Rikers Island Bridge

Infobox_Bridge
bridge_name= Rikers Island Bridge


caption=
official_name=
also_known_as=
carries= 3 lanes of roadway and 1 sidewalk
crosses= East River
locale= Rikers Island and Queens in New York City
maint=
id=
design=
mainspan=
length= 1,280.16 meters (4,200 feet)
width=
clearance=
below=
traffic=
open= 1966
closed=
toll=
map_cue=
map_

map_text=
map_width=
lat=
long=

Rikers Island Bridge (officially named Francis R. Buono Memorial Bridge) connects Rikers Island (officially part of the borough of the Bronx) to the Steinway neighborhood of Queens in New York City. It also connects the island to the Parking Lot at the Queens end. It is the sole route to the island for vehicular traffic. Before this bridge was built, access to Rikers Island was by ferry only.

The bridge is a fixed low-level span built using concrete and steel. At its center, the bridge has a 52 foot rise allowing clearance for vessels passing beneath the structure.

On May 25, 1978, the bridge was named for the late Supervising Warden Francis R. Buono, who directed its construction [http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/buono.html The Pen, June 1978] NYC Dept. of Corrections]

In August of 1990, during a labor conflict with then New York City mayor David Dinkins, guards responded to a breakdown in negotiations by barricading access to the bridge. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE4DE163DF935A2575BC0A966958260 Critics Say Dinkins Miscalculated Guards' Anger] By RICHARD LEVINE Published: August 16, 1990 New York Times Accessed September 27, 2008 via online access to NY Times archive]

References

External links

* [http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/rispan2.html A Feature Article from the Spring 1967 issue: Rikers Island Bridge Opened]

Crossings navbox
structure = Crossings
place = East River
bridge = Rikers Island Bridge
bridge signs =
upstream = Bronx Whitestone Bridge
upstream signs =
downstream = Hell Gate Bridge
downstream signs = "Amtrak"