Crosses Eastchester Bay No. of spans 7 Opened 4 July 1901 Bridge type Swing bridge Materials Steel, Dimension stone | Design Swing bridge Construction started 1899 Total length 290 m Location The Bronx | |
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Carries 3 lanes of City Island Road Locale The Bronx and City Island in New York City Maintained by New York City Department of Transportation Similar Pelham Bridge, Joseph P Addabbo Memorial, Grand Street Bridge, Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, 145th Street Bridge | ||
The new city island bridge
The City Island Bridge of 1901 was a bridge in the New York City borough of The Bronx, connecting City Island, The Bronx with Rodman's Neck on the mainland. It has been demolished, due to its deteriorated condition. It opened for traffic on July 4, 1901 and closed on December 18, 2015. The bridge was of stone and steel construction, and spanned 950 ft (290 m). Construction began in 1899 and completed in 1901, at a cost of $200,000. It consisted of five fixed spans and a central swing section which was converted to a fixed span in 1963. Currently, vehicular and pedestrian traffic is being routed over a temporary steel bridge to the south as the original 1901 has been demolished. A replacement bridge is being built in its place.
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City island bridge test
Replacement bridge
To replace the deteriorating bridge, the city originally intended to build a cable-stayed bridge, with a 150 ft (46 m) high tower, 13 ft (4.0 m) wide at the top, with a base of 26 ft (7.9 m). Vertical clearance above high water would be 12 ft (3.7 m). The new bridge would be located in the same footprint as the existing bridge, although it would be 17 ft (5.2 m) wider to accommodate three standard-width traffic lanes, a bicycle lane and a pedestrian walkway.
The original schedule was for the project to begin in 2007 with completion in 2010. The project was then postponed until June 2012. Due to the project postponement, during 2010 repairs were made to the existing bridge deck, piers, and west abutment. Due to a lack of funding the project was delayed once more until the city announced it would accept bids in late 2012, with Tutor Perini selected as general contractor in February 2013. As of 2005 the estimated cost of the project was $50 million. As of 2009 the estimate increased to $120 million due to redesigns and the addition of related projects. The final bid came in at $102.7 million.
Some residents however, opposed the design of the cable-stayed bridge and felt that its tower would be out of character with the low-rise homes on City Island. Opponents of the bridge design filed a lawsuit against the city on November 6, 2013. A Bronx Supreme Court judge granted a temporary injunction on that date. In December 2013 the court lifted the injunction, but ruled that the city must conduct public hearings. The city's prior consultations with the island community, which began during the early design stages, had been informal. The court's ruling requires the city to follow its Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which includes local Community Board hearings.
On May 5, 2014, the original bridge plans were scrapped, and the de Blasio administration chose to go with a slightly cheaper and much shorter causeway-style bridge. The bridge would be completed by 2017 were it to be approved.
As of April 25, 2015, the temporary steel bridge was halfway completed. It reaches from the southern side of the channel to the center where huge steel barges were busy assembling the rest of the temporary span. Stoplights were placed at both ends of the open bridge to facilitate construction. The temporary steel bridge connects to City Island Park, which will be replaced by a new park after construction.
On December 16, 2015, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) conducted a road test on the temporary steel bridge by running heavy equipment including fire trucks over the bridge. The DOT conducted the tests to ease residents' concerns about the integrity of the temporary structure. On December 18, 2015, the original bridge was closed to vehicular traffic and traffic was routed to the temporary bridge. Shortly after that, demolition began of the original bridge. It is currently demolished and a new bridge is being constructed on the same site as the 1901 bridge.