New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

is home to many bridges and tunnels. Several agencies manage this network of crossings. The

New York City Department of Transportation The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Depart ...

owns and operates almost 800. The

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...

, New York State Department of Transportation and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

have many others. Many of the city's major bridges and tunnels have broken or set records. Opened in 1927, the

Holland Tunnel The Holland Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River that connects the New York City neighborhood of Hudson Square in Lower Manhattan to the east with Jersey City in New Jersey to the west. The tunnel is operated by the Port Author ...

was the world's first mechanically ventilated underwater vehicular tunnel. The Brooklyn Bridge,

Williamsburg Bridge The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressw ...

George Washington Bridge The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee, New Jersey, with Manhattan in New York City. The bridge is named after George Washington, the first president of the United S ...

, and

Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows, a body of water linking the relatively enclosed New York Harbor with Lower New York Bay and t ...

were the world's longest suspension bridges when opened in 1883, 1903, 1931, and 1964 respectively. There are 789 bridges and tunnels in New York.

Bridges

New York City's crossings date back to 1693, when its first bridge, known as the King's Bridge, was constructed over

Spuyten Duyvil Creek Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from t ...

between

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, located in the present-day

Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town and tourist hub in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population at the ab ...

neighborhood. The bridge, composed of stone abutments and a timber deck, was demolished in 1917. The oldest crossing still standing is High Bridge, built 1848 to carry the

Croton Aqueduct The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity fro ...

from Manhattan to the Bronx over the

Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York, United States, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the New York mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyt ...

. This bridge was built to carry water to the city as part of the

system. Ten

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

s and one

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

serving the city have been awarded some level of landmark status. The

was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1993 in recognition of its pioneering role as the first mechanically ventilated vehicular underwater tunnel, operating since 1927. The

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, High,

Hell Gate Hell Gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City. It separates Astoria, Queens, from Randall's and Wards Islands. Etymology The name "Hell Gate" is a corruption of the Dutch phrase ''Hellegat'' (it first appeared on ...

, Queensboro,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Macombs Dam, Carroll Street, University Heights, and

Washington Bridge The Washington Bridge is a -long arch bridge over the Harlem River in New York City between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. The crossing, opened in 1888, connects 181st Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Washington Heights, Manhattan, w ...

s have all received landmark status, as well. New York features bridges of many lengths and types, carrying vehicular, bicycle, pedestrian, and subway traffic. The George Washington Bridge, spanning the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

between New York City and

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, t ...

, is the world's busiest bridge in terms of vehicular traffic. The George Washington, Verrazzano-Narrows, and Brooklyn Bridges are noted for their architecture, while others are more well known for their functional importance, such as the

with 8 vehicular lanes, 2 subway tracks, a bike lane, and pedestrian walkways.

Bridges by water body

East River

From south to north:

Harlem River

From south to north, east to west:

Hudson River

New York Bay

Newtown Creek

Borden Avenue Bridge over Dutch Kills slide tracks jeh

Other

The Bronx

Brooklyn

Queens

Staten Island

Tunnels

Each of the tunnels that run underneath the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and Hudson Rivers were marvels of engineering when first constructed. The

is the oldest of the vehicular tunnels, opening to great fanfare in 1927 as the first mechanically ventilated underwater tunnel. The

Queens Midtown Tunnel Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

was opened in 1940 to relieve the congestion on the city's bridges. Each of its tubes were designed wider than the Holland Tunnel in order to accommodate the wider cars of the period. When the

Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel, officially the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel and commonly referred to as the Battery Tunnel or Battery Park Tunnel, is a tolled tunnel in New York City that connects Red Hook in Brooklyn with the Battery in Manhatta ...

opened in 1950, it was the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnel in North America, a title it still holds. The

Lincoln Tunnel The Lincoln Tunnel is an approximately tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to the west with Midtown Manhattan in New York City to the east. It carries New Jersey Route 495 on the New Jersey side and unsigned Ne ...

has three tubes linking midtown

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, a configuration that provides the flexibility to provide four lanes in one direction during rush hours, or three lanes in both direction. All four underwater road tunnels were built by

Ole Singstad Ole Knutsen Singstad (June 29, 1882 – December 8, 1969) was a Norwegian-American civil engineer best known for his work on underwater vehicular tunnels in New York City. Singstad designed the ventilation system for the Holland Tunnel, which ...

: the Holland Tunnel's original chief engineer

Clifford Milburn Holland Clifford Milburn Holland (March 13, 1883 – October 27, 1924) was an American civil engineer who oversaw the construction of a number of subway and automobile tunnels in New York City, and for whom the Holland Tunnel is named. Life Holland was ...

died, as did his successor, Milton H. Freeman, after which Singstad became chief engineer, finishing the Holland Tunnel and then building the remaining tunnels.

East River

From south to north:

Harlem River

From south to north:

Hudson River

From south to north:

Newtown Creek

Bridges and tunnels spanning land only

* Park Avenue Tunnel (33rd–40th Streets),

Park Avenue Viaduct The Park Avenue Viaduct, also known as the Pershing Square Viaduct, is a roadway in Manhattan in New York City. It carries vehicular traffic on Park Avenue from 40th to 46th Streets around Grand Central Terminal and the MetLife Building, t ...

, and Park Avenue Tunnel (45th–97th Streets), Manhattan *

Battery Park Underpass The Battery Park Underpass is a vehicular tunnel at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, New York City, near the neighborhoods of South Ferry and Battery Park City. The tunnel connects FDR Drive, which runs along the east side of Manhattan Islan ...

, Manhattan *

Cobble Hill Tunnel The Cobble Hill Tunnel (also known as the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel) is an abandoned Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) tunnel beneath Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City, running through the neighborhoods of Downtown Brooklyn and Cobble Hill. ...

, Brooklyn * First Avenue Tunnel from 42nd Street to 47th Street, Manhattan * Seeley Street Bridge over Prospect Avenue, Brooklyn * Trinity Place Bridge, Manhattan * Seneca Village Tunnel at 85th St., Central Park * Glade Arch bridge, between 77th and 78th Sts., Central Park * Subway tunnel, between 57th Street off 7th Avenue, 63rd Street, and Lexington Avenue, Central Park (F and Q)

Bridges and tunnels by use

The relative average number of inbound vehicles between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. to Midtown and Lower Manhattan is: # Queensboro Bridge: 31,000 #

: 25,944 # Brooklyn Bridge: 22,241 #

: 18,339 # Queens-Midtown Tunnel: 17,968 #

: 16,257 #

Brooklyn Battery Tunnel Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

: 14,496 # Manhattan Bridge: 13,818

References

* New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT)
"Movable Bridges in the Bronx."
Accessed 2015-08-25.

External links

Bridge information

NYC DOT list of movable bridges

Bridges NYC
istory of bridges in New York City and surrounding areas {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges And Tunnels In New York City Port of New York and New Jersey N N

Lists of buildings and structures in New York City New York City-related lists

Bridges

Bridges by water body

East River

Harlem River

Hudson River

New York Bay

Newtown Creek

Other

The Bronx

Brooklyn

Queens

Staten Island

Tunnels

East River

Harlem River

Hudson River

Newtown Creek

Bridges and tunnels spanning land only

Bridges and tunnels by use

See also

References

External links