Third Avenue carries only northbound (uptown) traffic north of 24th Street, south of which it is two-way, and again reprises this role in The Bronx. However, the Third Avenue Bridge carries traffic in the opposite direction, allowing only southbound traffic, rendering the avenue essentially non-continuous between the boroughs. In Manhattan, street signs read "3 Ave", while in the Bronx, street signs read "Third Ave"
The street was not always paved. In May 1861, according to a letter to the editor of The New York Times, the street was the scene of practice marching for the poorly equipped troops in the 7th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (spelling and punctuation as in the original): "The men were not in uniform, but very poorly dressed, — in many cases with flip-flap shoes. The business-like air with which they marched rapidly through the deep mud of the Third-avenue was the more remarkable."[2]
