The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (also referred to as Bridge Verrazano and formerly Narrows Bridge ) is a double-lined suspension bridge connecting the New York City District in Staten Island and Brooklyn and named Giovanni da Verrazzano. It stretches the Narrows, a water body that connects the relatively closed Upper Bay of New York with Lower New York Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The bridge carries thirteen Interstate 278 lines on two levels: 7 on the top and 6 at the bottom.
Engineer David B. Steinman first proposed a bridge across the Narrows in 1927. The next proposal about crossing the passage of the Narrows was suspended for the next twenty years. The 1920 attempt to build a rail tunnel across the Narrows was canceled, like another 1930s plan for a vehicle tube under the Narrows. Discussions about a tunnel resurfaced in the mid-1930s and early 1940s, but were once again rejected. In the late 1940s, city planner Robert Moses championed a bridge across the Narrows as a way of connecting Staten Island with the rest of the city. Various problems delayed the commencement of construction until 1959. The upper deck opened on 21 November 1964, followed by a lower deck in June 1969.
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge has a center span of 4,260 feet (1,298 m). It is the longest suspension bridge in the world from 1964 until it was surpassed by the Humber Bridge in England in 1981. It has 13 of the world's longest major segments, and the longest in America.
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is named for Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, who in 1524 became the first documented European explorer to enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River. Due to errors in naming, the name of the bridge is spelled with only one "z", although the name of the explorer has two "z". The bridge marks the gateway to New York Harbor. All ships arrive at the Ports of New York and New Jersey pass under the bridge and therefore must be built to accommodate the permits underneath.
Video Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
History
Initial plan
A bridge across the Narrows has been proposed since 1927, when structural engineer David B. Steinman raises the possibility of such a crossing. At that time, Staten Island was isolated from all over New York City, and the only direct connection to the other four areas was via the Staten Island Ferry to South Ferry in Manhattan, or 39th and 69th Streets in Brooklyn. In 1928, when chambers of commerce in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and Staten Island announced that the Interboro Bridge Company had proposed the future construction of the "Liberty Bridge" to the United States Department of War. The tower of the bridge will be 800 feet (240 m) tall and it will cost $ 60 million at 1928 dollars. In November 1929, engineers released plans for a 4,500-foot (1,400 m) Liberty Bridge stretching across the Narrows, with an 800-foot tower. It is expected that new development will spur development on Staten Island, along with Outerbridge Crossing and Bayonne Bridge, which is under construction at the time.
Liberty Bridge will transport vehicles from Bay Ridge to an undetermined location on Staten Island. On the Brooklyn side, the city plans to connect Liberty Bridge to "Crosstown Highway", stretching Brooklyn and Queens and connecting to the proposed Triborough Bridge in northwest Queens. The city also envisages the possibility of connecting to the pre-existing Manhattan Bridge, connecting Downtown Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan.
Previous attempts to connect Brooklyn and Staten Island, using the Staten Island Tunnel, had begun in 1923 but were canceled two years later. The tunnel will expand the subway service from Brooklyn to Staten Island. This proposal was also revived with the announcement of Liberty Bridge. One alternative proposal has a subway tunnel from St. George, Staten Island, to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, before proceeding to Governors Island and then Lower Manhattan. Simultaneously, the engineers proposed a set of tunnel vehicles from Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, to 97th Street, Brooklyn. The tubes are being planned together with the Triborough Tunnel (Tunnel of modern Midtown Queens), which will connect Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. The city allocated $ 5 million for the tunnel in July 1929, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad also promised funding for the vehicle tunnel. Planning for the vehicle tube begins that month.
The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce simultaneously considers the three projects - bridges, tunnels, vehicles and subway tunnels. Community groups on both sides of the Narrows do not agree on which projects should be built first, if any. The inhabitants of Bay Ridge oppose any plan involving the bridge because its construction almost certainly requires partial demolition of the environment. The tedious work for the vehicle tunnel began in November 1930. The 11,000-foot (3,400m) twin tunnel, projected to be completed in 1937, was to connect Hylan Boulevard on Staten Island with 86th Street in Brooklyn once completed. In January 1932, the construction of this tunnel was held indefinitely due to lack of money. Construction work does not go beyond the shoreline examination on the Brooklyn side.
In February 1933, the US House of Representatives approved a bill authorizing the construction of a suspension bridge across the Narrows. With this agreement, the Interboro Bridge Company hopes to begin building bridges by the end of the year, creating jobs for 80,000 workers. The structural engineer Othmar H. Ammann, who built the Triborough Bridge, Midtown Tunnel, and Golden Gate Bridge at the time, showed interest in designing the proposed Narrows bridge, which would be the world's longest bridge if it was built. However, in April 1934, the War Department announced its opposition to the construction of the bridge, the re-arrangement of plans for the Narrows Bridge. The Port Authorities of New York and New Jersey have no public position regarding the Narrows Bridge plan, in addition to requests to operate the bridge of the future. The Defense Department's opposition to the bridge plan was based on the fact that a bridge could create a blockage during wartime, the reason it gave for opposing the Brooklyn Battery Bridge linking Red Hook, Brooklyn, to Lower Manhattan.
The city approved the construction of a rapid transit tunnel under the Narrows in December 1933. The tunnel was approved in conjunction with the proposed Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel connecting Red Hook with Lower Manhattan. After the War Department's announcement that they would oppose the Narrows bridge, self-interest began to study the feasibility of the tunnel.
In 1936, the Narrows crossing plan was raised again when New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia was authorized to file a Congressional petition for a bridge across the Narrows. Under the new plan, the proposed bridge will charge a fee for motorists, and a $ 50 million fee will be paid using federal bonds. LaGuardia preferred a tunnel, and so the following year he asked the New York City Tunnel Authority to review the feasibility of such a crossing. The New York City Planning Commission agreed to build a bridge or tunnel across the Narrows, and in 1939, proposed a plan to expand the New York City highway system. In March of the same year, when the bill for Battery Bridge was passed, Staten Island state legislators added a last-minute amendment to the bill, which provided the Narrows bridge. The Narrows Intersection was not included in the final version of the Planning Commission's plan, which was approved in 1941.
In 1943, the New York City Estimate Council allocated $ 50,000 for a tunnel feasibility study. At this time, Bay Ridge residents are now opposing the tunnel plan as well, as they fear that tunnel construction will degrade the quality of life in the neighborhood. After the war ended in 1945, the Planning Commission estimated that the construction of the Tunnel Narrows would cost $ 73.5 million. However, by that time, La Guardia had turned against the tunnel, saying that "this is not my time" to build the tunnel.
Package completed
The cancellation plan for the Narrows tunnel brings a resurgence of proposals for the bridge across the Narrows. In September 1947, Robert Moses, chairman of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, announced that the city would seek permission from the War Department to build a bridge across the Narrows. Moses and Mayor William O'Dwyer both supported the Narrows Bridge plan, which is still referred to as the "Liberty Bridge". The city filed its request in July 1948, and a commission consisting of three branches of the United States Armed Forces was held to collect public opinion about the proposed range.
US Representative Donald Lawrence O'Toole, whose constituency includes Bay Ridge, opposes proposals for the bridge because he believes it will damage the Bay Ridge character, and because the bridge may block the Narrows in case of war. He cited a poll showing that for every Bay Ridge resident who supported the construction of the bridge, 33 others were opposed. The US military approved the proposal in May 1949, over the strong opposition of Bay Ridge residents, provided the construction began within five years. At that time, plans for a range of 6,540 feet (1,990 m) were completed, and the project required only $ 78 million in financing to continue. This financing is not set to be granted until 1950, when the Battery Tunnel is completed. The initial plan shows the bridge as 237 feet (72 m) above average water level, enough for 215-foot (66 m) RMS Queen Mary to get through it.
Moses and acting as Bayard Port Authority Chair F. The Pope agreed to let one of their respective agencies build and operate the proposed Narrows Bridge, as long as the agency can do so efficiently. In 1954, the two institutions began a joint study of logistics development and bridge development. Due to restrictions by TBTA bondholders, construction could not start at least until 1957. Frederick H. Zurmuhlen, Public Works Commissioner, estimates that Narrows Bridge will cost a total of $ 200 million. He encouraged TBTA to begin construction on the bridge as soon as possible to reduce congestion at the East River crossings to the north. Staten Islanders sees the project carefully, because the Narrows Bridge will provide connections to the entire city, but can also cause traffic congestion through the borough. Moses only had a positive view of the bridge's proposed impact on Staten Islanders, saying it was important for the future of the borough.
In May 1954, the Armed Forces' permission to begin construction at Narrows Bridge was over. The Army gave a two-year extension to start construction. In a measure adopted in March 1955, the city gained control of the approval process for several tasks related to the construction of the Narrows bridge, including land acquisition. A little over a month later, New York Governor W. Averell Harriman signed a $ 600 million spending bill allowing the construction of the Narrows Bridge; the construction of Throgs Neck Bridge between Queens and the Bronx; and the addition of a second level to the George Washington Bridge between Manhattan and New Jersey. Later that year, it was announced that the Narrows Bridge would be part of the expansion into the Interstate Highway System. Although a study of the feasibility of adding the transit service to the Narrows Bridge was commissioned in early 1956, Moses rejected the idea of ​​adding subway tracks to the new bridge, saying that it would be too expensive. In April of that year, New Jersey Governor Robert B. Meyner signed a bill allowing the Port Authority to build the Narrows Bridge and lease it to TBTA, which will operate the bridge. TBTA will purchase a bridge from the Port Authority in 1967 as part of the agreement.
On the Brooklyn side, the Narrows Bridge was originally supposed to be connected to the Circumferential (Belt) Parkway, but in early 1957, Harriman vetoed a bill that determined that the main approach connected to the Belt Parkway. In May 1957, the latest location for the Brooklyn port was approved. The port will now be located in Fort Lafayette, a beach fort on the island built next to Fort Hamilton on the southern tip of Bay Ridge. Moses also proposed the expansion of the Brooklyn Gowanus Express Line and extended it to the Narrows Bridge through the Seventh Street, which would require cutting through the central part of Bay Ridge. This proposal attracted opposition from the public, who wanted an approach to follow Belt Parkway along the coast of Brooklyn. These opponents say that the alignment of Seventh Avenue will replace more than 1,500 families. In February 1958, the New York State Legislature approved a bill to change Brooklyn's approach back to Belt Parkway, which was almost identical to the bill that Harriman had vetoed. However, the city approved the approach of the Seventh Avenue bridge in August 1958. The following month, Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. said the city is committed to building bridges across the Narrows, but is not committed to the construction of Seventh Avenue. approach. In response, Moses wrote to Wagner that a continuing delay would cause the bridge to be canceled. The cost of the bridge has now increased to $ 320 million.
After holding a hearing for the inhabitants of Bay Ridge in question, the Estimate Board confirmed Narrows Bridge's plan in October 1958, without any objection. At the same time, he rejected plans for a tunnel under the Narrows, as well as a bridge or tunnel from Brooklyn directly to Jersey City, New Jersey. The council was set to vote on the approach of Seventh Avenue in mid-December, but the federal government declared that they would only approve the construction of the bridge if the Seventh Avenue approach had 12 lines, with six in each level. The federal government has already paid for two road repairs on both sides of the proposed bridge: Lake Clove Toll Lake on Staten Island, and Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn. On December 31 of that year, the Council of Predicts voted to approve Seventh Avenue's approach, having postponed the ballot several times.
Approval of Seventh Avenue approach has put Baybridge residents outraged that the approach will replace 7,500 people. The number of these oppositions does not fit in Staten Island, although more than twice as many people flee there, as the Staten Island Ferry is the only way to get between the island and the whole city. Instead, the announcement of the bridge was welcomed for triggering an increase in real estate prices on the island. The State Legislature drafted the bill in an effort to change the location of the approach to the Belt Parkway. However, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller vetoed the Parkway Belt bill, and in March 1959, the Estimate Board formally condemned the land along Seventh Avenue to pave the way for the expansion of the Gowanus Expressway to Narrows Bridge. The only task left before the start of construction was to complete the design of the Narrows Bridge, and to speed up construction schedules to meet the 1964 deadline. In April 1959, the bridge was officially renamed after Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano. This sparked controversy because the proposed bridge name has only one "z" while the explorer name has two "z" s.
Construction
The survey work for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge began in January 1959. Official construction on the bridge began on August 14, 1959, with a groundbreaking ceremony at the port of Staten Island. Those present included New Jersey Governor Meyner, New York City Mayor Wagner, and TBTA Moses Chairman. Although New York Governor Rockefeller has been invited to the event, neither he nor the Chairman of the Council Joseph F. Carlino has not appeared. In December 1959, TBTA was assigned to finance and build bridges. To raise money for development, Rockefeller signed a bill that would remove a 4% ceiling on interest rates for securities sold by TBTA to pay for bridges. This ceiling will be lifted until June 1965. In essence, this means TBTA can sell securities with much higher interest rates to raise the $ 320 million needed.
Swiss-born engineer Othmar Ammann was named senior partner for the project. Another important character is chief engineer Milton Brumer; project engineers Herb Rothman and Frank L. Stahl; Leopold design engine Recently; Safety Engineer Alonzo Dickinson, and construction engineer John West Kinney. Meanwhile, John "Hard Nose" Murphy oversees span and cable construction.
Before starting the actual work on the bridge, TBTA destroys the structure in the future location of the anchor. The agency acquired 36 acres (15 ha) from 138 acres (56 ha) in Fort Hamilton, in exchange for paying $ 12 million for the renovation of the Army installations and handing out 10.8 hectares (4.4 hectares) of land at Dyker Beach Park. The 1,000-tonne World War I monument on the Brooklyn side, in the approach path of Seventh Avenue in the future, is placed on rolling rolling and shifting 370 feet (110 m). The right way to approach Seventh Avenue is also being cleared, and despite the initial rejection of the cleansing work, all residents in the approach path agree to move elsewhere. To prevent contractors delaying work on the highway on both sides of the bridge, Moses warned them of a steep fine if a highway has not been completed by the time the bridge is over.
An anchorage is built on each side of the Narrows, with each anchorage measuring 229 feet (70 m) long by 129 feet (39 m) wide, with sixty-six large holes for cables. The foundation work for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge went well in 1960, when visitors could see the anchor. Then, two caissons sank into a channel close to the shoreline. Caisson's Staten Island sank 105 feet (32 m) into the water, and required dredging of 81,000 cubic meters (62,000 m 3 ) of sand and various impurities. The Caisson required 47,000 cubic yards (36,000 m 3 ) of concrete, and by March 1961 it was the first of two caissons to be drowned. Caisson on the Brooklyn side needs more work, due to a depth of 170 feet (52 m), displaced 145,000 cubic yards (111,000 m 3 ) dirt, and uses 83,000 cubic meters (63,000 m 3 ) of the concrete. A concrete labor strike in mid-1961 threatened the timely completion of the port of Staten Island, which was only partially filled with concrete. This strike lasts several months and affects many projects under the city. The process of making anchorages and caissons took more than two years, and it was completed in late 1961.
After that, two separate companies built modules that would form a tower suspension as high as 693 feet (211 m). The Staten Island tower was built by Bethlehem Steel, and the Brooklyn tower was built by Harris Structural Company. The first section of the tower, a 300-foot tall tower on the Staten Island side, was lifted into place in October 1961, and the tower was closed in September 1962. The Brooklyn Tower began in April 1962. When the tower was fully erected, spinning cable bridge. The American Bridge Company was chosen to build cables and decks. The spinning process began in March 1963 and took six months, because 142,560 km of bridge cables had to be hung 104,432 times around the bridge. The main cable is hung on both sides of the span, and then the suspender cable is suspended from the main cable of the bridge. The main cable is fully rotated in August.
At the end of 1963, the builders began to receive rectangular pieces that would form the street deck. Components for sixty slabs of 40 tons were first made on assembly lines in Jersey City. Then, these components are combined in the Bayonne steel plant 5 miles (8.0 km) from the bridge site, and after each piece of the slab is assembled, they are thrown into the Narrows via a barge. Each section measured 28 feet (8.5 m) tall about 115 feet (35 m) wide and long. The deck pieces are then suspended from the suspender cable. The first part of the deck was lifted to the bridge in October 1963. In early 1964, the range was almost complete, and all that was left was securing various parts of the bridge. At this point, a new development plan on Staten Island is underway, and travelers have come to observe the construction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The bridge was scheduled to open in 1965, but due to a faster rate of progress than anticipated, TBTA decided to open the bridge in November 1964. In preparation for the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, TBTA completely repainted its structure.. The bridge-building process has employed an average of 1,200 workers a day for five years, excluding those who have worked on the approach; about 10,000 people have been working on the bridge over the five-year period.
Three people died during the construction of the bridge. The first death was 58-year-old Paul Bassett, who fell from the deck and crashed into a tower in August 1962. Irving Rubin, also aged 58, died in July 1963 when he fell from a bridge approach. The third worker killed was Gerard McKee, 19, who fell into the water in October 1963 after slipping from the catwalk. After McKee's death, the workers participated in a five-day strike in December 1963. The strike produced a temporary safety net mounted below the deck. These nets have not been provided for four years before the strike.
The construction of the bridge was recorded by author Gay Talese in his 1964 book The Bridge: The Verrazano Bridge Building- The Bridge: The Bridge The Verrazano- Narrows . He also wrote several articles about bridge construction for the New York Times. The book also contains some pictures by Lili RÃÆ' Â © thi and photos by Bruce Davidson.
Initial and subsequent years
The Staten Island approach to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is the first part of the new project to be completed, and opened in January 1964. The upper deck opened on November 21, 1964, at a cost of $ 320 million in 1964 dollars. , equivalent to $ 2.525 million in this dollar. Politicians at all levels of government, from Brooklyn Borough President Abe Stark to US President Lyndon B. Johnson, wrote a speech honoring Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The opening ceremony was attended by more than 5,000 people, including 1,500 official guests. Several prominent people, involving the mayor, governor, and district president of Brooklyn and Staten Island, cut gold ribbons. They then joined the motorcade to mark the official opening of the bridge. A 35 cents toll is charged to all motorists crossing the bridge. The opening of the Verrazano Bridge is celebrated throughout Staten Island. Moses did not invite any of the 12,000 workers to the opening, so they boycotted the event and even attended mass to commemorate the three workers who died during construction.
The opening was accompanied by the launch of a memorial stamp, depicting a ship sailing under a new range. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) makes a bus route across the bridge to connect Victory Boulevard on Staten Island to the Bay Ridge-95th Street subway station in Brooklyn. The bus service initially saw low patronage, with only 6,000 passengers daily using the route. Five days after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened, the ferry from Staten Island to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, ceased to operate, as it is now a new bridge.
In the first two months of the bridge opening, 1.86 million vehicles have used new crossings, ten percent more than projected, and this captures TBTA of nearly $ 1 million in toll revenues. The Goethals Bridge, which links New Jersey to Staten Island Expressway and Verrazano Bridge, saw an average daily usage increase of 75%, or about 300,000 total trips, compared to before the Narrows Bridge was opened. The Dutch tunnel from New Jersey to Manhattan, and the Staten Island Ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan, both experienced a decrease in the number of vehicles after the bridge opened. In the summer of 1965, Staten Island saw an increase in patronage on its shores, facilitated by the opening of a new bridge. At the time of the first anniversary of the bridge, 17 million riders have crossed the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, paying $ 9 million in tolls. The bridge has seen 34% more travel than planned planners. In contrast, 5.5 million fewer passengers and 700,000 fewer vehicles boarded the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan.
The Verrazano Bridge is the latest project designed by Ammann, who has designed many other major crossings into and within New York City. He died in 1965, the year after the bridge opened. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is also the last major public works project in New York City supervised by Moses. The city planners imagine that Verrazano and Throg Neck Bridge will be the last major bridge in New York City for now, as they will complete the city's toll system.
Although the bridge was built with only one lane 6 lane, Ammann had made provisions for the second 6 lanes deck underneath, in the form of additional scrolls. This series, which was used to strengthen the bridge, was a design change that was added to many bridges after the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge became so popular among motorists that in March 1969, TBTA decided to set up the lower deck at a cost of $ 22 million. The Verrazano Bridge has not been expected to bring enough traffic to require a second deck until 1978, but traffic patterns over the previous five years have indicated the need for additional bridge capacity. In contrast, the lower deck on the George Washington Bridge, connecting New Jersey and Upper Manhattan, was not built until thirty-one years after the opening of the bridge in 1931. The new six-lane deck opened on June 28, 1969. Initially, the end of Brooklyn Bridge Verrazano was also supposedly connected to the planned Brooklyn Traffic Hour, New York State Route 878, and JFK Airport, but the LLL-Brooklyn Expressway project was canceled in 1969.
On June 26, 1976, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the United States, the workers placed a huge US flag on the side of the Verrazano Bridge. The flag is described as having a "football field and a half" area and is billed as the world's largest flag, and at that time, the largest US flag ever made. The flag was supposed to withstand wind speeds of 30 miles per hour (48 km/h), but was torn apart three days later, when there was wind speeds of 16 miles per hour (26 km/h).
The successor of TBTA, MTA Bridges and Tunnels, stopped collecting a toll for a Brooklyn driver in 1986, and doubled the cost for a driver bound to Staten Island. This is the result of a bill introduced by Guy V. Molinari, US Representative for Staten Island, as part of an initiative to reduce traffic accumulated at toll gates on Staten Island. The one-way streets were originally intended to be part of a six-month pilot program, but resulted in a permanent change to the traffic flow on the Verrazano Bridge. Crossings see more Brooklyn-bound traffic and less Staten Island-bound traffic as a result. This unidirectional collection is still valid until March 2017.
Beginning in 2008, all 262 mercury vapor fixtures in the bridge necklace lighting were replaced with energy-efficient light-emitting diodes. This retrofit was completed in 2009, many years before the LED street lights were installed throughout the city.
Remodeling
In 2014, the city embarked on a $ 1.5 billion reconstruction project on the bridge. At that time, it is estimated that it will take up to 25 years. The first phase, which cost $ 235 million and lasts until 2017, includes replacing the ramps, removing the barrier on the upper deck, and adding a seventh lane on the upper deck, which will be used as a high-occupancy vehicle track (HOV). Parts for this deck are ordered from China because the parts required by MTA are no longer manufactured in the United States.
After the top deck is replaced, the lower deck section should be replaced, but this requires closing the lower deck during construction. Therefore, MTA chose to replace the upper deck first to add more capacity. The Brooklyn Line to the bridge is also being rebuilt. The new HOV line at the top level opened in July 2017. At the same time, the MTA unloaded the toll gate on Staten Island to accelerate traffic to the west. This work was done prior to the reconstruction of the tracks around Penn Station, which severely restricted the train service to the station and created more vehicular traffic on the crossings into Manhattan. Finally, the Verrazano Bridge may also contain bike lanes and pedestrians.
Maps Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
Description
The Verrazano-Narrows bridge is owned by Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority bondholders paying for the construction of the bridge. It is operated by TBTA's successor, MTA Bridges and Tunnels, which is an affiliate agent of MTA. The bridge brings Interstate 278, which continues into the Staten Island Expressway to the west and the Gowanus Expressway to the northeast. The Verrazano, in combination with the Goethals Bridge and Staten Island Expressway, creates a new way for commuters and travelers to reach Brooklyn, Long Island and Manhattan by car from New Jersey.
Each of the two towers contains 1 million bolts and 3 million rivets. The diameter of each of the four main suspension cables is 36 inches (914 mm). Each main cable consists of 26,108 cables with a total length of 142,520 miles (229,364 km). Due to the height of the tower (693 ft or 211 m) and the distance apart (4,260 ft or 1,298 m), the curvature of the earth's surface should be taken into account when designing the bridge - the tower is 1 Ã, 5 / 8 inch (41,275 mm) further apart at its peak than at their base; they are not parallel to each other. Two tower bridges are the tallest structures in New York City outside of Manhattan.
At the time of opening, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is the world's longest suspension bridge, with a center span of 4,260 feet (1,300 m), exceeding the center length of the Golden Gate Bridge center of 60 feet (18 m). In 1981, it was surpassed by the Humber Bridge in England, which has a central range of 4,626 feet (1,410 m).
Due to the thermal expansion of steel cables, the road bridge is 12 feet (3.66 m) lower in summer than in winter. Bridges are affected by weather more than other bridges in the city due to their size and location being isolated close to the open ocean; sometimes closed, either partially or completely, during high winds and blizzards.
The Narrows is the only entrance for cruise ships and container ships docked in New York City. As a result, they must be built to accommodate permits under the bridge. At the average water level, the permit is 228 feet (69 m). The RMS Queen MaryÃ, 2 , one of these vessels was built to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge specification, designed with a flat funnel to pass under the bridge, and has 13 feet (3.96 m) of permit under the bridge at high tide.
Many birds nest or perch on bridges, especially breeding peregrine eagles. Eagles nest over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge tower, as well as at Throgs Neck and Marine Parkway Bridges. As the eagle is threatened with extinction, the city places the band on every bird and checks the nesting grounds of the birds each year. Eagles were found on the Verrazano Bridge in 1983, although they had been breeding there for several years before.
Naming
During the planning phase, this bridge was originally named "Narrows Bridge". The naming of the bridge to Verrazzano (with two "z" s) is controversial. It was first proposed in 1951 by the Italian Historical Society of America, when the bridge was in the planning stages. After Robert Moses rejected the initial proposal, the public conducted a public relations campaign to rebuild Verrazzano's forgotten reputation and to promote the idea of ​​naming the bridge for him. The community director, John N. LaCorte, successfully lobbied several state governors along the East Coast of the US to announce April 17, Verrazzano's arrival warning at the port, as Verrazzano Day. LaCorte then approached TBTA again, but was rejected a second time. The authority manager, supported by Moses, said the name was too long and that he had never heard of Verrazzano.
The Italian Historical Society then managed to lobby for a bill introduced at the New York State Assembly that would name the bridge for the explorer. After the introduction of the bill, the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce joined the public in promoting the name. In April 1958, Governor W. Averell Harriman announced that he would propose naming the Narrows Bridge after Verrazzano in honor of his cruise to New York Harbor in 1524. His successor, Nelson Rockefeller put his support behind the name "Verrazano" in April 1959, says that it is the standard American way of spelling out the name of the explorer. Although the name "Verrazano" has not been completed, the New York Times noted that the Ferry of Staten Island carrying officials to the bridge laying ceremony of August 1959 was named "Verrazzano". The Times further stated that former Governors Harriman and Mayor Wagner each had proposed the "Verrazzano Bridge" and proclaimed "Verrazzano Day". The Staten Island Chamber of Commerce opposes Verrazano's name altogether, saying that the exact name of the bridge should be "Staten Island Bridge" as there are also "Brooklyn Bridge", "Manhattan Bridge", "Queens Bridge", and a "Bronx Bridge". The Italian History Society is reportedly confused about the opposition to the name "Verrazano". In response to the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce opposition, TBTA offered to add a hyphen between "Verrazano" and "Narrows".
Rockefeller signed the name "Verrazano" into law in March 1960, which officially changed the name of the Narrows Bridge to "Verrazano-Narrows Bridge". The naming problem did not encounter any more controversy until 1963, after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. This led to a series of suggestions for renaming structures, monuments and agencies across the United States after the late president. The petition to rename the Verrazano Bridge to Kennedy received thousands of signatures. In response, LaCorte contacted the president's brother, US Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who told LaCorte that he would guarantee that the bridge would retain the name "Verrazano". In the end, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge retains its name, while Idlewild Airport in Queens is renamed Kennedy.
Partly because of discrimination against Italian-Americans, the bridge's official name is widely ignored by local news outlets at the time of dedication. Several broadcasters and newspapers omitted any references to Verrazzano, referring to the bridge as the Narrows Bridge, or the Brooklyn-Staten Island Bridge. People continue to lobby for attempts to promote the name in subsequent years until the name becomes established. Another ethnic slur to the bridge is his nickname as "Guinea Gangplank", referring to the Italian-Americans who then moved from Brooklyn to Staten Island.
In June 2016, St. Francis College, Robert Nash, began a petition to spell correctly the name Giovanni da Verrazzano on the bridge. The petition has the support of politicians including Sen. Martin Golden and Senator Andrew Lanza. The petition was also supported by actors and celebrities Robert DeNiro, Tony Gemignani, and Joe D'Onofrio. Petition proceeds in progress. In December 2016, Golden and Lanza Senators sent a letter to Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Thomas F. Prendergast, where they recommended that the name of the bridge be spelled correctly. An MTA spokesman said the agency was reviewing the letter.
Tolls
On March 19, 2017, the driver paid a one-way toll (paid west only to Staten Island) $ 17.00 per car or $ 7.00 per motorbike. E-ZPass users with transponders issued by the New York EP Customer Service Center pay $ 11.52 per car or $ 5.00 per motorcycle; a five-axle truck pays $ 92, or $ 56.80 with NY E-ZPass. There is a Staten Island Resident Program that provides a discount rate of $ 5.50 for residents enrolled in Staten Island using E-ZPass. Transponder holders issued elsewhere receive no discount. All E-ZPass users with transponders not issued by the New York E-ZPass Customer Service Center are required to pay Toll-by-mail rates. The $ 17 for passenger cars, enacted in 2017, is higher than most crossings at US intersections. Toll for trucks ranges up to $ 132, or $ 79.52 with E-ZPass depending on the number of axles. By 2017, the toll of Verrazano-Narrows Bridge earns $ 417 million worth of MTA per year, and about 85% of bridge riders use discounted toll rates.
An urban legend says that tolls will be abolished once the bridge's construction bonds are paid off, but this has been denied by Staten Island Advance. Initially, all drivers pay the same standard fee to cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, regardless of whether they are residents of Staten Island. They are the only residents of New York City who have to pay tolls to enter their home territory, as all four Staten Island vehicles collect tolls. This puts the Staten Island riders at a financial loss compared to drivers living in other areas. A bill to reduce costs for Staten Islanders was introduced at the New York City Council in 1975. Governor Mario Cuomo signed another law to give Staten Island residents a toll discount in 1983, after years of petitioning and opposition from two of his predecessors.
Since opening until 1986, tolls have been collected in both directions. In 1985, US Representative Guy V. Molinari sponsored a bill that would ask the MTA to collect the victims of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge just in the direction of Staten Island. This happened after the residents of Staten Island complained about the pollution from unused vehicles. In December of that year, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill banning MTA from collecting tolls from vehicles in Brooklyn, under threat of loss of highway funds. Therefore, in March 1986, the MTA started a pilot program where it charged $ 3.50 for Staten Island-bound vehicles rather than charge $ 1.75 in both directions. The pilot program was extended to six months, but it was controversial because of the dubious benefits involved. The new toll plan not only leads to a decrease in revenue, but also causes congestion in Manhattan and Brooklyn as well as air pollution in Manhattan. Canal Street in Lower Manhattan, connected to the Dutch Tunnel to New Jersey, sees the most serious congestion, when drivers will pass through New Jersey and use the Bayonne Bridge to pay a cheaper toll to enter Staten Island. Fatal accidents involving pedestrians in Lower Manhattan are also greatly improved as a result. In 1987, the MTA supported the elimination of one-way toll roads because it reduced MTA revenues to $ 7 million per year. At that point, Cuomo proposed to reassemble the toll heading east for the truck. In 1990, it was noted that about 455,000 vehicles eastward per year using the eastern path of the bridge compared with before reconfiguring the toll, but this is not worth the 1.5 million fewer vehicles to the west per year. The residents of Manhattan and Brooklyn want the tolls to change so that either a vehicle heading east, or both directions, will be charged.
Though it has not collected a toll eastward since 1986, the MTA has done nothing with unused booths for a quarter of a century. In 2010, eight of the eleven Brooklyn toll booths were removed as part of the first phase of the project to increase traffic flow in the toll plaza. Two years later, the last toll road to the east was removed. Toll is still collected only in the direction of Staten Island, and congestion in Lower Manhattan continues due to the one-way bridge of the western toll.
The cashless Open-road sacrifice begins on July 8, 2017. The highway to the west is also dismantled, and the driver can no longer pay cash on the bridge. Instead, there is a camera mounted on top of the gantry near where the rooms are located. Drivers without E-ZPass will have their plate drawings taken, and tolls will be delivered to them. For E-ZPass users, sensors will detect their transponders wirelessly.
Use of bridge
By 2015, an average of 202,523 vehicles use the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge every day in both directions. In 2015, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge carries more traffic than Outerbridge Crossing, Bayonne Bridge, and Goethals Bridge. All three of these bridges, which connect Staten Island with New Jersey, are used by 168,984 combined vehicles in both directions.
In 2011, Transportation for America rated the bridge as the most dangerous in New York, due to a combination of deterioration and the number of people who crossed it daily. The MTA responded that the bridge, which is the country's newest and longest bridge, is structurally healthy, and that the bridge has passed its final inspection. The MTA links Transport for American produce with "misinterpretation of inspection records".
Signs at both ends of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge prohibit photography and video recording while on the bridge. These signs were installed after the September 11, 2001, attacks, when the MTA began filming from people caught shooting MTA crossings. However, the ban was already there long before the attack to prevent people taking close-up images of the bridge.
Public transport
Three local bus routes operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations using Verrazano-Narrows Bridge: local S53 route, Bus Service Route Select S79, and S93 limited route. The bridge also carries 17 express bus routes connecting Staten Island with Manhattan and also operated by New York City Transit. They are X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X7, X8, X9, X10, X17, X19, X31, and X42.
Subway lines are proposed for the bridge at the start of the planning process, but Moses refused them because of cost issues.
Ban and pedestrian ban
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is not built with pedestrian paths, due to cost overruns, as well as attempts to prevent a possible suicide jump. Non-motorized transport is restricted using bridges during New York City Marathon and Five Boro Bike Tour. In 1976, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was designated as the starting point of the New York City Marathon. The Marathon of 1976 was the first year in the six-year marathon history that the New York City Marathon course went out of Manhattan. Since then, the marathon begins on the island of Staten at Verrazano Bridge every year. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is not open to pedestrians or bikers outside marathons and bike tours.
The lack of a path does not stop suicide completely, since 1975, four people died after jumping off the bridge. The number of suicides has increased over time, despite prevention efforts. A sign that says "Life Is Worth Living" is located on the Staten Island approach. In 2008, the MTA also installed six suicide hotlines on the bridge.
There are calls for pedestrian or bicycle paths on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge since its opening, when some people protested against the lack of bike lanes at the opening ceremony of the bridge. In 1977, as a temporary solution, the city modified three buses to fit 12 bicycles and 20 passengers respectively, then operated these buses on the new "S7 Verrazano Bridge" route. In 1993, the New York City Department of Urban Planning called for footpaths across the bridge as part of their Greenway Plan for New York City. The following year, the city sought a $ 100,000 federal grant to fund a feasibility study into the pedestrian and bicycle paths of Verrazano Bridge. In 1997, DCP released its research, which found that two paths running between suspenders along the top level, separated for pedestrian and cyclists use, would cost a minimum of $ 26.5 million. The MTA at the time expressed concern about "the safety and obligations inherent in any strategy that introduces pedestrian and bicycle access" to the bridge.
Locals on both sides of the bridge began advocating the construction of roads or bikeways at Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 2002. Dave Lutz, the non-profit director of the Open Space Coalition, stated that after the September 11 attacks, Staten Islanders walked home along the bridge road. Mayor Michael Bloomberg promised to see the possibility in October 2003.
The Harbor Ring Committee was formed in 2011 to advocate for completion of the Harbor Ring route, which will make 50 miles (80 km) around New York Harbor, including the path along Verrazano. In the spring of 2013 the committee started an online petition that generated over 2,500 signatures, as well as a sign-on letter of organization with the support of 16 regional and local advocacy and planning organizations. That year, the MTA announced that it would include conducting a three-year feasibility study to install the line at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The MTA is considering a plan for a bicycle path by 2015, during the reconstruction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
References
Further reading
- Soule, Gardner (June 1955). "Largest Bridge to Span Busiest Harbor". Popular Science : 90-93, 264, 268.
External links
- Official website
- Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at bridge-info.org
- Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Structurae
- US. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
- Historical American Engineering Record (HAER) no. NY-303, "Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Spanning Narrows between Fort Hamilton (Brooklyn) & Staten Island, Brooklyn, Kings County, NY", 35 photos, 3 photos photo page
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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