THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE Ana Cristina Ayala Anette Rossi
Slide 3
The Brooklyn Bridge crosses the East River, is a symbol of the
city of New York that also marked a milestone in the first use in
its type of steel construction and being over 20 years, the longest
suspension bridge in the world.
Slide 4
What was the cause of the creation of this bridge? It begins
when in 1852, the engineer and owner of a metal company named John
Augustus Roebling was unable to move to Brooklyn with the Atlantic
Avenue-Fulton Street Ferry due to ice covering the river, the
solution devised by the construction of a bridge. Three years later
he had developed the project to which he would call a great work of
art.
Slide 5
The idea of Roebling was enthusiastically received by the
rulers of Manhattan and Brooklyn, then independent cities, but the
financial support he found in William C. Kingsley, due to his
political influence, pushed for a private company could build and
manage the construction of a bridge that would connect the two
cities.
Slide 6
On June 1st, 1869, the design of the bridge was approved but
five days after an accident occured when a ferry that entered the
Brooklyn pier crushed Roeblings foot. Despite the amputation of the
limb, died of tetanus. His son Washington took over the project and
in January 3rd, 1870, construction began. In August 1876, the
shores of Manhattan and Brooklyn are connected for the first time
through a steel cable. In February 1877, ended the construction of
towers and pillars anchor would be provisionally attached via a
walkway.
Slide 7
Originally the bridge was designed to accommodate the ends dual
carriageway, two-way for carriages and cavalry, two tram tracks in
the center and a platform pedestrian high. The main span of the
bridge linking the two pillars, has a length of 486 meters and a
wide of 26 meters. On May 23, 1883, the President Chester Arthur
and Governor Grover Cleveland officially opened the Brooklyn Bridge
in front of more than 14,000 guests.
Slide 8
Significant Events: Six months after opening the bridge. A
woman who climbed the stairs to access the part of Manhattan
stumbled and screamed as she fell. The call triggered a rumor that
the bridge was sinking. The panic and subsequent avalanche killed
12 people and seriously injured 35 others. Distrust of the bridge
resistance was overcome a year later after the circus entrepreneur
P. T. Barnum marched across the bridge along with a herd of 21
elephants.
Slide 9
In 1944, he began a major reconstruction of the bridge that
would last 20 years. The tram lines were removed, pillars and main
cables were reinforced, new suspension cables were added, the
bridge widened from two lanes to three in each direction for
vehicles and the construction of new roads began. Currently the
bridge has two levels. The bottom level has two three-lane roads by
which more than 145,000 vehicles circulate daily. The top level is
a walkway for pedestrians and also a bike lane. The walkway can be
dangerous if you are not aware of not passing to the bicycle lane,
as you could be hit by a cyclist who often carry considerable
speed.
Slide 10
In conclusion, the Brooklyn Bridge is an important symbol of
the development of the city. With it, the people can cross from one
side to the other (from Manhattan to Brooklyn) in less time, making
the travel safer, easier, more economic and faster, going across
the bridge, than with a ship, crossing the river.