Rikers Island Bridge (officially named Francis R. Buono Memorial Bridge) is a

girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge de ...

that connects

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

with the borough of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The bridge begins in the

Steinway Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a ...

neighborhood of Queens near the intersection of Hazen Street and 19th Avenue and continues to the south side of Rikers Island.

Description

The Rikers Island Bridge is the sole route to the island for vehicular traffic. The bridge is a fixed low-level span built with concrete and steel. At its center, the bridge has a 52-foot rise allowing clearance for vessels passing beneath the structure. The

MTA Bus MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the surface transit division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was created in 2008 to consolidate all bus operations in New York City operated by the MTA. , MTA Regional Bus Operations ru ...

route operates across the Rikers Island Bridge and provides service to the Rikers Island Visitor Center. The bridge crosses the Rikers Island Channel of the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

and

Bowery Bay Bowery Bay is a bay off the East River in New York City. It is located near the Steinway neighborhood of Queens and is bordered on the west by the Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant and on the south and east by LaGuardia Airport. Before ...

. It is located near

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...

and crosses over the approach light pier to Runway 13.

History

Before the bridge opened, the only access to Rikers Island was by a ferry, which cost New York City $250,000 per year to operate. The bridge was proposed in order to provide easier access by fire, police, ambulances, and sanitation vehicles, and to reduce the commute times for employees.Mazza, Frank (May 8, 1966).
Rikers Island Bridge To Spur Better Jails
. ''Daily News'' (New York, New York). p. M14. The New York City Planning Board approved the building of the bridge in 1962. Rikers Island Bridge opened on November 22, 1966.Devlin, John C. (November 23, 1966).
Bridge of Hope' to Rikers Island Is Dedicated Here: Mayor Opens $9-Million Bridge To an Expanding Rikers Island
. ''The New York Times''. p. 41. New York City spent $10million to build the bridge. The city said it saved $410million in construction costs for structures on the island during the five years after the bridge opened, and that the bridge would also save $5,000 in operating expenses per year. The bridge is supported by 260 concrete piles, each up to long. On May 25, 1978, the bridge was co-named for the late Supervising Warden Francis R. Buono, who directed its construction. In August 1990, during a labor conflict with then New York City mayor

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enterin ...

, guards responded to a breakdown in negotiations by barricading access to the bridge.

References

External links

* {{NYC Bridge Bridges completed in 1965 Road bridges in New York City Bridges in Queens, New York Bridges in the Bronx Pedestrian bridges in New York City Concrete bridges in the United States Girder bridges in the United States Rikers Island