Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority

Infobox Company
name = Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority

type = Public benefit corporation
genre =
foundation = New York State (1933)
founder =
location_city = 2 Broadway, New York, NY, 10004
location_country =
location =
locations =
area_served = New York metropolitan area
key_people = David Moretti, Acting President
industry =
products =
services =
revenue = US$ 1,063,790,000 (2007)citation | title=Bridges and Tunnels Financial Performance - Oct 2007 Year-to-Date | publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority | url=http://www.mta.info/mta/ind-finance/month/bt-financial.htm | accessdate=2008-02-23 ]
operating_income = US$ 771,906,000 (2007)
net_income =
assets =
equity =
owner =
num_employees =
parent = Metropolitan Transportation Authority
divisions =
subsid =
slogan =
homepage = http://www.mta.info/bandt/
footnotes =
intl =

The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, doing business as "MTA Bridges and Tunnels", is a division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, that operates seven intrastate toll bridges and two tunnels in New York City. In terms of traffic volume, it is the largest bridge and tunnel toll agency in the United States serving more than a million people each day and generating more than $900 million in toll revenue annually.

The seven bridges are:
*Triborough Bridge (connecting Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens) - Flagship facility
*Bronx-Whitestone Bridge (the Bronx and Queens)
*Verrazano Narrows Bridge (Brooklyn and Staten Island)
*Throgs Neck Bridge (the Bronx and Queens)
*Henry Hudson Bridge (Manhattan and the Bronx)
*Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge (Brooklyn and Queens—Rockaway peninsula)
*Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge (Queens—Broad Channel and the Rockaway peninsula)

And two tunnels:
*Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel (Brooklyn and Manhattan)
*Queens Midtown Tunnel (Queens and Manhattan)

History

Originally named the Triborough Bridge Authority, the authority was created in 1933 as a public-benefit corporation by the New York State Legislature. It was tasked with completing construction of the Triborough Bridge, which had been started by New York City in 1929 but had stalled due to the Great Depression.

Under the chairmanship of Robert Moses, the agency grew in a series of mergers with four other agencies:

* Henry Hudson Parkway Authority, in 1940
* Marine Parkway Authority, in 1940
* New York City Parkway Authority, in 1940
* New York City City Tunnel Authority, in 1946

With the last merger in 1946, the authority was renamed the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority.

Capable of generating millions of dollars in toll revenue annually, the TBTA easily became a powerful city agency as it was capable of funding large capital projects. From the 1940s-60s, the TBTA built the Battery Parking Garage, Jacob Riis Beach Parking Field, Coliseum Office Building and Exposition Center and East Side Airlines Terminal, as well as many parks in the city.

Merger with MTA

Because of long-neglected public transportation systems, the city was brought to a standstill in the 1960s due to automobile congestion. Therefore, the TBTA, was merged into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968. Surplus revenue that was used to fund new automobile projects would now be used to support public transportation. Since then, more than $10 billion has been contributed by the TBTA to subsidize mass transit fares and capital improvements for the NYC Transit Authority, Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North Railroad.citation | last=Roberts | first=Sam | title=Reappraising a Landmark Bridge, and the Visionary Behind It | newspaper=The New York Times | year=2006 | date=2006-07-11 | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/11/nyregion/11bridge.html | accessdate=2007-10-09 ]

Name

Since 1994, the TBTA has been doing business as MTA Bridges and Tunnelscitation | last=McKinley | first=James C, Jr. | title= What's in a Symbol? A Lot, the M.T.A. Is Betting | newspaper=New York Times | year=1994 | date=1994-08-28 | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E6D81E39F93BA1575BC0A962958260 | accessdate=2008-02-23 ] . The name Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority is still the legal name of the Authority and was used publicly between 1946 and 1994.

Law Enforcement

The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) employs 966 Bridge and Tunnel Officers (BTOs), who are NYS Peace Officers authorized to make arrests and carry firearms. BTOs patrol the authority's 9 facilities on foot and in marked patrol cars. Besides law enforcement, the BTOs collect tolls, assist vehicles stuck in E-ZPass lanes, operate tow trucks to clear disabled vehicles, and clear snow from the roadways. The TBTA also has a Special Operations Division/Collision Reduction Unit, which enforces all aspects of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law and NYC Traffic Rules with a main emphasis on speed enforcement. There is also a police combat shooting team.

In 2007, Bridge and Tunnel Officers were involved in two shootings, on the Triborough and Bronx Whitestone Bridges. They also assisted in the delivery of a newborn baby.

There has been discussion around incorporating the BTOs into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police, since both are ultimately part of the same agency, but this has not yet occurred.

Toll rates

Rates vary by bridge/tunnel and by vehicle.

All rates listed here are regular cash rates effective March 16, 2008. E-ZPass users pay discounted tolls at most facilities, and certain classes of users are eligible for even larger discounts; for example, Staten Island residents are eligible for discounted crossings of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

Prohibited traffic

Part 1022 of the Rules and Regulations Governing the Use of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Facilities prohibits certain types of vehicles, such as: [ [http://www.mta.info/bandt/regs.pdf Rules and Regulations Governing the Use of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Facilities] , Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York). Accessed October 9, 2007.]
#Vehicles with flat, solid, or metal tires
#Bicycles, but they may be walked across the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge, the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, and the Triborough Bridge on sidewalks (This requirement is often unpopular among bicyclists, especially on the Triborough Bridge with long spans.)
#Mopeds
#Horses and horse-drawn vehicles

The Henry Hudson Bridge, which is part of the Henry Hudson Parkway, also prohibits commercial traffic.

ee also

*Robert Moses

References

External links

* [http://www.mta.info/bandt/ Official Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority web-site]
* [http://webcam.mta.info/mta3/cright.html TBTA Copyright page]
* [http://www.nyctransitforums.com/ NYC Transit Forums - Discussion Board]