134 years ago, crowds of New Yorkers came to the opening of what was then called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge.
1,800 cars and 150,300 people crossed the bridge, which was then the only land passage between Brooklyn and Manhattan. The bridge’s chief designer, John Roebling, was never able to see it completed. During preparations for construction, his leg got stuck in the structure and was crushed. Doctors amputated the toes, but Roebling fell into a coma and died of tetanus. His son Washington Roebling then took over responsibility for building the bridge, but suffered from decompression sickness and handed over the responsibilities to his wife Emily Warren Roebling. Emily took on the challenge and learned the math, catenary calculations, the strengths of materials, and the intricacies of cable construction. She spent the next 11 years helping her husband and overseeing the construction of the bridge – many were impressed by how she handled the task. She was the first person to completely cross the bridge when it was completed. When construction of the bridge began in the 1860s, planners, engineers and architects knew it would be a special bridge, “one of the greatest works of history, symbolizing a new era.” It was believed that the bridge could rival projects such as the Suez Canal and the transcontinental railroad. It was planned to be the largest suspension bridge in the world and was considered an example of the greatest engineering work of the continent and era. THE BRIDGE IS MOVING. Even today, the Brooklyn Bridge rises about 7.5 cm in very cold weather. This is a result of cables shrinking at low temperatures.
However, the cables can withstand very high loads. Each cable consists of 19 individual wires, which in turn are made of 278 individual wires, which allows the bridge to withstand very heavy loads.
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