage. Construction on the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge, along with several other road-improvement projects,
12628-575: The bridge opened in October 1941. The Whitestone and Hutchinson River parkways intersected Bruckner Boulevard at a traffic circle , where congestion worsened over subsequent decades until the Bruckner Interchange replaced the circle in the 1970s. On the Queens side, an extension of Francis Lewis Boulevard opened in November 1939, connecting northeastern Queens with the new bridge, while the Cross Island Parkway approach opened in June 1940. La Guardia said
12782-517: The bridge's Queens approach viaduct in 1985, the TBTA repaired the approach. Upon the bridge's 50th anniversary in 1989, a New York Times writer said: "The Bronx-Whitestone Bridge amounted to soaring evidence that dreams can come true." In March 1990, the TBTA announced that the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge would undergo a $ 20.3 million refurbishment. The anchorages, roadways, and drainage were to be repaired during off-peak hours for two years. Actual work took place between December 1989 and December 1991. As
12936-418: The bridge's approaches involved replacing 15 supporting piers and 1,785 feet (544 m) of roadway on the Bronx side, as well as 1,010 feet (310 m) of viaduct on the Queens side, which helped support the wider lanes. The contract for the Bronx viaduct replacement was awarded in 2008, and it was completed in late 2012 at a cost of $ 212 million. The replacement of the Queens approach, which cost $ 109 million,
13090-469: The bridge, were dismantled, and drivers are no longer able to pay cash at the bridge. Instead, cameras and E-ZPass readers are mounted on new overhead gantries manufactured by TransCore near where the booths were located. A vehicle without E-ZPass has a picture taken of its license plate and a bill for the toll is mailed to its owner. For E-ZPass users, sensors detect their transponders wirelessly. The bridge carries two MTA Regional Bus Operations routes,
13244-465: The bridge. In 1936, governor Herbert H. Lehman signed a bill that authorized the construction of the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge, which would connect Queens and the Bronx. The following January, Lehman signed a bill that allowed the TBA to issue bonds for the construction of the bridge. In February 1937, TBA chief engineer Othmar Ammann announced that the bridge was both "practical and necessary". Allston Dana
13398-404: The building they lived in so they could qualify for emergency relocations by city social service agencies to better residences, sometimes being relocated to other parts of the city. Out of 289 census tracts in the Bronx borough, 7 tracts lost more than 97% of their buildings to arson and abandonment between 1970 and 1980; another 44 tracts had more than 50% of their buildings meet the same fate. By
13552-511: The bus routes formerly operated by Queens Surface, the bike racks were eliminated. In April 1994, bike racks were installed onto QBx1 buses, but the bike-on-bus program was eliminated on February 27, 2005, the same day as the MTA's takeover of the QBx1 route. After the QBx1 was replaced by the Q50, the MTA reintroduced bike racks on Q50 buses in early 2018. Suspension bridge A suspension bridge
13706-491: The chains are not attached to abutments as is usual, but instead are attached to the main girders, which are thus in compression. Here, the chains are made from flat wrought iron plates, eight inches (203 mm) wide by an inch and a half (38 mm) thick, rivetted together. The first wire-cable suspension bridge was the Spider Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill (1816), a modest and temporary footbridge built following
13860-577: The city in 1896. Following these two annexations, the Bronx's territory had moved from Westchester County into New York County, which already included Manhattan and the rest of pre-1874 New York City. On January 1, 1898, the consolidated City of New York was born, including the Bronx as one of the five distinct boroughs . However, it remained part of New York County until Bronx County was created in 1914. On April 19, 1912, those parts of New York County which had been annexed from Westchester County in previous decades were newly constituted as Bronx County,
14014-514: The coastline, Rodman's Neck lies between Pelham Bay Park in the northeast and City Island . The Bronx's irregular shoreline extends for 75 square miles (194 km ). Although Bronx County was the third most densely populated county in the United States in 2022 (after Manhattan and Brooklyn ), 7,000 acres (28 km ) of the Bronx—about one fifth of the Bronx's area, and one quarter of its land area—is given over to parkland. The vision of
14168-631: The collapse of James Finley's nearby Chain Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill (1808). The footbridge's span was 124 m, although its deck was only 0.45 m wide. Development of wire-cable suspension bridges dates to the temporary simple suspension bridge at Annonay built by Marc Seguin and his brothers in 1822. It spanned only 18 m. The first permanent wire cable suspension bridge was Guillaume Henri Dufour 's Saint Antoine Bridge in Geneva of 1823, with two 40 m spans. The first with cables assembled in mid-air in
14322-529: The collapse was largely caused by the construction failure of the vertical hanging clamp. It was also found that poor maintenance, fatigue in the cable hanger construction materials, material quality, and bridge loads that exceed vehicle capacity, can also have an impact on bridge collapse. In 2013 the Kutai Kartanegara Bridge rebuilt the same location and completed in 2015 with a Through arch bridge design. On 30 October 2022, Jhulto Pul ,
14476-467: The collapse; several drivers escaped their cars on foot and reached the anchorages before the span dropped. Yarmouth suspension bridge (England) was built in 1829 and collapsed in 1845, killing 79 people. Peace River Suspension Bridge (Canada), which was completed in 1943, collapsed when the north anchor's soil support for the suspension bridge failed in October 1957. The entire bridge subsequently collapsed. Kutai Kartanegara Bridge (Indonesia) over
14630-579: The construction of the Flushing River Lift Bridge, a drawbridge over the Flushing River a few miles south of the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge. The four sections of each of the two suspension towers were assembled in only 18 days. The tower on the Bronx side was finished first, and in late May 1938, work began on the Queens tower. At the time, it was expected that the spinning of the suspension cables would begin that September. By
14784-459: The early 1940s. As early as June 1938, engineers observed oscillations in the Whitestone Bridge's deck. Concerns grew after the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Tacoma, Washington , collapsed during heavy winds in November 1940. It had employed an 8-foot (2.4 m)-deep girder system, much like the 11-foot (3.4 m) I-beam girders of the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge. However, the Whitestone Bridge
14938-472: The early 1980s, the Bronx was considered the most blighted urban area in the country, particularly the South Bronx which experienced a loss of 60% of the population and 40% of housing units. However, starting in the 1990s, many of the burned-out and run-down tenements were replaced by new housing units. In May 1984, New York Supreme Court justice Peter J. McQuillan ruled that Marble Hill, Manhattan ,
15092-497: The eastern and northwestern sections of the borough . From the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, the quality of life changed for some Bronx residents. Historians and social scientists have suggested many factors, including the theory that Robert Moses ' Cross Bronx Expressway destroyed existing residential neighborhoods and created instant slums, as put forward in Robert Caro 's biography The Power Broker . Another factor in
15246-584: The failure of a few flawed strands in the hundreds used pose very little threat of failure, whereas a single bad link or eyebar can cause failure of an entire bridge. (The failure of a single eyebar was found to be the cause of the collapse of the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River .) Another reason is that as spans increased, engineers were unable to lift larger chains into position, whereas wire strand cables can be formulated one by one in mid-air from
15400-624: The first European settlement in the area as part of the New Netherland colony in 1639. European settlers displaced the native Lenape after 1643. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Bronx received many immigrant and migrant groups as it was transformed into an urban community, first from European countries particularly Ireland , Germany , Italy , and Eastern Europe , and later from the Caribbean region (particularly Puerto Rico , Trinidad , Haiti , Guyana , Jamaica , Barbados , and
15554-480: The first six months of 2007 alone total investment in new residential development was $ 965 million and 5,187 residential units were scheduled to be completed. Much of the new development is springing up in formerly vacant lots across the South Bronx. In addition there came a revitalization of the existing housing market in areas such as Hunts Point, the Lower Concourse, and the neighborhoods surrounding
15708-426: The first week of July 1938, the TBA reported that both of the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge's towers were completed, and that the bridge was on schedule to open on April 30, 1939, ahead of schedule. In addition, the construction of connecting roadways on the Queens and Bronx sides of the bridge was being sped up. The Bronx side of the bridge would connect to the Hutchinson River Parkway , while the Queens side would connect to
15862-432: The highway, which may be supported by suspender cables or their own trusswork . In cases where trusswork supports the spans, there will be very little arc in the outboard main cables. The earliest suspension bridges were ropes slung across a chasm, with a deck possibly at the same level or hung below the ropes such that the rope had a catenary shape. The Tibetan siddha and bridge-builder Thangtong Gyalpo originated
16016-411: The largest armory in the world, is currently slated for redevelopment. Under consideration for future development is the construction of a platform over the New York City Subway 's Concourse Yard adjacent to Lehman College . The construction would permit approximately 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m ) of development and would cost US$ 350–500 million . Despite significant investment compared to
16170-546: The largest park in New York City— Pelham Bay Park , which includes Orchard Beach —and the third-largest, Van Cortlandt Park , which is west of Woodlawn Cemetery and borders Yonkers . Also in the northern Bronx, Wave Hill , the former estate of George W. Perkins —known for a historic house, gardens, changing site-specific art installations and concerts—overlooks the New Jersey Palisades from
16324-416: The last year". Additionally, two parks were opened following the bridge's completion. A 10-acre (4.0 ha) park under the Queens side of the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge, named for Declaration of Independence signatory Francis Lewis , was opened in 1940. On the Bronx side, the blueprint for Ferry Point Park had been developed in conjunction with the bridge's construction, and additional facilities were added in
16478-438: The late 1980s that continues into today. The Bronx was a mostly rural area for many generations, with small farms supplying the city markets. In the late 19th century, however, it grew into a railroad suburb. Faster transportation enabled rapid population growth in the late 19th century, involving the move from horse-drawn street cars to elevated railways and the subway system, which linked to Manhattan in 1904. The South Bronx
16632-650: The late 1990s and continuing to the present day. The Bronx was called Rananchqua by the native Siwanoy band of Lenape (also known historically as the Delawares ), while other Native Americans knew the Bronx as Keskeskeck . It was divided by the Aquahung River (now known in English as the Bronx River ). The Bronx was named after Jonas Bronck ( c. 1600–1643 ), a European settler whose precise origins are disputed. Documents indicate he
16786-534: The live loads. In an underspanned suspension bridge, also called under-deck cable-stayed bridge, the main cables hang entirely below the bridge deck, but are still anchored into the ground in a similar way to the conventional type. Very few bridges of this nature have been built, as the deck is inherently less stable than when suspended below the cables. Examples include the Pont des Bergues of 1834 designed by Guillaume Henri Dufour ; James Smith's Micklewood Bridge; and
16940-569: The mainland immediately north of the Dutch settlement of New Haarlem (on Manhattan Island ), and bought additional tracts from the local tribes. He eventually accumulated 500 acres (200 ha) between the Harlem River and the Aquahung, which became known as Bronck's River or the Bronx [River] . Dutch and English settlers referred to the area as Bronck's Land . The American poet William Bronk
17094-400: The mass suspended by the cables, In addition, with the truss removals, the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge was able to withstand crosswinds of up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h), whereas the trusses could resist crosswinds of no more than 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). The truss removal project also involved upgrading the lighting systems, including the bridge's lightbulbs and the beacons atop
17248-639: The modern method was Joseph Chaley 's Grand Pont Suspendu in Fribourg , in 1834. In the United States, the first major wire-cable suspension bridge was the Wire Bridge at Fairmount in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Designed by Charles Ellet Jr. and completed in 1842, it had a span of 109 m. Ellet's Niagara Falls suspension bridge (1847–48) was abandoned before completion. It was used as scaffolding for John A. Roebling 's double decker railroad and carriage bridge (1855). The Otto Beit Bridge (1938–1939)
17402-513: The morning rush hour and three Queens-bound lanes during the evening rush. Other renovations included adding mass dampers to stabilize the bridge deck; repainting the two towers and the bridge deck; and installing variable-message signs . The deck replacement was completed by 2007. However, cracks were soon observed in some of the new panels, and by 2014, cracks had been observed in 66 of 408 panels, necessitating approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) of rib welds. The renovations were intended to extend
17556-566: The official maps of the city. Since the late 1980s, significant development has occurred in the Bronx, first stimulated by the city's "Ten-Year Housing Plan" and community members working to rebuild the social, economic and environmental infrastructure by creating affordable housing . Groups affiliated with churches in the South Bronx erected the Nehemiah Homes with about 1,000 units. The grass roots organization Nos Quedamos' endeavor known as Melrose Commons began to rebuild areas in
17710-406: The pillars to deck-level supports, and further continue to connections with anchors in the ground. The roadway is supported by vertical suspender cables or rods, called hangers. In some circumstances, the towers may sit on a bluff or canyon edge where the road may proceed directly to the main span. Otherwise, the bridge will typically have two smaller spans, running between either pair of pillars and
17864-427: The post war period, many exacerbated social problems remain including high rates of violent crime, substance abuse, overcrowding, and substandard housing conditions. The Bronx has the highest rate of poverty in New York City, and the greater South Bronx is the poorest area. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , Bronx County has a total area of 57 square miles (150 km ), of which 42 square miles (110 km )
18018-413: The railing and the walking layer of Gyalpo's bridges used wires. The stress points that carried the screed were reinforced by the iron chains. Before the use of iron chains it is thought that Gyalpo used ropes from twisted willows or yak skins. He may have also used tightly bound cloth. The Inca used rope bridges , documented as early as 1615. It is not known when they were first made. Queshuachaca
18172-431: The rights-of-way for the bridge and parkway were legally designated. All of the TBA bonds had been sold by July 1937. The next month, the city had started evicting residents in the path of the bridge's approaches, and officials notified seventeen households in Whitestone that they had ten days to find new housing. This raised controversy because of the short notice given, but Moses said such measures were necessary to complete
18326-540: The roadbed, particularly owing to the unfavorable effects of using plate girders, discovered from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940) bridge collapse. In the 1960s, developments in bridge aerodynamics allowed the re-introduction of plate structures as shallow box girders , first seen on the Severn bridge , built 1961–1966. In the picture of the Yichang Bridge , note the very sharp entry edge and sloping undergirders in
18480-457: The southeast; and to the east, Long Island Sound separates it from Nassau County in western Long Island. Directly north of the Bronx are (from west to east) the adjoining Westchester County communities of Yonkers , Mount Vernon , Pelham Manor and New Rochelle . There is also a short southern land boundary with Marble Hill in the Borough of Manhattan, over the filled-in former course of
18634-426: The span rising 150 feet (46 m) above mean high water. The side spans, between suspension towers and anchorages at each end, are 735 feet (224 m). Thus, the overall length, from anchorage to anchorage, is 3,770 feet (1,150 m). As originally designed, the bridge approach on the Queens side descended to ground level via a 1,016-foot (310 m)-long plate girder viaduct, then another 194 feet (59 m) on
18788-401: The suspension bridge shown. This enables this type of construction to be used without the danger of vortex shedding and consequent aeroelastic effects, such as those that destroyed the original Tacoma Narrows bridge. Three kinds of forces operate on any bridge: the dead load, the live load, and the dynamic load. Dead load refers to the weight of the bridge itself. Like any other structure,
18942-457: The suspension towers has a height of 377 feet (115 m) above mean high water. The caissons, in turn, are submerged about 165 feet (50 m) beneath mean high water. At each end of the suspension span are two anchorages that hold the main cables, both of which are freestanding concrete structures measuring 180 by 110 feet (55 by 34 m). The width of the bridge deck between the cables is 74 feet (23 m). Unlike other suspension bridges ,
19096-444: The suspension towers, as well as replacing the sprinkler and electrical systems. In 2005, it was announced that the bridge's deck had to be replaced with a new steel orthotropic deck composed of prefabricated panels. One lane at a time needed to be closed and replaced, so as to minimize traffic disruptions. During the deck replacement, five lanes were kept open at all times using a movable barrier , with three Bronx-bound lanes during
19250-514: The ten bridges with the longest spans, followed by the length of the span and the year the bridge opened for traffic: (Chronological) Broughton Suspension Bridge (England) was an iron chain bridge built in 1826. One of Europe's first suspension bridges, it collapsed in 1831 due to mechanical resonance induced by troops marching in step. As a result of the incident, the British Army issued an order that troops should "break step" when crossing
19404-457: The three towns were soon abolished in the process. The whole territory east of the Bronx River was annexed to the city in 1895, three years before New York's consolidation with Brooklyn , Queens , and Staten Island . This included the Town of Westchester (which had voted against consolidation in 1894) and parts of Eastchester and Pelham. The nautical community of City Island voted to join
19558-489: The towers. In cable-stayed bridges, the towers are the primary load-bearing structures that transmit the bridge loads to the ground. A cantilever approach is often used to support the bridge deck near the towers, but lengths further from them are supported by cables running directly to the towers. By design, all static horizontal forces of the cable-stayed bridge are balanced so that the supporting towers do not tend to tilt or slide and so must only resist horizontal forces from
19712-402: The two additional lanes replacing the pedestrian walkways on each side. On both sides of the deck, 14-foot (4.3 m)-high steel trusses were installed to weigh down and stiffen the bridge in an effort to reduce oscillation. The stiffening project was completed in 1947. The bridge was repainted in 1953, and large overhead signs were installed on the bridge the same year to direct motorists toward
19866-568: The use of iron chains in his version of simple suspension bridges . In 1433, Gyalpo built eight bridges in eastern Bhutan . The last surviving chain-linked bridge of Gyalpo's was the Thangtong Gyalpo Bridge in Duksum en route to Trashi Yangtse , which was finally washed away in 2004. Gyalpo's iron chain bridges did not include a suspended-deck bridge , which is the standard on all modern suspension bridges today. Instead, both
20020-423: The weight of the cables is small compared to the weight of the deck. One can see the shape from the constant increase of the gradient of the cable with linear (deck) distance, this increase in gradient at each connection with the deck providing a net upward support force. Combined with the relatively simple constraints placed upon the actual deck, that makes the suspension bridge much simpler to design and analyze than
20174-655: The world at the opening, behind the Golden Gate Bridge , the George Washington Bridge , and the double spans of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge . The bridge's opening, two months earlier than originally scheduled, coincided with the first day of the 1939 World's Fair. A custom model of lampposts, the "Whitestone" or Type 41 lamppost, was made for the bridge. The lamppost model was later installed on other roads, though it
20328-598: Was a Swedish-born immigrant from Komstad, Norra Ljunga parish in Småland , Sweden, who arrived in New Netherland during the spring of 1639. Bronck became the first recorded European settler in the present-day Bronx and built a farm named "Emmaus" close to what today is the corner of Willis Avenue and 132nd Street in Mott Haven . He leased land from the Dutch West India Company on the neck of
20482-526: Was a descendant of Pieter Bronck, either Jonas Bronck's son or his younger brother, but most probably a nephew or cousin, as there was an age difference of 16 years. Much work on the Swedish claim has been undertaken by Brian G. Andersson, former Commissioner of New York City's Department of Records, who helped organize a 375th Anniversary celebration in Bronck's hometown in 2014. The Bronx is referred to with
20636-416: Was a manufacturing center for many years and was noted as a center of piano manufacturing in the early part of the 20th century. In 1919, the Bronx was the site of 63 piano factories employing more than 5,000 workers. At the end of World War I , the Bronx hosted the rather small 1918 World's Fair at 177th Street and DeVoe Avenue. The Bronx underwent rapid urban growth after World War I. Extensions of
20790-513: Was also hired as the engineer of design. The same month, approval of a suspension span between Ferry Point and Whitestone was given by Harry Hines Woodring , the United States Secretary of War . Around the same time, the TBA made plans to issue bonds to fund the construction of the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge. Moses recommended the TBA and the city should each be responsible for half of the bridge's $ 17.5 million cost. In April 1937,
20944-411: Was also much debate as to whether rent control laws had made it less profitable (or more costly) for landlords to maintain existing buildings with their existing tenants than to abandon or destroy those buildings. In the 1970s, parts of the Bronx were plagued by a wave of arson. The burning of buildings was predominantly in the poorest communities, such as the South Bronx. One explanation of this event
21098-485: Was begun (financed by water and sewer revenues) as part of an agreement that allowed a water filtration plant under Mosholu Golf Course in Van Cortlandt Park. One major focus is on opening more of the Bronx River 's banks and restoring them to a natural state. The Bronx adjoins: There are two primary systems for dividing the Bronx into regions, which do not necessarily agree with one another. One system
21252-661: Was built between 1829 and 1832, replacing a wooden bridge further downstream which collapsed in 1828. It is the only suspension bridge across the non-tidal Thames. The Széchenyi Chain Bridge , (designed in 1840, opened in 1849), spanning the River Danube in Budapest, was also designed by William Clark and it is a larger-scale version of Marlow Bridge. An interesting variation is Thornewill and Warham 's Ferry Bridge in Burton-on-Trent , Staffordshire (1889), where
21406-603: Was completed in May 2015. During the renovation of that approach, the exit from northbound I-678 to Third Avenue was closed and rehabilitated. As of August 6, 2023, drivers pay $ 11.19 per car or $ 4.71 per motorcycle for tolls by mail/non-NYCSC E-Z Pass. E-ZPass users with transponders issued by the New York E‑ZPass Customer Service Center pay $ 6.94 per car or $ 3.02 per motorcycle. Mid-Tier NYCSC E-Z Pass users pay $ 9.11 per car or $ 3.89 per motorcycle. All E-ZPass users with transponders not issued by
21560-476: Was conducting a study on the proposed Bronx–Whitestone Bridge. In 1935, the agencies jointly released a report on the connecting roads to be built as part of the bridge plans, and projected that the bridge would cost $ 20 million (equivalent to $ 363,899,000 in 2023). The bridge would directly link the Bronx, and other points on the mainland, to the 1939 New York World's Fair and to LaGuardia Airport (then known as North Beach Airport), both in Queens. In addition,
21714-478: Was continued in the "Borough of The Bronx", created in 1898, which included a larger annexation from Westchester County in 1895. The use of the definite article is attributed to the style of referring to rivers. A time-worn story purportedly explaining the use of the definite article in the borough's name says it stems from the phrase "visiting the Broncks", referring to the settler's family. The capitalization of
21868-546: Was found for the first time outside of Asia , here, at the Bronx Zoo. Over the next 40 years it spread throughout eastern North America and killed back essentially every American Chestnut ( Castanea dentata ), causing ecological and economic devastation. Just south of Van Cortlandt Park is the Jerome Park Reservoir , surrounded by 2 miles (3 km) of stone walls and bordering several small parks in
22022-598: Was in the New York State Assembly , he had proposed such a bridge but that his plan was "ridiculed". In 1907, the Clason Point, College Point and Malba Ferry Company proposed a ferry route between Clason Point, Bronx, and Malba, Queens, close to the site of the planned bridge. The company was incorporated in 1909, and two years later it started constructing ferry terminals. Ferry operations between Clason Point and Malba began on July 2, 1914. In 1929,
22176-454: Was initially allocated for the bridge-stiffening project, construction was deferred due to material and labor shortages during World War II . Planning for the project resumed in September 1945 at the end of the war, and a low bidder for the project was announced that October. The project's primary goal was to reinforce the bridge with trusses, thus ensuring the bridge's stability. The four lanes of roadway traffic were widened to six lanes, with
22330-654: Was installed on February 13, 1939. Afterward, the construction of the approach roads was sped up in anticipation of the 1939 World's Fair. During construction, one worker died when he fell off the bridge deck. There was another incident in August 1938 in which a 35-ton steel girder dropped from the side of the Whitestone Bridge, though no one was severely injured. The bridge ultimately cost either $ 17.785 million (equal to about $ 390 million in 2023) or $ 19.6 million (equal to about $ 429 million in 2023). The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge opened on April 29, 1939, with Moses and La Guardia leading
22484-471: Was introduced at the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge in June 1996. Initially, the bridge's toll plaza contained three E-ZPass/cash lanes in each direction to reduce confusion; this contrasted with the Throgs Neck Bridge, where confusion between the E-ZPass-only lanes and cash-only lanes had caused congestion. Open-road cashless tolling began on September 30, 2017. The tollbooths, which were at the Bronx end of
22638-400: Was longer being actively installed by the 1960s, and only a few such lamps remained as of 2013. In preparation for the 1939 World's Fair, amber street lights were installed on the bridge's approach roads, as well as other key corridors around the city. These lamps were distinctly colored so motorists headed to the fair could follow them while driving. At its north end, the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge
22792-729: Was made by Charles V. Bossert, who submitted his plan to the Board of Estimate in 1933. Bossert's plan went as far as U.S. Congress , where in 1935, a bill to approve the construction of Bossert's plan was introduced in the House of Representatives . However, the idea of a private company operating a publicly used toll bridge was unpopular, so it was dropped. At the same time, the Queens Topological Bureau, Long Island State Park Commission , and Triborough Bridge Authority (TBA; later Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, or TBTA)
22946-401: Was shorter and wider than the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge's deck was also thicker than that of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which was only 8 feet (2.4 m) thick to the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge's 11 feet (3.4 m). Overall, the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge was less prone to oscillation and critical failure, as it was not as flimsy as the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. After performing
23100-525: Was simultaneously part of the Borough of Manhattan (not the Borough of the Bronx) and part of Bronx County (not New York County) and the matter was definitively settled later that year when the New York Legislature overwhelmingly passed legislation declaring the neighborhood part of both New York County and the Borough of Manhattan and made this clarification retroactive to 1938, as reflected on
23254-511: Was sped up so that the regional road network would be ready in time for the 1939 World's Fair. To ensure that the bridge would be completed before the fair opened, the cofferdam for the Bronx tower had to be finished in February 1938, followed by the Queens tower in April 1938. Moses anticipated that the bridge and connecting roads would need to be complete by June 1, 1939. The project also included
23408-423: Was that landlords decided to burn their low property-value buildings and take the insurance money, as it was easier for them to get insurance money than to try to refurbish a dilapidated building or sell a building in a severely distressed area. The Bronx became identified with a high rate of poverty and unemployment, which was mainly a persistent problem in the South Bronx. There were cases where tenants set fire to
23562-404: Was the first modern suspension bridge outside the United States built with parallel wire cables. Two towers/pillars, two suspension cables, four suspension cable anchors, multiple suspender cables, the bridge deck. The main cables of a suspension bridge will form a catenary when hanging under their own weight only. When supporting the deck, the cables will instead form a parabola , assuming
23716-408: Was to connect with Eastern Boulevard (later known as Bruckner Boulevard ) via the Hutchinson River Parkway. At its south end, the bridge was to connect with the new Whitestone Parkway, which led southwest off the bridge to Northern Boulevard. The connection between the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge and Whitestone Parkway opened in November 1940, while the Hutchinson River Parkway between Pelham Bay Park and
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