The_Brooklyn_Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge Plans for a crossing between the city of Brooklyn and lower Manhattan dated back to the early 1800's. When the East River crossing was planned, Brooklyn was still more rural than urban. The city of New York, which at the time consisted only of Manhattan, had twice as many residents (400,000), and the bridge was seen as a solution to overcrowding in Manhattan while spurring development in Brooklyn. The bridge would enable people and goods to cross the East River quickly, regardless of weather conditions. In 1855, John Roebling, a famous bridge designer, proposed a suspension bridge over the East River after becoming impatient with the Atlantic Avenue-Fulton Street Ferry. Roebling worked out every detail of the bridge, from its granite towers to its four steel cables. He thought his design entitled the bridge to be ranked as a national monument and a great work of art. Roebling had experience with suspension spans, with bridges along the Delaware, Niagara and Ohio Rivers. The first of these was in 1848. The Delaware Aqueduct between Lackawwaxen, Pennsylvania and Minisink Ford, New York, is the oldest surviving suspension bridge in America. The second, the Niagara Suspension Bridge, served rail and carriage traffic bridge, brooklyn, roebling, new, york, river, two, manhattan, towers, suspension, construction, years, over, lanes, first, elevated, east, city, cables, bridges, after, tracks, time, four, between, washington, steel, one, day, work, vehicles, until, trusses, traffic, took, soon