East 81st Street Pedestrian Bridge Opens After Delays

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — City officials braved the cold Thursday to celebrate the opening of one of the Upper East Side's most delayed construction projects. After nearly three years of delays, the East 81st Street pedestrian bridge is open for pedestrian use.

The East 81st Street bridge connects the East River Esplanade to an elevated promenade known as the John Finely Walk. The L-shaped bridge also provides pedestrian access to both walkways from East 81st Street and East End Avenue.

A bridge built in 1942 originally connected the walkways, but was not handicap accessible. The new bridge consists of a 452-foot-long and 9-foot-wide ramp fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"The East River Esplanade is beloved by Upper East Siders, and this new bridge provides the ADA accessible link that was missing. Opening this bridge will help so many of our neighbors in their daily routines, and create a beautiful vantage point to view the East River," City Councilman Ben Kallos said.

The construction project was nearly three years in the making, but was initially supposed to be completed in 18 months. An unexpected need to retrofit the bridge's north abutment and design changes added 13 months of work to the project, officials from the city Department of Design and Construction said.

The design changes made to the project include the creation of a viewing window on the new pedestrian bridge, less lighting fixtures on the structure and a redesigned ADA accessible ramp on East 81st Street, city officials said.

While pedestrian access to the bridge was opened this month, the bridge is not completely finished. The Department of Design and Construction will install glass panels long the bridge in early 2018.

Photos by Brendan Krisel/Patch