Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (RFK Bridge; formerly known and still commonly referred to as the Triborough Bridge) is a complex of bridges and elevated expressway viaducts in New York City. The bridges link the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. The viaducts cross Randalls and Wards Islands, previously two islands and now joined by landfill.
Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (Triborough Bridge) | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°46′50″N 73°55′39″W |
| Carries | 8 lanes of I-278 Toll (Bronx and Queens spans) 6 lanes of NY 900G (Manhattan span) |
| Crosses | East River, Harlem River and Bronx Kill |
| Locale | New York City, United States |
| Official name | Robert F. Kennedy Bridge |
| Other name(s) | RFK Triborough Bridge, Triboro Bridge, RFK Bridge |
| Maintained by | MTA Bridges and Tunnels |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Suspension bridge, lift bridge, truss bridge |
| Total length | 2,780 feet (850 m) (Queens span) 770 feet (230 m) (Manhattan span) 1,600 feet (490 m) (Bronx span) |
| Width | 98 feet (30 m) (Queens span) |
| Longest span | 1,380 feet (420 m) (Queens span) 310 feet (94 m) (Manhattan span) 383 feet (117 m) (Bronx span) |
| Clearance above | 14 feet 6 inches (4.42 m) (Queens/Bronx spans) 13 feet 10 inches (4.22 m) (Manhattan span) |
| Clearance below | 143 feet (44 m) (Queens span) 135 feet (41 m) (Manhattan span when raised) 55 feet (17 m) (Bronx span) |
| History | |
| Construction cost | $60,300,000 |
| Opened | July 11, 1936 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 95,552 (Queens–Manhattan and Bronx–Manhattan, 2016) 83,053 (Queens–Bronx, 2016) |
| Toll | As of August 6, 2023, $11.19 (Tolls By Mail and non-New York E-ZPass); $6.94 (New York E-ZPass); $9.11 (Mid-Tier NYCSC E-Z Pass) |
| Location | |
The RFK Bridge, a toll bridge, carries Interstate 278 (I-278) as well as the unsigned highway New York State Route 900G. It connects with the FDR Drive and the Harlem River Drive in Manhattan, the Bruckner Expressway (I-278) and the Major Deegan Expressway (Interstate 87) in the Bronx, and the Grand Central Parkway (I-278) and Astoria Boulevard in Queens.
The three primary bridges of the RFK Bridge complex are:
- The vertical-lift bridge over the Harlem River, the largest in the world, connecting Manhattan Island to Randalls Island (all within the Manhattan borough)
- The truss bridge over Bronx Kill, connecting Randalls Island to the Bronx
- The suspension bridge over Hell Gate (a strait of the East River), connecting Wards Island to Astoria in Queens
These three bridges are connected by an elevated highway viaduct across Randalls and Wards Islands and 14 miles (23 km) of support roads. The viaduct includes a smaller span across the former site of Little Hell Gate, which separated Randalls and Wards Islands. Also part of the complex is a grade-separated T-interchange on Randalls Island, which sorted out traffic in a way that ensured that drivers paid a toll at only one bank of tollbooths. The tollbooths have since been removed, and all tolls are collected electronically at the approaches to each bridge.
The bridge complex was designed by Allston Dana with the collaboration of Othmar Ammann and architect Aymar Embury II, and has been called "not a bridge so much as a traffic machine, the largest ever built". The American Society of Civil Engineers designated the Triborough Bridge Project as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1986. The bridge is owned and operated by MTA Bridges and Tunnels (formally the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, or TBTA), an affiliate of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.