Serious proposals for a bridge linking Manhattan to Long Island City were first made as early as 1838. Successful plans finally came about in 1903 and construction soon began, but it would take until 1909 for the bridge to be completed due to delays from the collapse of an incomplete span during a windstorm, and from labor unrest, which included an attempt to dynamite a span. The bridge opened for public use on March 30, 1909, having cost about $18 million and 50 lives. There was a ten-cent toll to drive over the bridge. The bridge’s ceremonial grand opening was held on June 12, 1909. At the time, it was the fourth longest bridge in the world. The bridge was then known as the Blackwell’s Island Bridge, from an earlier name for Roosevelt Island. Today, the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge is crossed by more than 170,000 vehicles daily making it the most utilized of the 4 East River bridges.