Brooklyn Bridge

General Information

Other name(s):	Great East River Bridge
Beginning of works:	1869
Completion:	24 May 1883
Status:	in use

Project Type

Structure:	Suspension bridge with cable-stays
Function / usage:	upper deck: Pedestrian bridge (footbridge) lower deck: Road bridge lower deck: Tramway, light or metro rail bridge
Material:	Steel bridge

Location

Location:	Manhattan, New York, New York, USA Brooklyn, New York, New York, USA
Crosses:	East River
Next to:	Manhattan Bridge (1912)
Coordinates:	40° 42' 20.00" N 73° 59' 47.00" W

Show coordinates on a map

Technical Information

Dimensions

	main span	487 m
	total length	1 825 m
	number of lanes	1950: 2 × 3

Materials

cables	steel
deck	steel
towers	masonry

Chronology

1950	All rail traffic on the bridge is discontinued.
1950 - 1952	Strengthening of the bridge without altering its overall appearance based on a design by David B. Steinman.

Notes

John A. Roebling submitted designs for the Brooklyn Bridge, but died shortly before construction began while surveying the site. His foot was injured and he died of lockjaw (tetanus). His son Washington Roebling continued work on the design. He himself suffered an attack of the bends and was confined to an apartment overlooking the construction site. Emily Roebling, his wife, relayed his instructions to the workers and was practically chief engineer until the bridge was completed.

The Brooklyn bridge has an elevated pedestrian walkway.

Participants

Initial construction (1869-1883)

Design

John A. Roebling's Sons Company
- John A. Roebling (designer)

Construction

John A. Roebling's Sons Company
- Washington Roebling (chief engineer)
- Emily Warrren Roebling (assistant to chief engineer)
- Wilhelm Hildenbrand

Reconfiguration (1948)

Design

Robinson & Steinman
- David B. Steinman (designer)

Relevant Web Sites

Relevant Publications

Ansari, Farhad / Fischer, Chad / Talebinejad, Iman (2011): A hybrid approach for safety assessment of the double span masonry vaults of the Brooklyn Bridge. In: Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring, v. 1, n. 1-2 (May 2011), pp. 3-15.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-011-0003-y
Dupré, Judith (2017): Bridges. A History of the World's Most Spectacular Spans. 2^nd edition, Black Dog & Leventhal, New York (USA), ISBN 978-0316507943, pp. 56-57.
Billington, David P. / Schlaich, Jörg (2013): Der Turm und die Brücke. Die neue Kunst des Ingenieurbaus. Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn Verlag für Architektur und technische Wissenschaften, Berlin (Germany), ISBN 978-3-433-03077-6.
Billington, David P. / Jorquera Lucerga, Juan José / Payá Zaforteza, Ignacio / Sánchez Fernández, Ramón: La torre y el puente. El nuevo arte de la ingeniería estructural. CINTER, Madrid (Spain), ISBN 978-84-939305-4-7, pp. 300.
Russell, Lisa (2009): Sensors working overtime. The need to know more about the conditions inside the cables of New York City's trio of historic suspension bridges is the impetus for an ongoing research project. In: Bridge Design & Engineering, v. 15, n. 55 (2nd Quarter 2009), pp. 60-61.

More publications...

About this
data sheet
Structure-ID
20000011
Date created
28/10/1998
Last Update
17/06/2016