The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, doing business as MTA Bridges and Tunnels, is an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that operates seven intrastate toll bridges and two tunnels in New York City. In terms of traffic volume, it is the largest bridge and tunnel toll agency in the United States, serving more than a million people each day and generating more than $1.9 billion in toll revenue annually as of 2017.
Video MTA Bridges and Tunnels
Facilities
The seven bridges are:
- Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, colloquially known by its previous name, the Triborough Bridge, is the agency's flagship crossing, and its original namesake. It connects Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens, via Randalls and Wards Islands, and is named after the assassinated former United States Senator from New York, Robert F. Kennedy.
- Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, connecting the Bronx and Queens
- Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, connecting Brooklyn and Staten Island
- Throgs Neck Bridge, connecting the Bronx and Queens
- Henry Hudson Bridge, connecting Manhattan and the Bronx
- Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, connecting Brooklyn and the Rockaways (Queens). It is co-named after former Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Mets first baseman, and later Mets' manager, Gil Hodges
- Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge, connecting Broad Channel to the Rockaways (Queens)
The two tunnels are:
- Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, colloquially known by its former name, the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, connects Brooklyn and Manhattan. It is named after former New York State Governor Hugh L. Carey
- Queens-Midtown Tunnel, connecting Queens and Manhattan
Maps MTA Bridges and Tunnels
History
Originally named the Triborough Bridge Authority, the authority was created in 1933 as a public-benefit corporation by the New York State Legislature. It was tasked with completing construction of the Triborough Bridge, which had been started by New York City in 1929 but had stalled due to the Great Depression.
Under the chairmanship of Robert Moses, the agency grew in a series of mergers with four other agencies:
- Henry Hudson Parkway Authority, in 1940
- Marine Parkway Authority, in 1940
- New York City Parkway Authority, in 1940
- New York City Tunnel Authority, in 1946
With the last merger in 1946, the authority was renamed the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority.
Generating millions of dollars in toll revenue annually, the TBTA easily became a powerful city agency as it was capable of funding large capital projects. From the 1940s to the 1960s, the TBTA built the Battery Parking Garage, Jacob Riis Beach Parking Field, the Coliseum Office Building and Exposition Center and the East Side Airlines Terminal.
The TBTA was merged into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968. Surplus revenue, formerly used for new automobile projects, would now be used to support public transportation. Since then, more than $10 billion has been contributed by the TBTA to subsidize mass transit fares and capital improvements for the New York City Transit, Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North Railroad. The MTA Bridges and Tunnels trading name was adopted in 1994. The name Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority is still the legal name of the Authority and was used publicly between 1946 and 1994.
Law enforcement
The Authority has some 525 Bridge and Tunnel Officers who are New York State peace officers with limited authority to make arrests and carry firearms to patrol the Authority's nine facilities. In addition about 150 New York State Police and New York National Guard are assigned to policing and counter-terrorism activities.
Open-road tolling
Since September 30, 2017, all MTA Bridges & Tunnels facilities have collected tolls through open-road cashless tolling. Tollbooths previously in place have been dismantled, and drivers will no longer be able to pay cash at the crossings. Instead, cameras mounted onto new overhead gantries collect the tolls. While some are located where toll booths were previously located, others are located at the opposite ends of the facilities. Drivers without E-ZPass will have a picture of their license plate taken, and the toll will be mailed to them. For E-ZPass users, sensors will detect their transponders wirelessly.
References
External links
- Official website
- TBTA Copyright page
- "History and Projection of Traffic, Roll Revenues, and Expenses and Review of Physical Conditions of the Facilities of Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority"
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments