Infrastructural projects are often generational; this one took over 35 years from the initial concept to the opening ceremony attended by 5000 people in January 1954.

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge - 1959 - The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge is a landmark suspension bridge that connects Staten Island and Brooklyn, stretching across the Narrows at the entrance to New York Harbor. Designed by the renowned engineer Othmar H. Ammann, with Leopold Just and the firm Ammann & Whitney, construction began on August 13, 1959. The upper deck opened to traffic on November 21, 1964, while the lower deck was added on June 28, 1969 to accommodate increasing demand. At the time of its completion, the bridge was the longest suspension span in the world, surpassing San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.The bridge measures 13,700 feet in total length, with a main span of 4,260 feet. Its towers rise 693 feet above the water, and the clearance below is 228 feet at mean high tide, allowing large ships to pass into New York Harbor. The project cost $325 million at the time, equivalent to more than $3 billion today. It carries Interstate 278 across its two decks, with 13 lanes of traffic in total.

Roosevelt Island Bridge - The Roosevelt Island Bridge is a tower drive vertical lift bridge that connects Roosevelt Island in Manhattan to Astoria in Queens, crossing the East Channel of the East River. It is the sole route to the island for vehicular and foot traffic (without using public transportation).

High Bridge - 1848 - High Bridge, which was part of the original Croton Aqueduct system, carried fresh water across the Harlem River from the Bronx to Manhattan. Finished six years after the completion of the aqueduct itself (a temporary siphon carried the water across the river while the bridge was being built), its design was influenced by the typical ancient Roman aqueduct. The engineering of the bridge was monumental because, at the time of its construction, the length and height of a grade-level crossing demanded an enormous structure, the size of which had not been built in the United States. Upon its completion in 1848, the bridge and surrounding areas of the future High Bridge Park quickly became a recreation destination for people from throughout the region. Its pedestrian walkway, scenic views and monumental profile were repeated prolifically in paintings, drawings and etchings. Since the 1960s the bridge has been closed to the public because of structural and safety issues.

Williamsburg Bridge - 1903 - This second suspension bridge over the E. River was designed by the engineer Leffert L. Buck and the architect Henry Hornbostel. At the time of its completion, it was the longest and strongest suspension bridge in the world. While the center span is suspended, the side spans bear on steel piers. That is why you see no suspenders. A reviewer at the time characterized it as an "Engineer's Bridge" and sarcastically noted that the eye is not distracted from its "bald utility." In the years following its completion Williamsburg transformed into a dense urban neighborhood. The span was sometimes referred to as the "Jew's Bridge"� as an influx of Jewish settlers migrated from the overcrowded Lower East Side to the German and Irish enclave formerly known as "Kleine Deutchland." In the 1920s the lower roadway was adapted to carry eight lanes of car traffic. In the 1980s the prospect of complete replacement saw innovative cable stay designs by both Harry N. Cobb and Jorge Schlaich.

Loew Bridge - 1876 - Traffic on Broadway in the 1860's was so notoriously congested that Philip Genin was concerned enough about losing potential customers to his hat store that he lobbied the city to build a pedestrian bridge. This was duly constructed and christened after the Comptroller, Charles C. Loew.  Which prompted his archrival Charles Knox who's establishment was across the street to complain about the shadows that were cast on his store preventing potential customers from seeing inside.  The bridge was removed bare two years later. 

Queensboro Bridge - 1909 - The Queensboro Bridge was made famous by the Simon & Garfunkel song "Feeling Groovy." The bridge has an aura of good feeling, with an elevated subway " originally an electrified trolley line and perimeter bicycle and walking paths. A cable car to the north allows for a low-flying bird's-eye view of its exposed steel and its structural expressiveness. Designed by engineer Gustav Lindenthal with help from architects Palmer and Hornbostel, the bridge opened to traffic in 1908, connecting Manhattan to the wilds and fields of Long Island City and the bucolic splendor of Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties beyond. There were no morning traffic jams at that time. Any number of films have featured the bridge as the favored entry point, by car, into Manhattan. Now congestion pricing tolls are under discussion for both this bridge and the three other free bridges that cross the East River.

Manhattan Bridge - 1910 - This suspension bridge, after a succession of designs were born and then rejected, was ultimately engineered by Gustav Lindenthal with architect Henry Hornbostel. The masterfully detailed metal ornaments as well as the Beaux Arts Manhattan side entry court are designed by Carrere and Hastings. While it is a predominantly a steel structure, the more overtly ornamental design of this third East River bridge was in part a response to the more purely functional character of the recently completed Williamsburg Bridge.

With its eight lanes for train, horse-drawn and automobile traffic, it was designed to be a muscle, a working horse, a purely utilitarian structure. However, it caught the attention of the City Beautiful movement, and the Carrère & Hastings architectural firm was engaged to beautify the approaches to the bridge on both sides.Carrère & Hastings introduced its design in the Beaux-Arts style in 1910 and the plan was not only approved, but also lauded as the most artistic treatment of a bridge entrance attempted on this continent.The Manhattan end of the bridge featured a Beaux-Arts plaza with its signature arch and colonnade. The arch was modeled after Porte St. Denis in Paris, and the colonnade after Bernini's famous colonnade that encircles St. Peter`s Square in the Vatican.Arches were very popular in those days. The Manhattan Bridge arch is one of only three remaining in the city now (the other two are the Soldiers` and Sailors` Arch on Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn and the Washington Square Arch in Manhattan.)

Triborough Bridge - 1936 - A complex of three separate bridges Spanning the Harlem River, the Bronx Kill, and the Hell Gate (part of the East River). The bridges connect the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx via Randall's Island and Ward's Island, which are joined by a landfill. The American Society of Civil Engineers designated the Triborough Bridge Project as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1986. Construction on the Triborough project had begun on Black Friday in 1929, and its outlook began to look bleak. Othmar Ammann's assistance was enlisted to help simplify the structure. Ammann collapsed the original two-deck roadway into one, allowing for lighter towers, and, thus, lighter piers. These cost-saving revisions saved $10 million on the towers alone. Using New Deal money, the project was resurrected in the early 1930s by Robert Moses, and the bridge was opened to traffic on July 11, 1936.

Lincoln Tunnel - 1937 - Originally proposed in 1930, the tunnel was not funded until 1933. Work was undertaken from both sides concurrently which meant that the holes on both sides needed to match.  In order to withstand the high air pressure needed to keep the water from seeping in, the ‘Sandhogs’ as the workers were known had to enter the tunnel through airlocks which would gradually increase the pressure as they descended from lock to lock.  Because of the Depression and the War it took nearly a decade to build the first two tubes.  

Holland Tunnel - 1927 - The Holland tunnel was the first automotive tunnel crossing of the Hudson River. There was a precedent in that a railroad tunnel was built across the Hudson. The Tunnel Commission initially planned to build a bridge but decided that the cost of acquiring the land was prohibitive. The tunnel was named for its designer, Clifford Milburn Holland who came up with the design which features two separate 2-lane tubes each going in a different direction. He had the misfortune to die of a heart attack on the day before the two halves of the tunnel were to be joined at the age of 41. Work was completed by Ole Singstad who devised the revolutionary ventilation system. 

Brooklyn Battery Tunnel - 1940 - The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel, is a tolled tunnel connecting Red Hook, Brooklyn, with the Battery in Manhattan. At 9,117 feet it is the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnel in North America. Three seals grace the front of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. One is the seal of the City of New York.