Bronx–Whitestone Bridge 5.22

The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City that crosses the East River and connects the boroughs of Queens on Long Island, and the Bronx on the United States mainland via Interstate 678. The bridge was designed by Othmar Ammann and opened to traffic with four lanes on April 29, 1939.The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge is owned by New York City and operated by the MTA Bridges and Tunnels, an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.HistoryConstructionThe idea for a crossing between the Bronx and Whitestone, Queens had come as early as 1905. At the time, residents around the proposed area of the bridge protested construction in fear of losing the then-rural character of the community. In 1929, however, the Regional Plan Association had proposed another bridge from the Bronx to northern Queens to allow motorists from upstate New York and New England to reach Queens and Long Island without traveling through the traffic-ridden communities of western Queens. On February 25, 1930, influential planner Robert Moses proposed a Ferry Point Park-Whitestone Bridge as a part of his Belt Parkway system around Brooklyn and Queens.