If you've been wondering when the aerial tram from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island will be back in service, keep on wondering. The entire system, shut down last March, is being completely replaced - except for the massive supporting towers on either side of the East River. The Roosevelt Island Operating Company says that the tram will be back in service sometime this fall.

The tram has become an iconic part of the Manhattan skyline - as well as being a featured attraction in Hollywood blockbusters such as the first Spiderman flick, released in 2002. Originally built in 1976 by Von Roll Ltd of Bern, Switzerland for $5 million, today the cost would probably exceed $30 million.

The new gondolas, recently arrived on Roosevelt Island, await the final stages of the tramway reconstruction. Photo: Peggy Roalf.

According to the NYC DOT website, Over 26 million passengers have used the tram. Each cabin accommodates a capacity of 125 people; it makes approximately 115 trips per day, and about 100 per day on weekends. It glides at approximately 16 miles per hour and travels 3,100 feet. At its peak it climbs to 250 feet above the East River. Two cabins make the run every fifteen minutes from 6:00am to 2:30am.

Yesterday I was on Roosevelt Island on the shuttle bus back to Manhattan when I spied the new gondolas - beached alongside the East River below the Triborough Bridge. It was an encouraging sight, as the cables that will finally lift the cabs aloft are still drooping perilously from the towers on the Manhattan side. Stay tuned for liftoff!