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 24,150 (2016)[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
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge (New York)
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge (the US)

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][4][5] 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. It consisted of a widened version of the previous drawbridge, and a grade-separated interchange complex feeding into Beach Channel Drive and the Cross Bay Parkway. The Cross Bay Parkway was extended south along Beach 94th Street and Beach 95th Street to the Shore Front Parkway along Rockaway Beach.[4][5]

Reconstructed and opened to traffic on May 28, 1970, the current bridge is a high level fixed bridge carrying six traffic lanes and a sidewalk on the west side.[6] 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

As of March 19, 2017, drivers pay $4.25 per car and $3.50 per motorcycle for tolls by mail. E-ZPass users with transponders issued by the New York E‑ZPass pay $2.16 per car and $1.80 per motorcycle. All other E-ZPass users with transponders issued outside of the NY Customer Service Center pay Toll-by-mail rates. Registered Rockaway and Broad Channel residents with E-ZPass receive toll rebates on this bridge; an e-token for Rockaway and Broad Channel residents costs $1.92, while Rockaway and Broad Channel residents with E-ZPass pay $1.41 per car.[7]

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][8]

Open-road cashless tolling began on April 30, 2017. The tollbooths were dismantled, and drivers are no longer able to pay with cash or tokens at the bridge. Instead, there are cameras mounted onto new overhead gantries near where the booths were located.[9][10] 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.[9][10] Residents with leftover bridge tokens were eligible to redeem their tokens for a refund through the E-ZPass Customer Service prior to April 29, 2017.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New York City Bridge Traffic Volumes" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. 2016. p. 11. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  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. 1 2 "New Shorefront Parkway In Rockaways Opened; $12,000,000 Bay Parkway Thrown Open". Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. June 3, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  5. 1 2 "New Shorefront Parkway In Rockaways Opened; $12,000,000 Bay Parkway Thrown Open" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. June 3, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ "2017 Toll Information". MTA Bridges & Tunnels. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Cross Bay Bridge Toll Rebate Change July 23". MTA Bridges and Tunnels. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  9. 1 2 Siff, Andrew (October 5, 2016). "Automatic Tolls to Replace Gates at 9 NYC Spans: Cuomo". NBC New York. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  10. 1 2 WABC (December 21, 2016). "MTA rolls out cashless toll schedule for bridges, tunnels". ABC7 New York. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  11. ↑ Schapiro, Rich (2017-04-30). "Gov. Cuomo: Rockaway bridges no longer take cash and metal tokens". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2018-06-26.

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