The bridge was first called New York and Brooklyn Bridge, then became the East River Bridge until it was officially named Brooklyn Bridge in 1915. Because Emily played such a crucial part in building the Brooklyn Bridge, she was the first person to cross it on opening day. All of this was possible because he had a kick-ass wife, Emily Warren Roebling, who ended up being the perfect assistant chief engineer and pretty much took over everything Washington couldn’t do during the remaining 11 years of construction. Washington, who was in charge after his father died, was bedridden due to his illness and had to lead the construction without physically being there. Numerous workers fell off the bridge, were hit by debris or got caisson disease – a decompression sickness that paralyzed the workers, including Washington Roebling, the son of the bridge’s designer. Roebling, who crushed his foot and had to amputate his toes, which lead to him dying of tetanus shortly after. The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge took its (human) toll – there are no exact numbers, but at least 20 people died building the architectural masterpiece. In 1903, the neighboring Williamsburg Bridge broke that record by 4.5 feet. The Brooklyn Bridge was the first steel-wire suspension bridge, and at the time it was built, its 1,595 (486m) feet main span made it the the longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge is supported by four cables, each 3578 feet (1090 m) long, 15.5 inches (40 cm) thick, and made up of 21,000 individual wires. It took over 600 workers to transform 6,740 tons of material into the iconic wonder of the Industrial Revolution. 14 years and 600 workersĪfter 14 years of construction that cost $15 million, the Brooklyn Bridge was opened in 1883 – and Manhattan and Brooklyn were finally connected.
Annually, 40 million vehicles cross the Bridge two-and-one-half million passengers are transported by the ferries and over 6 million passengers ride the buses.įor more interesting facts and figures, visit the History & Research section of our site.The Brooklyn Bridge is not only one of the engineering marvels of the 19th century and a must-see/must-photograph spot when visiting New York – it’s also up next in our series on fun landmark facts to impress, delight, and win trivia night with. Why is it called the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District? Traffic jams are rare on the Bridge because the Bridge District added ferry (1970) and bus (1972) transit service. Shown above is a diagram of how the 27,572 wires in a cable were grouped together and then tightly compressed into their final form by a hydraulic press. If the wires were one continuous length, they could wrap around the earth over three times. Length of one main cable: 7,650 ft = 2,332 mĮach cable is composed of 27,572 wires. How big is the main cable? The diameter of one main cable: 36 3/8 in. The weight of the Bridge, not counting the concrete anchorages, is 840 million pounds (382 million kg) - heavier than the Empire State Building.Ĭable section exhibit is located near parking lot behind the pavilion. Total length of Bridge including approaches from abutment to abutment: 1.7 miles = 8,981 ft = 2,737 m. Length of suspension span including main span and side spans: 1.2 miles = 6,450 ft = 1,966 m
Height of tower above roadway: 500 ft = 152 m Height of tower above water: 746 ft = 227 m How big is the Golden Gate Bridge? When constructed in 1937, it set the world record for the longest bridge span, the distance between supports (4,200 ft, 1,280 m) and also the tallest towers. The forces in the arch, compression forces, are the opposite of the tension forces that the suspension bridge cables experience. The opposite or upside down picture of those curves looks like an arch. The curving cables of a suspension bridge are in tension, experiencing pulling forces.
A suspension bridge is the structural opposite of an arch. The name Golden Gate does not refer to the Bridge’s color, it is the name of the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean, which is called the Golden Gate Strait. Construction commenced on Januand the Bridge was open to vehicular traffic on May 29, 1937.Ĭost: $35 million dollars in the 1930’s, approximately $1.5 billion in year 2016 dollars. Period of construction: Just over four years.