Roosevelt Island Tramway

The Roosevelt Island Tramway began its service in 1976 as an explicitly temporary solution to a transportation crisis. Developers were building massive new housing projects on the island, but the subway tunnel intended to connect the site to Manhattan was mired in catastrophic construction delays. Planners turned to an aerial system as a stopgap measure, expecting it to be dismantled once the underground train line finally opened. The tram proved so popular with residents that it remained a permanent fixture of the city skyline long after the subway line was completed in 1989.