Willis Avenue Bridge

Willis Avenue Bridge
Coordinates40°48′13″N 73°55′45″W / 40.80361°N 73.92917°W / 40.80361; -73.92917
Carries4 lanes of Willis Avenue
CrossesHarlem River
LocaleManhattan and the Bronx,
New York City
OwnerCity of New York
Maintained byNYCDOT[1]
Preceded byThird Avenue Bridge
Followed byRobert F. Kennedy Bridge
Characteristics
DesignSwing bridge[1]
Total length3,212 feet (979.02 m)[1]
Longest span304 feet (92.66 m)[1]
History
Construction cost$278.4 million[1]
OpenedAugust 22, 1901 (1901-08-22)[1]
RebuiltOctober 2, 2010 (2010-10-02)
Statistics
Daily traffic62,293 (2016)[2]
Location
Map

The Willis Avenue Bridge is a swing bridge that carries road traffic northbound (and bicycles and pedestrians both ways) over the Harlem River between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, United States. It connects First Avenue in Manhattan with Willis Avenue in the Bronx. The New York City Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining and operating the bridge.

The bridge is part of the course for the annual New York City Marathon. The runners, after crossing over from Manhattan to The Bronx via the bridge (which has been dubbed "the wall" because it marks the 20-mile point on the run[3]) then follow a short course through the borough and return to Manhattan for the race's final leg via the Madison Avenue Bridge.[4]

Between 2000 and 2014, the bridge opened for vessels 214 times.[5]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Michael R. Bloomberg, City of New York (January 23, 2004). "New York City's Harlem River Bridges: The Reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century" (PDF). Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  2. ^ "New York City Bridge Traffic Volumes" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. 2016. p. 9. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  3. ^ "Old Harlem River bridge moved to NJ". The Wall Street Journal. Associated Press. April 12, 2011. Archived from the original on April 14, 2011.
  4. ^ "How the NYC Marathon Works". July 14, 2010.
  5. ^ "Bridges and Tunnels Annual Condition Report" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. 2014. p. 147. Retrieved March 31, 2021.