Cars No Longer Welcome At This Historic Brooklyn Bridge

BROOKLYN, NY— The Carroll Street Bridge, a 137-year-old landmark spanning the Gowanus Canal, has reopened after a five-year rehabilitation project, but drivers will no longer be able to use it.

The NYC Department of Transportation announced the restored bridge will be reserved for pedestrians, cyclists and emergency vehicles, permanently ending through traffic on one of Brooklyn’s most distinctive crossings.

The bridge, one of only four remaining retractile bridges in the United States, opened in 1889 and moves diagonally rather than lifting or swinging open to allow marine traffic to pass.

“Our infrastructure tells the story of our city, and the Carroll Street Bridge captures both the maritime industry that built New York and the micromobility that will anchor our sustainable future,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.

The rehabilitation began in 2021 and required the bridge to remain locked in an open position while crews repaired structural elements, restored approaches and installed a new timber wearing surface.

Under the new configuration, signs, street markings, planters and other barriers will prevent regular vehicle traffic from crossing the bridge.

“Gowanus has been dramatically transformed in recent years as more and more New Yorkers call the neighborhood home,” Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn said. “As the community becomes more residential, we are pleased that we could preserve this historic bridge while adapting our infrastructure to make it more welcoming to Brooklynites on two feet and two wheels.”

The bridge spans 107 feet across the Gowanus Canal and remains one of New York City's oldest movable bridges.

A small brick operator’s house still stands at the western end of the structure.

Traffic studies conducted during the bridge’s closure found no measurable increase in vehicle volumes on nearby crossings at Union Street, Third Street and Ninth Street, according to city officials.

The bridge carried relatively little traffic before its closure, making it the least-used of the canal’s local crossings.

The bridge also preserves reminders of another era.

Vintage signage still warns travelers not to cross faster than walking speed and cites a century-old $5 fine for violators.

Designated a New York City landmark in 1987, the Carroll Street Bridge now enters a new chapter as a pedestrian and cycling corridor linking neighborhoods on both sides of the canal.