The collapse of a bridge in Pittsburgh last week reminded us that we have a lot of bridges in New York City — and more than 100 are in danger of collapse.
We know this because the state Department of Transportation inspects all our bridges on a regular basis. The agency's most recent doorstopper of a report dropped in August, and didn't draw much attention at the time (probably because no bridges in nearby Pittsburgh had just collapsed).
But this weekend, we spent a little time with the report and discovered that New York City has way too many dilapidated drawbridges, sickly spans and crumbling crossings (including the fabled Brooklyn Bridge). Here's a list of all the bridges in the five boroughs that were rated poor on their last inspection (typically in 2019 or 2020):
The Bronx
The Boogie Down has 309 bridges in total. And 30 of them were rated in "poor" condition, according to a state report. They are:
- The 62-year-old I-87 and I-95 bridge over Alexander Avenue
- The 67-year-old I-87 and I-95 bridge over the Metro-North tracks
- A 72-year-old bridge at the junction of I-95 and I-278
- The 84-year-old 138th Street bridge over I-87
- The 113-year-old 174th Street bridge over Sheridan Boulevard
- The 133-year-old 175th Street bridge over the Metro-North tracks
- The 134-year-old bridge carrying 181st Street over the Metro-North tracks and the Deegan
- A 62-year-old one-mile elevated stretch of I-278 over Bruckner Boulevard.
- An 84-year-old stretch of I-87 just west of the I-278 interchange.
- The 71-year-old bridge at the junction of I-95 and I-278 over the Bronx River.
- A short, 80-year-old bridge near the intersection of I-95 and the Hutchinson River Parkway
- An even shorter 71-year-old bridge near the intersection of I-95 and the Bronx River Parkway over Amtrak tracks
- A 71-year-old bridge 71-year-old bridge near the intersection of I-95 and the Bronx River Parkway over E. Tremont Avenue
- A 71-year-old bridge 71-year-old bridge near the intersection of I-95 and the Bronx River Parkway over Morris Park Avenue
- A 70-year-old bridge 71-year-old bridge near the intersection of I-95 and the Bronx River Parkway over Metro-North tracks
- The 85-year-old Henry Hudson Parkway over Broadway.
- A 64-year-old bridge carrying Arthur Avenue over the Cross Bronx Expressway
- A 51-year-old bridge carrying multiple highways (95, 678, 278 and 295) over a service road
- A 64-year-old bridge on Boston Road about 2.2 miles east of the 95 and 87 interchange
- A 106-year-old bridge carrying Concourse Village Avenue over some Metro-North tracks
- Two 64-year-old stretches of Crotona Avenue almost two miles east of the 95-87 interchange
- A 133-year-old stretch of E. 188th Street over Metro-North tracks
- A 64-year-old portion of Marmion Avenue about two miles east of the 95-87 interchange
- A 72-year-old portion of Morris Avenue about one mile east of the 95-87 interchange
- A 116-year-old stretch of Shore Road over the Hutchinson River Parkway
- A 74-year-old portion of Watson Avenue about 0.7 miles south of the 95-Bronx River Parkway interchange
- The 115-year-old W. 254th Street bridge over the Metro-North tracks
- The 114-year-old stretch of W. Tremont Avenue over McCracken Avenue E.
- A 62-year-old stretch of Wilkinson Avenue about one mile north of the 295-95 interchange.
Brooklyn
The county of Kings has 243 bridges. Of those, 23 were rated in poor condition in the last state inspection report. They are:
- The 108-year-old bridge carrying 19th Avenue over some subway tracks near New Utrecht Avenue
- The 108-year-old bridge carrying 21st Avenue over some subway tracks near New Utrecht Avenue
- A 60-year-old bridge over Sixth Avenue near the Prospect Expressway-Brooklyn-Queens Expressway interchange
- A 74-year-old ramp near the Brooklyn Bridge
- A 78-year-old ramp also near the Brooklyn Bridge
- A 59-year-old portion of the Prospect Expressway near the BQE over 18th Street
- A 68-year-old bridge over Flushing Avenue about 3.3 miles south of the BQE-Long Island Expressway interchange
- An 80-year-old bridge over Ocean Avenue roughly 1 mile east of the intersection of Ocean Parkway and the Belt Parkway
- An 80-year-old bridge over Sheepshead Bay Road roughly 1 mile east of the intersection of Ocean Parkway and the Belt Parkway
- The 115-year-old span of Beverly Road over the subway tracks
- A 78-year-old BQE ramp near York Street
- An 87-year-old bridge of Crooke Avenue over the subway tracks
- A 114-year-old stretch of Flatbush Avenue that crosses the freight line that Gov. Hochul wants to turn into the Interborough Express.
- The 115-year-old span of Foster Avenue over the subway tracks
- The 121-year-old Grand Street Bridge over the Newtown Creek
- The 132-year-old Hill Drive Bridge in Prospect Park
- A 70-year-old stretch of Kane Street over the BQE
- The 106-year-old span of Ocean Avenue over the subway tracks
- A 58-year-old stretch of Ovington Avenue over the BQE
- A 92-year-old bridge on Seeley Street over Prospect Avenue
- A 65-year-old stretch of S. Third Street over the BQE
- A 70-year-old bridge on Union Street near the Battery Tunnel
Manhattan
New York County has 244 bridges. The latest state inspection report says that 20 are in poor condition. They include these (some bridge locations could not be determined from the state report):
- A 61-year-old Route 9 bridge over the Metro-North tracks
- An 83-year-old portion of Route 9A over E. 158th Street
- An 86-year-old bridge over Amtrak tracks near W. 96th Street
- An 83-year-old bridge over Amtrak tracks near W. 159th Street
- The 139-year-old Brooklyn Bridge. (Yes, that Brooklyn Bridge.)
- A 102-year-old bridge on Center Drive in Central Park near "Transverse Road No. 1"
- A 122-year-old bridge on East Drive in Central Park near "Transverse Road No. 3"
- A 37-year-old stretch of the FDR Drive over the shore of the East River
- The 105-year-old Park Avenue Viaduct near 42nd Street
- A 58-year-old portion of Pearl Street under the Brooklyn Bridge
- A 61-year-old ramp to the George Washington Bridge
- An 83-year-old ramp from the Harlem River Drive to the Trans-Manhattan Expressway
- An 86-year-old portion of the Triboro Bridge that connects Manhattan to Randalls Island
- An 87-year-old portion of W. 153rd Street over Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard
- An 88-year-old portion of W. 35th Street over Amtrak tracks
- An 88-year-old portion of W. 38th Street over Amtrak tracks
- An 88-year-old portion of W. 39th Street over Amtrak tracks
Queens
Queens has 509 bridges. According to the last state inspection report, 33 are in poor condition. They include these (some bridges' locations could not be determined from state data):
- A 91-year-old portion of Rt. 25A over Alley Creek
- A 61-year-old stretch of 149th Street about 1.4 miles west of the interchange of Rt. 78 and the Cross Island Parkway
- A 64-year-old span of 188th Street about 2.8 miles east of the interchange of the LIE and 678
- A 53-year-old overpass over 43rd Street near the intersection of the BQE and the LIE
- A 114-year-old bridge on 49th Avenue over the Long Island Rail Road
- The 83-year-old junction of 678 and the Cross Island Parkway
- An 81-year-old bridge over Totten Road near the Cross Island Parkway
- A 59-year-old bridge over Midland Parkway East about 2.2 miles east of the intersection of the Grand Central Parkway and 678
- A 51-year-old bridge over Commonwealth Boulevard about 0.4 miles east of the intersection of the Grand Central Parkway and 678
- The 52-year-old junction of the Grand Central Parkway and 678
- The 81-year-old stretch of Astoria Boulevard roughly 1 mile northwest of the BQE and Northern Boulevard
- The 80-year-old stretch of Astoria Boulevard near the BQE and Grand Central Parkway
- The 63-year-old portion of Bell Boulevard over the LIE
- An 82-year-old stretch of Farmers Boulevard
- Several 59-year-old bridges in Flushing Meadows Park
- A 59-year-old portion of the Grand Central Parkway over Boat Basin Place
- The 83-year-old portion of Hempstead Avenue roughly 2.4 miles east of the intersection of the Grand Central Parkway and the Cross Island Parkway
- An 89-year-old stretch of Merrick Boulevard five miles south of the intersection of the Grand Central Parkway and the Cross Island Parkway
- A 106-year-old bridge on Metropolitan Avenue over the train tracks in Middle Village
- A 74-year-old bridge on Rockaway Boulevard about 2.6 miles southeast of 678 and Northern Boulevard
- A 63-year-old bridge on Springfield Boulevard about a mile northeast of the BQE-LIE interchange
- An 86-year-old bridge on Sunrise Highway roughly 5.8 miles south of the Grand Central Parkway-Cross Island Parkway interchange
- An 89-year-old bridge on Union Turnpike roughly 0.3 miles east of the Grand Central Parkway-678 interchange
Staten Island
The Rock has 166 bridges, according to the most-recent state inspection report. Only two are in poor condition:
- The 77-year-old span of Arthur Kill Road over the Arthur Kill in Richmond Valley
- A 55-year-old span of Bradley Avenue about 1.2 miles east of the junction of 278 and 440.
