Whitestone Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City,
carrying six lanes of Interstate 678 over the East River. The bridge connects Throggs Neck and Ferry Point Park in the Bronx,
on the East River's northern shore, with the Whitestone neighborhood of Queens on the southern shore.
The Bronx Whitestone opened to traffic a mere 23 months after the awarding of its first construction contract so that motorists could cross it on April 30, the opening day of the 1939 New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadow Park. Today, the bridge looks as modern and elegant as when it served as the gateway to the fair's "World of Tomorrow."
Although the Bronx Whitestone Bridge's construction was proposed as early as 1905, it was not approved until 1936. The bridge was designed by Swiss-American architect Othmar Ammann and opened to traffic with four lanes on April 29, 1939.
The bridge's design was similar to that of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which collapsed in 1940. As a result, extra stiffening
trusses were added to the Bronx Whitestone Bridge in the early 1940s, and it was widened to six lanes during the same project.
The Bronx Whitestone Bridge was also renovated in 1988 - 1991 to repair the anchorages, roadways, and drainage.
The stiffening trusses were removed during a renovation in the mid-2000s, and the bridge's deck and approach viaducts were
replaced soon afterward.
The Bronx Whitestone Bridge is owned by New York City and operated by MTA Bridges and Tunnels,
an affiliate agency of theMetropolitan Transportation Authority.
With a center span of 2,300 feet, the Bronx Whitestone Bridge
once had the
fourth-largest center span of any suspension bridge in the world. The bridge has a total length of 3,700 feet
, and
its towers reach 377 feet above water level. |