Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge

Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
Coordinates 40°35′29″N 73°49′11″W / 40.591497°N 73.819614°W / 40.591497; -73.819614Coordinates: 40°35′29″N 73°49′11″W / 40.591497°N 73.819614°W / 40.591497; -73.819614
Carries Cross Bay Boulevard
Crosses Jamaica Bay
Locale Broad Channel and Rockaway Peninsula, in New York City
Maintained by MTA Bridges and Tunnels
Characteristics
Total length 3,000 feet (910 m)
Longest span 275 feet (84 m)
Clearance below 55 feet (17 m)
History
Opened May 28, 1970
Statistics
Daily traffic 21,240 (2010)[1]
Toll As of March 19, 2017, $4.25 (Tolls by Mail) ; $2.16 (New York E-ZPass)
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
Location in New York City
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
Location in New York City
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
Location in New York City

The Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge (originally Cross Bay Bridge or Cross Bay Parkway Bridge) in New York City is a toll bridge that carries Cross Bay Boulevard from Broad Channel in Jamaica Bay to the Rockaway Peninsula, and is located in Queens.[2]

History

Opened on June 3, 1939, the original bridge in this location was designed by engineering firm Madigan-Hyland and built on behalf of the New York City Parkway Authority by contractor J. Rich Steers, Inc., before the authority was merged into the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority.[3] The bridge was a part of a program to develop Jamaica Bay as a recreational area instead of an industrial port. The 1939 bridge was a low-level bascule bridge.

Reconstructed and opened to traffic on May 28, 1970, the new bridge is a high level fixed bridge carrying six traffic lanes and a sidewalk on the west side.[4] This let boats pass under without delays to lift the drawbridge. The bridge is owned by New York Cityand operated by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Tolls

Registered Rockaway and Broad Channel residents with E-ZPass receive toll rebates on this bridge. Until 2010, Rockaways and Broad Channel residents could cross the bridge for free. Residents of Broad Channel and the Rockaways who have an E-ZPass pay $1.19 per crossing if they cross up to twice per day, but are not charged if they cross more than twice in 24 hours. The new toll for area residents was part of a series of Metropolitan Transportation Authority budget cuts.[2][5]

Starting on March 19, 2017, drivers will pay $4.25 per car or $3.50 per motorcycle for cash / tolls by mail. E‑ZPass users with transponders issued by the New York E‑ZPass pay $2.16 per car or $1.80 per motorcycle.[6]

Open-road cashless tolling began on April 30, 2017 at 3 am. The tollbooths will be gradually dismantled, and drivers will no longer be able to pay cash at the bridge. Instead, there will be cameras mounted onto new overhead gantries near where the booths are currently located.[7][8] Drivers without E-ZPass will have a picture of their license plate taken, and the toll will be mailed to them. For E-ZPass users, sensors will detect their transponders wirelessly.[7][8] Cashless tolls can improve traveling time at the crossings just in time for summer traveling season. Residents with leftover bridge tokens will be eligible to redeem their tokens for a refund through the E-ZPass Customer Service. However, cash and metal tokens are no longer accepted on the bridges after April 29, 2017.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "2008 Traffic Data Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. Appendix C. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Santos, Fernanda (April 9, 2010). "For Whom the Bridge Toll Ends a Trip That's Free". The New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2010. There is another crossing on the northern end of Broad Channel, the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge, which connects the island to the Howard Beach section of Queens
  3. ↑ "Rockaway: Another Link". The New York Times. June 3, 1939. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  4. ↑ Fowle, Farnsworth (May 29, 1970). "Cross Bay Parkway Bridge Is Dedicated". The New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2010. The six-lane, $26-million Cross Bay Bridge linking Broad Channel Island in Jamaica Bay with the Rockaway Peninsula was dedicated yesterday in time for the Memorial Day weekend rush.
  5. ↑ "Cross Bay Bridge Toll Rebate Change July 23". MTA Bridges and Tunnels. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  6. ↑ "2017 Toll Information". MTA Bridges & Tunnels. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Siff, Andrew (2016-10-05). "Automatic Tolls to Replace Gates at 9 NYC Spans: Cuomo". NBC New York. Retrieved 2016-12-25.
  8. 1 2 WABC (2016-12-21). "MTA rolls out cashless toll schedule for bridges, tunnels". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 2016-12-25.

Media related to Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.