AAR<\/a>\u00a0is proud to partner with WTOP to bring you this series.<\/p>\nThe iconic Brooklyn Bridge in New York City opened in 1883 after nearly 14 years of construction and numerous delays.<\/p>\n
The 143-year-old bridge is 1,595 feet long and 127-feet-high, connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River. When it opened, it was the longest suspension in the world.<\/p>\n
Building the bridge was difficult. It was constructed during a period of political corruption in New York \u2014 Tammany Hall controlled patronage jobs which caused numerous controversies, and the bridge\u2019s unique design prolonged the construction.<\/p>\n
DePaul University transportation professor Joe Schwieterman said nearly a century and half later, the Gothic Revival style bridge remains an icon of America\u2019s determination to build big things.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust a magnificent architecture, and it showed just how you can build high-capacity bridges over really deep waterways using cable suspensions. Just the carrying capacity of the bridge with a long span without abutments is really striking for its time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The bridge was dangerous to build. At least 27 people, including the main architect John Roebling, died from injuries during the construction. His son, Washington Roebling, was also severely incapacitated by a case of decompression sickness.<\/p>\n
Countless others were seriously injured, and construction was at a time when there was no Occupational Health and Safety Administration or disability insurance if you were hurt.<\/p>\n
As a result of Washington Roebling\u2019s injuries, his wife Emily Warren Roebling, herself also an engineer, took over as the lead architect and she consulted with him regularly as he recovered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look back at just the human toll of these bridges, it was partly due to just the lack of ability to have backup safety systems so your people standing on pillars, handling these heavy iron and steel, you know, cables and so forth, and a slight bit of wind or a slight mistake, and, you know, somebody\u2019s tumbling into the deep sea,\u201d Schwieterman said. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t tolerate those things today, but at the time it got to these projects done, at a cost society could afford back then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Due to gradual deterioration, Schwieterman said the bridge has been updated numerous times.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still around, functioning, still safe. 140 years later, that\u2019s pretty remarkable,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Interstate bridges are built to last about 50 years, before they need complete rebuilding. But the Brooklyn Bridge, that\u2019s going to last for generations and there\u2019s no sign there\u2019s a risk to safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bridge cost $15 million to build, far above the original budget. To construct it today, it would cost more than three billion dollars. But Schwieterman said that\u2019s still a bargain.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew York City is just a jigsaw puzzle. You got this massive development. You\u2019ve got (the) population making (it) one of the world\u2019s largest cities. For a city like that to work, which is surrounded by waterways and islands and so forth, you had to build these facilities that were just meant to move millions, you know, every week,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Brooklyn Bridge just opened up that commerce between Manhattan and Brooklyn, and it\u2019s one of the country\u2019s biggest transportation workhorses.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bridge was designed to elongate and contract 14 to 16 inches because of weather and temperature changes.<\/p>\n
In a 1909 article, Engineering Magazine said that at the center of the span, the height above the Mean High Water could fluctuate by more than 9 feet due to temperature and traffic loads, while more rigid spans had a lower maximum deflection.<\/p>\n
Built from limestone, granite and Rosendale cement, the bridge\u2019s two suspension towers are 278 feet high above the water line.<\/p>\n
According to the New York Department of Transportation, in 2024, an average of 103,051 vehicles, 28,845 pedestrians, and 5,504 cyclists traveled over the Brooklyn Bridge each day.<\/p>\n
Today, the Brooklyn Bridge is also a designated a National Historic Landmark, a New York City landmark and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.<\/p>\n
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