Madison Avenue Bridge

Madison Avenue Bridge, January 20, 2010
Michael Richter on a 20", Keith Nelson on a 26", Daryll John on a 20", Rob Hickman on a 26"

From the New York City Department of Transportation:
Madison Avenue is a local street, located between Fifth and Park Avenues on the east side of Manhattan. The road extends from 23rd Street in Manhattan to East 138th Street in the Bronx. The Madison Avenue Bridge is a four-lane, four-span swing bridge, carrying traffic between Madison and Fifth Avenues and East 138th Street in Manhattan and East 138th Street and Grand Concourse in the Bronx. The bridge is located approximately 650 m south of the 145th Street Bridge and about 750 m north of the Third Avenue Bridge. The bridge has two roadways, each 8.23 m wide, as well as two 2.743 m sidewalks.

In 1874, residents in the vicinity asked for the construction of a bridge from 1 38th Street (then in Westchester) to Madison Avenue in New York, and funds were appropriated the following year. Due to the uneven topography and relatively undeveloped landscape, the proposed bridge required substantial pier and approach construction. The superstructure, composed of iron, was contracted to the Keystone Bridge Company in 1882. The swing bridge was opened in 1884 at a cost of $509,106. The area's growth quickly necessitated the construction of another, larger bridge. The current bridge opened on July 18, 1910, at a cost of $1,155,987.