One week from today the Triborough Bridge will officially be renamed the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge. To make sure that the name change sticks, the MTA is spending a big chunk of change: it will cost the MTA $4 million to change all the signs directing traffic to the bridge, and an additional $4 thousand to rename the signs on the bridge itself. The change of name was proposed in this year’s State of the State address by former governor Eliot Spitzer.
Oddly enough, the bridge’s construction began in 1929 — on Black Friday — and immediately fell into financial trouble. Robert Moses revived the project, and the bridge eventually opened in 1936. Its construction cost more than the Hoover Dam’s.
“Bridge” is actually a misnomer. The Triborough — sorry, the RFK — is actually actually three bridges,
a viaduct, and 14 miles of approach roads — all of which connect three boroughs: Manhattan, Queens,
and the Bronx.
Governor Hugh Carey first considered renaming the bridge after the late Senator Kennedy in 1975. Guess who blocked it then. None other than Robert Moses.
Recent Comments