Queensboro Bridge
The Queensboro Bridge, officially the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City. Completed in 1909, it connects the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens with the East Midtown and Upper East Side neighborhoods in Manhattan, passing over Roosevelt Island. Because the western end of the bridge connects to 59th Street in Manhattan, it is also called the 59th Street Bridge. The bridge consists of five steel spans measuring long; including approaches, its total length is.
The Queensboro Bridge carries New York State Route 25, which terminates at the bridge's western end in Manhattan. The bridge has two levels: an upper level with a pair of two-lane roadways, and a lower level with four vehicular lanes flanked by a walkway and a bike lane. The western leg of the Queensboro Bridge is paralleled on its northern side by the Roosevelt Island Tramway. The bridge is one of four vehicular bridges directly connecting Manhattan Island and Long Island, along with the Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn bridges to the south. It lies along the courses of the New York City Marathon and the Five Boro Bike Tour.
Serious proposals for a bridge linking Manhattan to Long Island City were first made as early as 1838, but various 19th-century plans to erect such a bridge, including two proposals by Queens doctor Thomas Rainey, never came to fruition. After the creation of the City of Greater New York in 1898, plans for a city-operated bridge were finalized in 1901. The bridge opened for public use on March 30, 1909, and was initially used by pedestrians, horse-drawn and motor vehicles, elevated trains, and trolleys. Elevated service ceased in 1942, followed by trolley service in 1957. The upper-level roadways were built in the early 1930s and the late 1950s. Designated as a New York City landmark in 1973, the bridge was renovated extensively from the late 1970s to the 1990s. The bridge was officially renamed in 2011 in honor of former New York City mayor Ed Koch, and another renovation occurred in the early 2020s.
Name
The Queensboro Bridge was originally named for the borough of Queens and was the third bridge across the East River to be named after a New York City borough, after the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. By the late 20th century, the Queensboro Bridge was also known as the 59th Street Bridge because its Manhattan end is located between 59th and 60th streets. This name caused controversy among Queens residents who felt that the 59th Street Bridge name did not honor the borough of Queens.In December 2010, mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the bridge would be renamed in honor of former mayor Ed Koch; the bridge had been renovated extensively in the 1980s, when he was mayor. The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge name was formalized on March 23, 2011. The renaming was unpopular among Queens residents and business leaders; The Los Angeles Times wrote that Queens residents found the renaming disrespectful to their borough. The general public continued to call it the Queensboro Bridge years after the renaming. New York City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. of Queens proposed removing Koch's name from the bridge in 2013.
Description
The Queensboro Bridge is a two-level double cantilever bridge, with separate cantilevered spans over channels on each side of Roosevelt Island joined by a fixed central truss. In all, it has five steel truss spans, as well as approach viaducts on either side. The total length of the five spans, between the anchorages on the Manhattan and Queens sides, are approximately, of which are above water. In addition, there is a approach viaduct in Manhattan and a approach viaduct in Queens, connecting the anchorages on either side to street level. This brings the bridge's total length to. The bridge carries New York State Route 25, which ends at the span's western terminus.Spans
The lengths of the steel spans are as follows, from the westernmost span to the easternmost:| West end | East end | Crosses | Length |
| Manhattan anchorage | Manhattan pier | York Avenue | |
| Manhattan pier | Roosevelt Island western pier | East River's west channel, FDR Drive | |
| Roosevelt Island western pier | Roosevelt Island eastern pier | Roosevelt Island | |
| Roosevelt Island eastern pier | Queens pier | East River's east channel | |
| Queens pier | Queens anchorage | Vernon Boulevard |
The bridge was intended to carry a dead load of. Each span includes two parallel lines of trusses, one each on the north and south sides of the bridge; the centers of these trusses are spaced apart. The bottom chord of each set of trusses is composed of box girders, while the top chord is composed of eyebars measuring deep. The trusses range in height from between the bottom and top chords; the steel towers atop each pier measure tall. Unlike other large bridges, the trusses are not suspended; instead, the spans are directly connected to each other. In addition, there are transverse floor beams, which protrude from the trusses on either side of the deck. Atop the bridge's topmost chords were originally galvanized steel ropes, which acted as handrails for bridge painters. Five hand-operated scaffolds were also placed on the bridge.
The spans are cantilevered from steel towers that rise above four central piers. Each cantilevered section measures long. The two spans above the East River's channels are composed of cantilever arms, which extend outward from the towers on either side of the channel. Each pair of cantilever arms meets at a set of bents above the middle of each channel. The bents allowed the cantilever arms to move horizontally due to temperature changes, and it allowed structural loads to be distributed between the two arms. The bridge uses nickel-steel bars that were intended to be 40 to 50 percent stronger than regular structural-steel bars of the same weight. The beams could withstand loads of up to each, while the nickel-steel eyebars were intended to withstand loads of up to. The decks themselves were designed to carry as much as.
The steel spans between the anchorages weigh a total of and have a maximum grade of 3.41 percent. The spans were intended to be at least above mean high water; the bridge reaches a maximum height of or above high mean water. Until it was surpassed by the Quebec Bridge in 1917, the span between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island was the longest cantilever in North America; it was also the second-longest worldwide, after the Forth Bridge in Scotland.
Levels
The upper level is wide. The upper level originally contained two pedestrian walkways and two elevated railway tracks, which connected a spur of the IRT Second Avenue elevated line in Manhattan to the Queensboro Plaza station in Queens. There were also provisions for two additional tracks between the trusses, as well as walkways cantilevered outside the trusses., the upper level has four lanes of automobile traffic, consisting of a pair of two-lane roadways. Although both roadways end at Thomson Avenue in Queens, they diverge in Manhattan. The two northern lanes, normally used by westbound traffic, lead to 62nd and 63rd Streets. The two southern lanes, normally used by eastbound traffic, lead to 57th and 58th Streets. The southern roadway is used as a westbound high-occupancy vehicle lane during morning rush hours, when all eastbound traffic uses the lower level.The lower level is wide and is divided into three sections: a northern, central, and southern roadway. The center roadway is wide and was originally composed of a general-purpose road in the middle, flanked by a pair of trolley tracks. The northern and southern lower-level roadways each had one additional trolley track, for a total of four trolley tracks. The central roadway originally had a wood block pavement., the lower level has four vehicular lanes: two in each direction within the center roadway. The northern lower-level roadway was converted into a permanent pedestrian walk and bicycle path in September 2000; pedestrians were relocated to the southern lower-level roadway in 2025.
Piers
The five spans are supported by six piers; the westernmost and easternmost piers act as anchorages. Each of the piers consists of two columns supported by an elliptical arch measuring wide. The piers each measure across at their bases. They range from tall, with the piers on Roosevelt Island being the tallest. The foundations of the Roosevelt Island piers are shallow, since there is bedrock just below the surface of the island. By comparison, the piers in Manhattan and Queens extend over deep.The piers are faced with Maine granite and are attached to a backing made of concrete and Mohawk Valley limestone. In total, workers used of limestone, of concrete, and of granite to build the bridges. Above the piers rise the bridge's towers, which contain domed decorations and Art Nouveau-inspired spires. The towers extend above the bridge's lower chords. The tops of the towers are made of 225 granite blocks, which were part of the original design but not added until 1937. The spires were removed at some point in the 20th century after deteriorating.
The two anchorages, one each at the Manhattan and Queens ends, are about inland of the shore. Each anchorage was built with spiral staircases and elevators. The anchorage in Manhattan is between First Avenue and York Avenue, while the Queens anchorage is near Vernon Boulevard. The anchorages are topped by small rooms with arched openings.
Approaches
Manhattan approach
The approaches on both sides of the bridge are composed of stiffened steel frames, but the Manhattan approach is the only one that is ornately decorated. The Manhattan approach is supported on a series of Guastavino tile vaults. The vaults are composed of three layers of tiles, which support themselves and measure thick in total. A layer of glazing and small lights were installed in 1918. The space under the Manhattan approach measures across. It is divided into a series of tiled vaults measuring across. As the bridge ascends to the east, the floor slopes down and the ceiling slopes up; as such, the ceiling measures high at its highest point. The Guastavino tiles cover the steel superstructure of the approach ramp.Originally, the vaults were intended as storage space. From the bridge's 1909 opening, the space under the Manhattan approach was used as a food market. The food market was renovated in 1933 and was later converted to a sign shop and garage. By the 1970s, the space under the Manhattan approach was used by the Department of Highways. New York City Center's Cinematheque leased space under the Queensboro Bridge in 1973, although the Cinematheque never opened due to a lack of money. A developer proposed the open-air Bridgemarket under the bridge in 1976, which local residents significantly opposed, and Bridgemarket was not approved until 1996. Bridgemarket, covering, opened in 1999 at a cost of $24 million. The store operated until the end of 2015. In February 2020, it was announced that Trader Joe's was planning to open a supermarket in this space, which opened in December 2021.
There is a massive bronze lamppost at the end of the Manhattan approach, near the intersection of Second Avenue and 59th Street. Formerly, there was a second lamppost near 60th Street. Both lampposts consisted of thick piers, which were topped by four stanchions and a larger spherical lamp in the center. Each lamppost had five tiers of decorations, and the sides of each lamppost were inscribed with the names of four of the city's five boroughs. The lampposts were both removed in 1974 when the Roosevelt Island Tramway was developed, but the 59th Street lamppost was restored two years later. Parts of the other lamppost were found in a Queens warehouse in 2012 and rededicated on Roosevelt Island in 2015.