Save The Date! Throgs Neck Bridge Turns 50 Next Week

The Throgs Neck Bridge is definitely not one of New York's most celebrated bridges... but this photo its publicist sent over is pretty neat! The suspension bridge opened on January 11th, 1961, and it connects the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx with the Bay Terrace section of Queens. It's the newest bridge on the East River, and will be turning 50 years young next Tuesday.

According to the MTA, Robert Moses had "pushed to have the bridge open before the opening of the 1964 World's Fair, of which he was also the president. About 20 minutes after the ribbon cutting, the dignitaries sped across the new Throgs Neck Bridge for the second ceremony of the day—the dedication of the first World's Fair structure at Flushing Meadow Park." They make no mention of a celebration of fireworks, like that fat cat the Brooklyn Bridge always gets, so wherever you are next Tuesday, raise a glass to the poor bastard.

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By Jen Carlson in News on January 4, 2011 5:52 PM

Comments [rss]

tom9d

The official name might be the Throgs Neck Bridge, but it connects Queens to the Throggs* Neck section of the Bronx. No one in the neck spells it with one G. Robert Moses tried to shorten it because it was more economical to omit one of the Gs on signs for the bridge, expressway, etc. But in the eyes of everyone who lives there, it still has two Gs. Throggs Neck.

...I live there. We're sensitive about this.

budmoffett

TOM9D,
Thanks for clarifying, I thought I was nuts, recalling it had 2 "G"s... I'm the person who painted the 12'x'26 red,white and blue GO NAVY bumper sticker on the water tower at Ft. Schuyler, the last weekend of September, 1972. BUD

justthinkin

In light of it's upcoming b'day, maybe a consideration could be made towards changing it's name. I'd avoid that bridge just for the onomonopia implications that the term Throgs Neck" has for spending hours in traffic.

petercow

The Throgs Neck was built in response to the giant flaw in all of Robert Moses's auto plans. Traffic increased to fill capacity.

The Whitestone was built partly to relieve traffic on the Triboro. Then the Throgs Neck had to be built to relieve traffic on the Whitestone.

Moses later sought to build a cross-sound bridge, between Rye and Oyster Bay.