The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge's recently renovated off-ramp has claimed another life: Beatriz Rodriguez, who was a passenger in a car that crashed into a Long Island City beauty salon after careening from the bridge on Wednesday, died yesterday. Last week, a 68-year-old pedestrian standing in front of the salon was killed when a car, also careening from the off-ramp, slammed into him. Rodriguez's sister-in-law told the Post, "They should definitely fix that bridge exit. I think she would be alive today if they would have fixed it." more ›

Say goodbye to those Manhattan-bound lanes on the Brooklyn Bridge, because they won't be back until at least 2014. The $500 million project will keep Manhattan-bound lanes closed from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays, 12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Saturdays and 12:01 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Sundays. As if that weren't enough, for 24 weekends during the construction period there will be 53-hour (11:00 p.m. Friday to 6:00 a.m. Monday) closures of the Manhattan-bound lanes. All the Manhattan-bound love will be over at the Manhattan Bridge. more ›

Speaking of the 1920s, just the other day EphemeralNY posted this etching by Martin Lewis, titled “Fifth Avenue Bridge.” It dates to 1928, and shows the flapper set crossing what looks like a wooden bridge, along or over 5th Avenue. The bridge was likely put up to deal with construction, and one commenter on the site noted, "It’s very possible the bridge was built during construction of the new Independent subway which crosses 5th Ave at 53rd St." (The line was conceived in 1920 to deal with severe overcrowding on the subways.) more ›

A dramatic deejay threatening to throw himself into the East River actually went through with it after a passing stranger encouraged him to do it. Luckily, he wasn't hurt. “I didn’t go to sleep last night, and I was feeling kind of sad because I got ditched by a girl," said Philippe Treuille, who managed to swim from Houston Street to East 26th Street before he was rescued by NYPD divers. He told them he "just wanted to go swimming." He is doing well, and it's unclear if he actually wanted to commit suicide. more ›

The new Willis Avenue Bridge finished its 110-mile journey today, and will soon be replacing the old bridge from 1901 (which connects 1st Avenue at East 124th Street in Harlem to Willis Avenue at East 134th Street in The Bronx). The bridge traveled on two barges, and this morning made its way underneath a number of the city's other bridges—including the Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. It will now be tied up to the shoreline of the Harlem River until it's installed on August 9th (it won't be ready for traffic until November). According to WCBS, the removal of the existing span will take place on September 20th. more ›

The shiny new Willis Avenue Bridge (replacing the old one from 1901) is currently on a 110-mile journey down the Hudson River. The $600 million, 2,400-ton, 350-foot span was built in Albany County, and the the NY Post reports that the finished structure has been loaded on to two barges and is now traveling towards its permanent city home. more ›

A Verrazano Peregrine Falcon couple has adopted two chicks! The little ones were found in an unsuitable nesting place in Queens and relocated to the top of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge’s Brooklyn tower, where they were welcomed to the nest of a mother falcon already caring for three new chicks. Verrazano-Narrows General Manager Daniel DeCrescenzo says, “The mother took in the adopted chicks without question and has been feeding them and watching over them as if they were always part of her brood. It’s truly nature at its best.” more ›

After several recent student suicides, Cornell University has constructed temporary fencing on three university-owned bridges from which students have taken their lives. According to the Times, the Ivy League school is also in discussions with Ithaca politicians about erecting similar fencing on three city-owned spans. School officials consulted with "many experts both local and national" on suicide prevention and bridge barriers before selecting eight-foot tall chain-link fencing as a temporary solution. "The idea is that any longer-term solution would involve architectural elements that would fit in with the bridges," said university spokesman Simeon Moss. "So they certainly wouldn't be chain-link fences." Security guards are expected to be posted on campus bridges at least through the end of next week. more ›

In the past months and years, NYU has shocked the city with a number of high-profile jumping deaths, but such tragic incidents are nothing new at Cornell. Three students died in the course of a month recently, and Cornell is currently on suicide watch, kicking off a full-scale campaign that urges stressed and depressed students to get help. The three students are thought to have taken their own lives—all by throwing themselves into the town's famous gorges (Ithaca's version of the Bobst Library). “While we know that our gorges are beautiful features of our campus, they can be scary places at times like this,” Susan Murphy, the vice president for student and academic services. more ›

The Kosciuszko Bridge, one of the worst bridges in all of New York State—and the worst in New York City, is getting redesigned. Last night four possible designs for the bridge, which goes over Newtown Creek and connects Brooklyn and Queens, were unveiled by the DoT for residents to review and critique. The renderings are even accompanied by this amazingly soundtracked simulation video! more ›

A leaky pipe might not be much compared to, say, whatever caused the Bronx Swamp to take shape—but for locals in Astoria their watery mess is both gross and hazardous. It allegedly makes 33rd Street, beneath the Hell Gate Bridge viaduct approach, a festering cesspool of standing water or (when it's cold) a festering cesspool popsicle! This thing has a nickname: the Astoria Scum River... and now that river has a bridge. more ›

If you like watching big stuff blow up (and who doesn't?), check out this short but sweet video of the Lake Champlain Bridge getting demolished in a controlled explosion this morning. In October, DOT divers discovered that the 80-year-old, 2,184-foot-long bridge, was rapidly deteriorating. The bridge was immediately closed, severely inconveniencing but possibly saving the lives of drivers commuting between Vermont and New York. (The state will continue to operate ferries across the lake while building a new bridge, but the nearest alternative bridge is 100 miles away.) Crews spent more than a week placing 800 pounds of explosives packed into more than 500 charges to bring down the bridge, which cut through the steel at 17,000 feet per second, according to the DOT. more ›

The General Contractors Association already pointed out that our bridges are the worst, earlier this year, and now AAA is rubbing it in with their own list. They say the Tappan Zee, Kosciuszko and Goethals bridges are the worst in the state; with subpar steel, limited sight lines and small lanes amongst the list of hazards. The Post points out that all three bridges are up for reconstruction in the next decade... so we got that going for us. more ›

Yesterday was the Manhattan Bridge's centennial and the celebrations were capped off by fireworks. Check out these photographs from our readers. more ›

A reader just sent us this picture—showing a truck apparently stuck at an angle— at the Verrazano Narrows Bridge toll plaza with the prediction, "The Verrazano is gonna be backed up." more ›

It's all happening, the Queensboro Bridge is being celebrated for making it to 100! Last night some folks were treated to a fireworks show around 9 p.m. (pictured), which closed out yesterday's festivities (though there are many more to come). more ›

It's Queensboro Bridge celebration time! The East River crossing between Manhattan and Queens turns 100 today, and there have been a number of events today, which will be capped off by some Fireworks by Grucci at 9:15 p.m. According to the Centennial Events page, they will be set off "from the tip of Roosevelt Island" and will be "viewable from the FDR Drive Promenade and Pavilion Park in Manhattan; Roosevelt Island, in Queens at Gantry Park, and Water Taxi Park and the Greenpoint and Williamsburg waterfront in Brooklyn." There are more events this week and might we remind you of Nick Carraway's declaration in The Great Gatsby, when he and Jay Gatsby head into the city over the bridge, "The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world." more ›

Finally, the day has arrived...at a ceremony this morning the Triborough Bridge will officially become the Robert F. Kennedy bridge, one day before what would have been his 83rd birthday. Former President Bill Clinton, Governor David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Kennedy's widow, Ethel, are all expected to be on hand at the official dedication, taking place at Astoria Park in Queens. After the signs are up and formalities are done with, will anyone actually call it the RFK? Even Google is still calling it the Triborough. Newsday reminds us that the (ironic and expensive) "renaming of the bridge was the brainchild of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer." Enough said? more ›

There's been many opinions tossed around regarding the name change of the Triborough Bridge to the Robert F. Kennedy bridge, but like it or not it's all goin' down on November 19th. NYMag notes that there's a bit of irony surrounding the change, however, saying "there’s no reason to think Kennedy, an environmentalist before his time, would have wanted his name associated with the notorious bottleneck site." Columbia University's Kenneth T. Jackson says, "with the MTA facing a billion-dollar deficit, I think Bobby Kennedy would be calling for us to find ways to save the planet and run more buses and subways rather than spend money to change signage." Maybe that's all just more opinion, but he goes on to say that RFK "believed, appropriately, that cars didn’t belong in New York." Even RFK, Jr. agrees that there's some irony surrounding the naming, but says his father would have appreciated the honor nonetheless. The $4 million honor. more ›

Just because congestion pricing didn't pass doesn't mean that tolls aren't possible on East River crossings: WCBS 2 reports that the MTA is considering tolling all Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, and 59th Street Bridges in order to deal with its huge budget gaps. Transportation engineer Sam Schwartz points out, "We already have tolls at the Battery Tunnel, Midtown Tunnel, the Triborough Bridge let's put pricing on all of the crossings in between... People coming into the city should be paying for some of the service they get." Tolling the four bridges might raise $1 billion; another possibilitiy is "to have tolls only during morning and evening rush hours." And about congestion pricing...given the city's financial picture, "A top transit source told CBS 2 HD the mayor's full congestion pricing plan is also back on the table. " Snap! more ›

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg and other city officials unveiled the newly renovated access path between Highbridge Park and the High Bridge in Manhattan. more ›

Earlier this year, vintners Paul Wegimont and Greg Sandor opened Bridge Urban Winery, an offshoot of their North Fork vineyard. Nestled by the Williamsburg Bridge in a blossoming artisanal corridor that includes Marlow & Sons and Diner, their sleek yet cozy wine bar specializes in strictly New York State wine, as well as food pairings prepared with all locally-sourced ingredients. more ›

Despite formidable barricades, sensors, alarms and surveillance cameras, 13 “ravenous ruminants” recently succeeded in infiltrating a restricted area near the base of the Verrazano Bridge without triggering alarms, the Daily News reports. During the summer, the goats are kept at Staten Island's Fort Wadsworth because they excel at eating weeds and other vegetation that gets into cracks of the historic structures there. more ›

In January former Governor Spitzer addressed the idea of former New York senator Robert F. Kennedy claiming name to the Triborough Bridge. It immediately rose questions about RFK's carpetbagger status, and his importance (or lack thereof) to New York's history. more ›

Two weeks ago, during the festivities for the Brooklyn Bridge's 125th birthday, a mysterious and massive device was unveiled with little fanfare near the base of the bridge. Called the Telectroscope, the installation was said to optically connect passersby at either end of a forgotten tunnel between Brooklyn and London (near the Tower Bridge). The British artist behind the project, Paul St George, says he's merely fulfilling the Victorian-era dream of his great-grandfather, inventor Alexander Stanhope St George, who left behind designs for the telectroscope, as well as the secret, unfinished trans-Atlantic tunnel. more ›

As Bike Month NYC winds down, over two thousand cyclists filled the Brooklyn streets yesterday for the fourth annual Tour de Brooklyn. This year’s 18-mile family-oriented ride was moved up a week to coincide with the Brooklyn Bridge 125th birthday festivities. Borough President Marty Markowitz kicked things off on Water Street near the bridge, sending cyclists on a leisurely ride that wound through DUMBO, East Williamsburg, Crown Heights, Bedford Stuyvesant, and the Evergreen Cemetery, ultimately wrapping up downtown at Walt Whitman Park. more ›

The festivities commemorating the 125th birthday of the Brooklyn Bridge got underway full swing today with the unveiling of the mysterious Telectroscope at the Fulton Ferry Landing, just south of the bridge at 1 Water Street. The installation's creator, Paul St George, claims to have just completed a forgotten tunnel connecting New York to London and, using giant parabolic mirrors, has reconstructed a Victorian-era optical device enabling people on either end of the tube to wave at each other. more ›