{{Short description|Bridge in New York}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox Bridge |bridge_name = South Grand Island Bridge |image = Between the Grand Island bridges.jpg |image_size = 300px |caption = South Grand Island Bridge from Grand Island (from northwest; Niagara River flows left, northeast) |alt = Twin spans of the South Grand Island Bridge, which cross the Niagara River in five sky-blue steel arches. The central arch is above the roadway permitting passage of large freight ships. |official_name= |also_known_as= |carries=4 lanes of {{jct|state=NY|I|190|NY|324}} |crosses= Niagara River |locale= Tonawanda, New York and Grand Island, New York |maint= New York State Thruway Authority |id= |design=Twin truss through arch bridges |mainspan= {{convert|600|ft|m|0}} |length= {{convert|3400|ft|m|0}} |width= |clearance= |below= {{convert|93|ft|m|0}} |traffic= 68,789 |open= {{plainlist| * July 15, 1935 (southbound span) * October 11, 1962 (northbound span) }} |closed= |toll= {{plainlist| *Northbound Only (Electronic Tolling) *$1.75 - Tolls by Mail *$1.75 - E-ZPass (Out of State) *$1.00 - E-ZPass (New York) }} |map_cue= |map_image= |map_text= |map_width= |coordinates= {{coord|42|59|54|N|78|56|14|W|region:US_type:landmark}} |lat= |long= }}
The '''South Grand Island Bridge''' is a pair of twin two-lane truss arch bridges spanning the Niagara River between Tonawanda and Grand Island in New York, United States. Each bridge carries one direction of Interstate 190 (I-190) and New York State Route 324 (NY 324). Both crossings are operated by the New York State Thruway Authority as part of the Niagara Thruway. The southbound span was opened in 1935 and acquired by the State of New York in 1950. The northbound span was finished in 1962. A northbound-only toll is collected via Electronic Tolling.
==Description==
The bridges are twin truss arch bridges with a steel through-arch in the middle. Both crossings have a {{convert|93|ft|m|0|adj=on}} navigation clearance,<ref name="hist-bri" /> which was designed to allow tall lake freighters and tanker ships to pass beneath it. A northbound-only toll is presently collected via open-road cashless tolling. The open-road tolling began operating on March 29, 2018, replacing conventional toll booths.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wyrk.com/cashless-tolls-start-thursday-night-on-grand-island/|title=2018 Toll Information |publisher=New York State Thruway|access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/grand-island-cashless-tolls-begin-tonight-heres-what-you-need-to-know/71-532884027|title=Cashless Tolls is set on Thursday night|date=28 March 2018 |publisher=New York State Thruway|access-date=March 28, 2018}}</ref> The tollbooths were dismantled, and drivers are no longer able to pay cash at the bridge. Instead, drivers will travel beneath an overhead gantry where their E-ZPass transponder will be detected and charged. Drivers without an E-ZPass will have a picture of their license plate taken, and the toll will be mailed to them.
==History== The southbound bridge was completed on July 15, 1935 as a two-lane, two-way structure carrying NY 325 from Tonawanda to Grand Island.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1935-07-15 |title=Governor Hails 2 Island Bridges |pages=1 |work=The Buffalo News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-governor-hails-2-island/136974935/ |access-date=2023-12-18}}</ref> Mr. Frank J. Offermann Sr., the former Sheriff of Erie County, owner of the Buffalo Bisons baseball club and prominent resident of Grand Island was active in getting the bridges sanctioned. Also in 1935 after his untimely death, Supervisor John Messmer proposed changing the name of the boulevard connecting the Grand Island Bridges to Offermann Drive;<ref>{{Cite news |date=1935-07-15 |title=Governor Hails 2 Island Bridges |pages=1 |work=The Buffalo News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-governor-hails-2-island/136974935/ |access-date=2023-12-17}}</ref> however this was never done.<ref>{{NBI |structurenumber=5043981 |datakey=443107 |linkwork=yes |linkpub=yes |accessdate=November 11, 2012}}</ref> It became part of NY 324 by 1937.<ref>{{cite map |title=New York |publisher=Standard Oil Company |year=1937 |cartography=General Drafting}}</ref> In 1950, the State of New York assumed ownership of the bridge as part of the Niagara Thruway's construction.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} A twin bridge erected to the northeast of the original structure was opened on October 11, 1962,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1962-10-11 |title=Rockefeller Opens One Island Bridge, Turns Sod For Next |pages=1 |work=The Buffalo News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-rockefeller-opens-one-i/136977729/ |access-date=2023-12-17}}</ref> at which time all northbound traffic was moved onto the new crossing and the 1935 span became southbound-only. thumb |center |upright=3 |South Grand Island Bridge from Isle View Park in Tonawanda (view upstream, from northeast) <br />The 1935 span that now carries southbound traffic is behind the 1962 northbound span. |alt=Profile of South Grand Island Bridge. Two sky-blue steel spans cross the river in five arches. The central arch alone is above the roadway, permitting passage of large freight ships.
While the twin bridges were built decades apart, they appear nearly identical. It is clear that builders in the 1960s took great care in matching the original 1930s architecture, but there are slight differences. The 1935 bridge has stone cutwaters on the piers, while the 1962 bridge has steel-faced cutwaters.<ref name="hist-bri">{{cite web |url=http://www.historicbridges.org/newyork/grandislandsouth/index.htm |title=South Grand Island Bridges |work=HistoricBridges.org |date=May 28, 2007 |access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref> Also, renovations of the southbound bridge have created a guard rail that looks quite different from the one on the northbound bridge.
The northbound span was renovated by American Bridge Company from 2008 to 2010.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.tonawanda-news.com/local/local_story_219110112.html |title=Grand Island Bridges: Structures are in need of repair |date=August 7, 2007 |newspaper=Tonawanda News |last=Kates |first=Tasha |access-date=November 11, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090711210726/http://www.tonawanda-news.com/local/local_story_219110112.html |archive-date=July 11, 2009 }}</ref> American Bridge Company replaced the deck (road), sidewalk, and barriers as part of a $48 million project.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.thruway.ny.gov/projectsandstudies/projects/sgib/2010-03-30-sgib-work.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724051201/http://www.thruway.ny.gov/projectsandstudies/projects/sgib/2010-03-30-sgib-work.html |title=Thruway Authority Announces South Grand Island Bridge, Northbound, Deck Work to Commence Overnight Beginning Monday, April 5, 2010 |publisher=New York State Thruway Authority |date=March 30, 2010 |archive-date=July 24, 2011 |access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref>
In August 2019, for a duration of 13 hours, the bridges were closed to the public to be used as a filming site for ''A Quiet Place Part II''.<ref>{{Cite web|title='Quiet Place' filming to shut down Grand Island bridge Sunday morning|url=https://www.lockportjournal.com/news/local_news/quiet-place-filming-to-shut-down-grand-island-bridge-sunday-morning/article_585c0d6c-c29c-11e9-a7cd-53f119d82f7b.html|author=Staff reports|website=Lockport Union-Sun & Journal|date=19 August 2019 |language=en|access-date=2020-05-02}}</ref>
==See also== * {{Portal-inline|Transport}} * {{Portal-inline|Engineering}} * {{Portal-inline|New York (state)}} * List of crossings of the Niagara River * North Grand Island Bridge
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927013514/http://nogitolls.com/PicturesoftheSouthGrandIslandBridges.html Pictures of South Grand Island Bridges 8-4-07] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060905200428/http://freenet.buffalo.edu/bah/h/grandisland/hist/index.html Highlights of the History of Grand Island, NY] * [http://www.americanbridge.net American Bridge Company]
{{Crossings navbox |structure = Bridges |place = Niagara River |bridge = South Grand Island Bridge |bridge signs = 25px 25px
|upstream = International Railway Bridge |upstream signs = |downstream = North Grand Island Bridge |downstream signs = 25px }}{{New York State Thruway Authority}}
Category:Bike paths in New York (state) Category:Bridges completed in 1935 Category:Bridges completed in 1962 Category:Bridges over the Niagara River Category:Interstate 90 Category:New York State Thruway Authority Category:Road bridges in New York (state) Category:Steel bridges in the United States Category:Through arch bridges in the United States Category:Toll bridges in New York (state) Category:Tolled sections of Interstate Highways Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Buffalo, New York Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Erie County, New York Category:Truss arch bridges in the United States Category:Walkable bridges on the Interstate Highway System Category:Pedestrian bridges in New York (state)