Celebrating 70 years of the Triborough Bridge

Years ago, parts of New York City lay inaccessible and isolated, until 1936 when the Triborough Bridge was opened.
Some 20 years earlier, Edward A. Byrne, chief engineer of the New York City Department of Plant and Structures, had a vision of a connected city.
When Byrne's vision of the bridge, which took seven years to construct, opened July 11, 1936, 15,000 people, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, were present.
This year on July 11th, there were considerably fewer people, but just as much civic pride as hundreds gathered in Astoria Park to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the bridge, linking Queens to Manhattan, and the Bronx.
Since the $60.3 million dollar bridge opened it has carried over 3 billion vehicles, a number that exponentially increases every year.
Work on the bridge began in 1929, under Mayor Jimmy Walker, but was soon stalled until 1932 because of lack of funds, following the Great Depression.
In 1933, the project was reborn when New York City Parks Commissioner and master builder, Robert Moses, became Chairman of the Triborough Bridge Authority and convinced then governor Al Smith to fund and resume construction.
Moses, and distinguished bridge designer Walter Ammann, who at the time was the chief engineer at the Port of New York Authority, jumpstarted the bridge project's revival.
For Moses, leading the project was a dream come true.
&#8220It has long been a cherished ambition of mine to weave together the loose strands and frayed edges of New York's metropolitan arterial tapestry,” said Moses, at the time. The anniversary's festivities began with a motorcade from Astoria to Randall's Island, which opened on the same day as the Triborough.
Other events included a children's ‘fun run' commemorating Jesse Owens' historic triumph in the Olympic trials at Icahn Stadium, then named Downing Stadium, which is on the island.
The Triborough Bridges' importance stretches far beyond the 13,820 feet it covers. As visionary Moses explained 70 years ago, &#8220The Triborough is not just a bridge nor yet a crossing. It is a great artery, connecting three boroughs of the city, and reaching out at its borders into adjacent counties and states.”