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The Brooklyn Bridge.

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The BB was the first bridge of its kind ever to be built in the early 19th century. It has braved many elements and has stood the test of time and humanity. It is the first suspension bridge to use galvanized steel as cable wires and trusses. The suspension system was originally designed in iron, but later replaced due to irons dead load weight. The four cables are each nearly 16 inches in diameter and each contains over 5,000 galvanized steel, oil-coated wires. Also the first a dangerous underwater device called Caisson (Inside the caissons, air pressure was used to keep water out of the boxed structure used by workers to excavate the river bottom. Men used shovels, picks, and later blasting to dig out the sand and rocks below and the caissons gradually descended towards the river bottom). After they had been lowered 20 meters, they had to dig/blast their way another 30 meters to find a base strong enough to carry the weight of the bridge.
Granite stones were added to form the towers were 276.5ft. At one point they were taller then all skyscrapers of that time to stand as a monument of the two cities. The diagonal cables that run down from the towers which are called “cable stays” purpose was to stiffen the bridge was later fund unnecessary but they were kept for its architectural beauty contribution. "To guard against vertical and horizontal oscillations and to ensure that degree of stiffness in the flooring which is absolutely necessary to meet the effects of violent gales in such an exposed situation, I have provided six lines of trusses." John Roebling, 1854, Brooklyn Bridge proposal.
Another pioneering move was the inclusion of the bridges walkway, which was purposely placed above the roadway. He felt that such a promenade would be "of incalculable value in a crowded commercial city." Today, it is used by thousands each day and provides an excellent view of lower Manhattan.

The Brooklyn Bridge was reconstructed by New York City department of public works between 1948 through 1954 by David B. Steinman the president of the ASCE Met section. The work included removing the trolley tracks and strengthening the trusses.

The Caisson, 1883

To create the 4 main suspension cables, wires were pulled, strand by strand by a traveller rope from one tower to the next. Each cable held 6,289 of these wires, 331 wires to a strand and 19 stands to a cable.

To create the 4 main suspension cables, wires were pulled, strand by strand by a traveller rope from one tower to the next. Each cable held 6,289 of these wires, 331 wires to a strand and 19 stands to a cable.
While the cables were being strung, a major problem was discovered. The J. Lloyd Haigh company that was responsible for providing wire for the cables, was found to have given faulty wires. It was virtually impossible at the time to redo the wires, and so the story was kept as quiet as possible and 150 extra wires were added to each cable to strengthen them. The owner of the company, J. Lloyd Haigh was eventually put in jail.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/brooklyn.html http://www.ascemetsection.org/content/view/339/872/ 1. Alan Trachtenberg, Brooklyn Bridge: Fact and Symbol (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965, 1979)
2. David McCullough, The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1972; paperback edition by Avon Books in 1976).
3. Dogancay, Burhan, Bridge of Dreams : The Rebirth of the Brooklyn Bridge
4. McCullough, David, The Great Bridge : The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge, 1983, Simon & Schuster.
5. Pascoe, Elaine, The Brooklyn Bridge (Building America), 1999, Blackbirch Marketing.
http://www.jamesmaherphotography.com/articles/26-brooklyn-bridge

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