The Brooklyn Bridge is the oldest suspension bridge in the USA. It is 1.825 meters long and it connects Brooklyn and Manhattan over the East River. After getting stuck in ice while sailing on the East River, John Roebling proposed the idea to build a bridge over the river. The construction of this gigantic bridge lasted 14 years. Colonel John Roebling died while the construction works were underway, so he did not get to see his idea becoming true.
The bridge consists of 4 steel suspension cables that are fixed to individual plates (one for each cable) that are located in granite blocks (3 meters high) and they are placed at ends of the bridge. Each cable consists of 5.657 meter of steel wires plated with zinc in order to make it wind and water resistant. The foundation of the bridge consists of steel beams (each weighing 4 tons) fixed to vertical clips that hold them in place. When finished, the bridge used to have 5 lanes. In the past, two outer lanes were intended for horse-drawn carriages, two middle lanes were for automobile traffic, and the middle lane was a pedestrian lane. The outer and middle lanes are for vehicular traffic, and the central lanes are for pedestrians and bicycles.
In 1883, when the bridge was opened, it was named the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, and it was officially named the Brooklyn Bridge in 1915. The bridge has two levels. The first level is for automobiles, and the upper level is for pedestrians. It takes about 20 minutes of an easy stroll to get from one side of the bridge to the other.
The bridge is of many New York’s symbols – you can see it on postcards, in movies and TV shows – the place where tourists take their best photos is the Brooklyn Bridge. It is a must visit for tourists. It is also a place where people put padlock to ‘lock’ their love towards each other. Besides it being useful because it connects two boroughs in New York, the bridge is also an architectural masterpiece, and the first bridge in the world that was fully built from steel.
Author of the article
Marijana Niković tour guide for Montenegro
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