Due to this and its proximity to I-95, it is the closest route from Long Island to New Jersey via the George Washington Bridge, as well as points north.

[8][9][10] The bridge contains two long approach ramps, one on either bank, because both the Bronx and Queens are located on low elevations.

[12] At each end of the suspension span are two anchorages that hold the main cables, both of which are freestanding concrete structures measuring 250 by 350 feet (76 by 107 m).

[13] The bridge's Bronx anchorage is at the tip of Throggs Neck, and the towers are located in the middle of the Long Island Sound.

[4]: 129  Both suspension towers are located on artificial concrete islands in the East River, which are 20 feet (6.1 m) above mean high water.

[17] Instead of employing a rather streamlined-looking plate-girder system, Ammann constructed the bridge with 28-foot-deep (8.5 m) stiffening transverse trusses under the deck.

Tractor-trailers exceeding 53 feet and traveling between Long Island and the Bronx are required to use the Throgs Neck Bridge.

[26] The Throgs Neck Bridge's construction was announced in January 1955, by the Port Authority and the TBTA as part of the Port Authority's Joint Study of Arterial Facilities, a $600 million plan to improve highway access in the New York City area (equal to $6.12 billion in 2023[27]).

[19][3][4]: 125  The span was needed because of increasing congestion on the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge 2 miles (3.2 km) west, which was nearing its traffic capacity by the late 1950s.

Then, at the end of March 1957, the New York state legislature suddenly changed the approach route for the Throgs Neck and Narrows Bridges without the city's knowledge.

[40] One plan had the Throgs Neck Bridge approach in Queens connect directly to a road paralleling the Cross Island Parkway, rather than to the proposed Clearview Expressway.

[41][42] TBTA officials warned that the Throgs Neck Bridge could not be approved for construction until an approach route was finalized.

[43] The revised approach routes for both the Narrows and the Throgs Neck bridges were approved that June, which allowed construction on both crossings to begin.

[44] As a result of the revisions to the Clearview Expressway approach, the cost estimate for the Throgs Neck Bridge increased to $126 million.

[4]: 128 [8] TBTA chairman Moses commissioned Othmar Ammann for the construction of the Throgs Neck Bridge.

[9] A month later, six construction contracts worth $42.5 million were awarded, representing nearly half of the span's cost.

[53] This cable marked the location of the future bridge deck, but in the interim, it would be one of six wires that would support temporary catwalks between the suspension towers.

[55] Installation of the deck started at each suspension tower and continued outward in either direction, extending toward the center and the approach viaducts on each side.

The steelwork for the roadway was completed in summer 1960, and work on constructing the Throgs Neck Bridge's approaches progressed simultaneously.

[29][57] The Throgs Neck Bridge opened with a short ceremony on January 11, 1961; its total construction cost had been $92 million.

The opening of the Throgs Neck Bridge had been accelerated in advance of the start of the 1964 New York World's Fair at nearby Flushing Meadows–Corona Park.

[10] The bridge's opening drew protests from homeowners in Queens who had been forced to relocate due to the construction of the Clearview Expressway.

[62] The Throgs Neck Bridge was originally designated as part of I-78, which extended south to Hillside Avenue (NY 25), the southern terminus of the Clearview Expressway.

[66][67][68] Ultimately, nearly all sections of I-78 between the Holland Tunnel and Hillside Avenue were canceled by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1971.

[74] In September 1983, Cuomo signed an executive order mandating the use of American steel,[75] and the MTA narrowly voted to reverse its prior decision.

The park's athletic fields received a $666,000 refurbishment in 1998, and a bicycle path and roller hockey rink were installed in 1999 at a cost of $1.2 million.

The MTA installed a movable barrier, providing three lanes in the peak direction during weekday rush hours (toward the Bronx in the morning and toward Queens in the afternoon).

E-ZPass users with transponders issued by the New York E‑ZPass Customer Service Center pay $6.94 per car or $3.02 per motorcycle.

Instead, cameras and E-ZPass readers are mounted on new overhead gantries manufactured by TransCore[90] near where the booths were located.

[117] On July 10, 2009, during early-morning maintenance work to replace the deck, a construction worker's blow torch sparked a three-alarm fire on the bridge.