Kosciuszko Bridge, USA: New York City's first cable-stayed highway bridge Available to Purchase

The Kosciuszko Bridge carries a 1.8 km long segment of the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway over Newtown Creek between Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, USA. The roadway is a vital link in the region's transportation network, carrying over 170 000 vehicles/day. Owing to structural and operational deficiencies, the existing structure was replaced. The new bridge consists of two parallel structures, one eastbound and one westbound, with main spans mirroring one another. Each structure consists of a single-tower cable-stayed main span over Newtown Creek with unbalanced main and back spans. This was the first cable-stayed bridge to be constructed in New York City, joining the ranks of the city's most iconic bridges. Here, two main span structures are discussed, with the focus primarily on the design and construction of the westbound, phase 2 bridge. Some key design aspects are outlined, including outboard cable anchorages, a concrete-filled counterweight and other details intended to facilitate construction, maintenance and inspection. The eastbound, phase 1 bridge was constructed under a design–build contract, and the westbound, phase 2 bridge as a design–bid–build. The paper also touches on some of the design aspects that were refined during the second phase.