Bridges of New York City Trivia Quiz

Answer: Brooklyn Bridge

Completed in 1883 after 13 years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge was, at the time, the longest suspension bridge in the world, and the first to use steel wire for that suspension. The use of steel was a real risk since it was a new, unproven material. It turned out to be the right thing to do! Even P. T. Barnum took advantage of the novelty of the new design by walking a herd of 21 elephants, led by Jumbo, across the bridge a year after it opened.

Stretching nearly 6000 feet, the Brooklyn Bridge remains one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States.

Answer: Williamsburg Bridge

While all the bridges listed are actual NYC structures, only the Williamsburg connects Manhattan to Long Island. The Williamsburg Bridge was the second major New York City bridge to open, doing so in 1903.

Answer: Verrazano Narrows Bridge

Named for the first known European navigator to enter New York Harbor, Giovanni da Verrazzano (note the slight spelling difference), the Verrazano Narrows Bridge connects the NYC boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It was the last great public works project spearheaded by Robert Moses in NYC.

The Tacoma (Washington) Narrows Bridge built in 1940 was nicknamed "Galoppin' Gertie" and it collapsed due to a design flaw that allowed mild winds to cause the bridge to oscillate violently. Caught on film, it's worth looking up!

Penobscot Narrows Bridge is in Maine, and the Tappan Zee Bridge, while in NY state, is north, up the Hudson River, outside of NYC proper.

Answer: George Washington Bridge

The George Washington Bridge (or the GW) connects Manhattan with New Jersey, crossing the Hudson River. Six lanes (three each way) were opened in 1931 and an additional two lanes were added in 1946. The bridge's support design anticipated the need for even more capacity. Of course, this need arose and a six-lane (three each way) lower road level was completed in 1962.

The bridge now has fourteen lanes and handles 300,000 cars per day - over 100 million per year. As of 2008, it is the fourth-longest suspension bridge in the US.

Answer: Throgs Neck Bridge

The Throgs Neck Bridge is located less than 2 miles to the east of the Whitestone Bridge, performing essentially the same task: getting motorists between the Bronx and Queens. It connects the Throgs Neck area of the Bronx, to the Bayside section of Queens.

Answer: The Bronx-Whitestone Bridge

The Whitestone Bridge was opened in 1939 with four lanes and connects the Ferry Point Park area of the Bronx to the Whitestone section of Queens.

Answer: Manhattan Bridge

The Manhattan Bridge was the last of the three suspension bridges to be built across the lower East River. Located less than a half-mile from the Brooklyn Bridge it has been featured in several films, including "Once Upon a Time in America", "Independence Day" and "Armageddon".

Answer: Kosciuszko Bridge

The Kosciuszko Bridge connects Penny Bridge, Queens and Greenpoint, Brooklyn. It was named in honor of a General in the American Revolutionary War: Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a Polish volunteer. There are two eagles atop the bridge's towers, one a Polish eagle, and the other an American eagle.

Answer: Bronx, Manhattan, Queens

The Triborough (Triboro) Bridge main section (I-278) has one terminus in the Bronx and the other in Queens, plus a branch to the third borough, Manhattan. It travels across Randall's and Ward's Islands which are now one larger island, having been joined through landfill.

The bridge has been officially renamed the "Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge" as of early 2008.

Answer: The Bends

The towers' construction started with the building of their supports in the East River. This required the use of caissons (a fairly new idea at the time), which are essentially topless boxes, made of metal and wood, turned upside down and sunk to the water's bottom. Pressurized air is then pumped in to force out the water. Workers could then enter them through airlocks. Hundreds toiled in two of these caissons (one for each tower) for approximately one year until bedrock was reached.

Many workers got so-called "Caisson's Disease" when they exited the structures.

This phenomenon, also called "The Bends" was not understood for another six years, so the workers operated with extreme risk and suffered greatly.