| Pulaski Bridge | |
|---|---|
From downstream |
|
| Crosses | Newtown Creek |
| Design | bascule |
| Total length | 2,810 feet (860 m) |
| Longest span | 177 feet (54 m) |
| Clearance below | 39 feet (12 m) |
| Opened | September 10, 1954 |
| Daily traffic | 37,019 (2008)[1] |
The Pulaski Bridge in New York City connects Long Island City in Queens to Greenpoint in Brooklyn over Newtown Creek. It was named after Polish military commander and American Revolutionary War fighter Kazimierz Pułaski (Casimir Pulaski) because of the large Polish-American population in Greenpoint.[2] It connects 11th Street in Queens to McGuinness Boulevard (formerly Oakland Street) in Brooklyn.
The Pulaski Bridge opened to traffic on September 10, 1954.[3] It served as a replacement for the nearby Vernon Avenue Bridge, which had linked Vernon Avenue in Long Island City with Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint.[2]
Designed by Frederick Zurmuhlen, the Pulaski Bridge is a bascule bridge, a type of drawbridge. It carries six lanes of traffic and a pedestrian sidewalk over the water, Long Island Rail Road tracks, and the entrance to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. The pedestrian sidewalk is on the west or downstream side of the bridge, which has good views of the industrial areas surrounding Newtown Creek, the skyline of Manhattan, and of a number of other bridges, including the Williamsburg Bridge, the Queensboro Bridge, and the Kosciuszko Bridge. The bridge was reconstructed between 1991 and 1994.[4]
From 1979 until 1990, a message reading "Wheels Over Indian Trails" was painted on the Pulaski Bridge over the approach to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. The artwork was created by John Fekner as a tribute to the thirteen Native American tribes who inhabited Long Island.[5]
Located just over 13 miles (21 km) from the start of the New York City Marathon at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the Pulaski Bridge serves as the approximate halfway point in the race.[6]