The New York City Department of Bridges was a municipal government agency that administered the planning, construction, management, and maintenance of

bridges in New York City New York City is home to many bridges and tunnels. Several agencies manage this network of crossings. The New York City Department of Transportation owns and operates almost 800. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Port Authority of New Yo ...

. The department was created in 1898 with the consolidation of Greater New York, and it operated as one of six co-equal branches of the New York City Board of Public Improvements. It was later merged with the

Department of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

in 1916 to form the Department of Plant & Structures. Its present-day successor is the

New York City Department of Transportation The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Depart ...

. Prior to the Department's formation, the work of building and managing transportation infrastructure in the Greater New York area was generally overseen by county-level Boards of Supervisors and their associated Highway Commissioners. When the city was consolidated under a singular charter in 1898, responsibility for all bridge crossings (including minor roadway spans in the outer boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens) was also consolidated–much to the disagreement of existing highway commissioners.

Organization

Most of the department's workforce included designers and tradesmen in a variety of support roles, including

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the ...

, riggers, and even

firemen A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

. One record from 1900 counts the organization's maintenance division alone at about 480 workers, with moveable bridge-tenders comprising the largest individual trade. The department's leadership consisted of a Commissioner of Bridges and a Consulting Engineer. Appointed by the Mayor of New York City, the Commissioner of Bridges was a mayoral cabinet-level position tasked with administration of the entire department and its divisions. According to the original city charter, the commissioner was also charged with overseeing departmental finances, toll collection, bridge construction and maintenance, and operation of the

Brooklyn Bridge trolleys From 1898 to 1950, various companies operated local trolley lines over the Brooklyn Bridge, taking passengers from many points in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States to the Park Row terminal in Lower Manhattan. These lines entere ...

Notable projects

During its existence, the Department of Bridges initiated and managed the construction of many significant bridges in New York City: *

Williamsburg Bridge The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressw ...

(initially known as the "East River Bridge") * Manhattan Bridge * Queensboro Bridge *

Hell Gate Bridge The Hell Gate Bridge, originally the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge or the East River Arch Bridge, is a steel through arch railroad bridge in New York City. Originally built for four tracks, the bridge currently carries two tracks of Amtr ...

Madison Avenue Bridge __notoc__ The Madison Avenue Bridge is a four-lane swing bridge crossing the Harlem River in New York City, connecting Madison Avenue in Manhattan with East 138th Street in the Bronx. It was designed by Alfred P. Boller and built in 1910, doubl ...

University Heights Bridge The University Heights Bridge is a steel-truss revolving swing bridge across the Harlem River in New York City. It connects West 207th Street in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan with West Fordham Road in the University Heights neighbor ...

145th Street Bridge The 145th Street Bridge is a four-lane swing bridge across the Harlem River in New York City, connecting 145th Street and Lenox Avenue in Manhattan with 149th Street and River Avenue in the Bronx. The bridge is operated and maintained by the N ...

* Grand Street Bridge

References

1898 establishments in New York City 1916 disestablishments in New York (state) Bridges in New York City Bridges, Department of Government agencies established in 1898 Government agencies disestablished in 1916 {{NYC-stub