The Brooklyn Bridge, the Golden Gate, the Mackinac Bridge, and the George Washington Bridge are among the most famous bridges in the United States of America.
Poss Brooklyn
Stretching across the east river, connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan, is the awesome and inspiring Brooklyn Bridge.
Construction of the bridge began in January 1870 and it opened to the public in May 1883. At the time of its opening, it was the first steel-wire suspension bridge as well as the largest suspension bridge in the world at 6,016 feet.
The Brooklyn Bridge was designed by John Roebling, the most famous bridge designer. His plan was released by both the Brooklyn and New York City governments. However, with the help of some businessmen and senators, in June 1869, two years later, his plan was approved.
Roebling suffered an accident while setting up one of the towers, his first leg being broken. His fingers were amputated, but he died of tetanus a few weeks later. Washington Roebling’s son took over the engineering of the bridge.
Ground was broken on January 3 rd 1870 with the construction of the foundation. The foundation took three years to complete and was the first time dynamite was used in bridge construction.
Washington Roebling became paralyzed due to a dangerous accident while building caissons. He was leading a projection of the bridge from the room with his wife’s news and telescope to oversee the building.
The construction continues to the lattice and flint Gothic towers facing the arched doorways. For the first time, iron anchors were used in construction.
The bridge was opened on May 24th 1883 and 150,000 people crossed the bridge paying hundreds each. One thousand eight hundred vehicles crossed the bridge that day, paying five hundred each. Today there is no charge for the 145,000 vehicles and people who cross the bridge every day.
Golden Gate Bridge
Marin County on the San Francisco Peninsula is a breathtaking golden bridge.
Its color is not from the bridge, which is not gold or red, but orange. It came from prospectors to the gold fields, 150 years or so ago. They refer to the entrance to San Francisco Bay as the “Golden Gate”.
Joseph Strauss was the architect and designer in charge of the construction of the bridge. On January 5th 1933, construction began.
The base of the north pier bridge was built 20 feet below the ocean on a rocky bed. The south pillar of the base was in open water, 100 feet below the water. A huge box was built separately and hundreds of thousands of tons of concrete were pumped into it.
The towers were finally completed in 1935 and work began on hanging the steel gratings. In 1937, two years later, the construction of the bridge took place. Strauss finished short of the five-month target completion date and was $1.3 million under budget.
Only 12 lives were lost during the construction of the bridge, 19 more were saved by the net. People who have been saved through the net are known as the “Half-Way-To-Hell Club.”
When the bridge opened on May 27th 1937, 20,000 people crossed it. Since its completion, more than one million cars have passed.
At 26,371 feet in length, the Mackinac Bridge is the third longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge crosses the Mackinac Strait, connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan George Washington Carver Bridge
Bridge George Washington is a double suspension bridge. It reaches across the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee, New Jersey and upper Manhattan, New York.
Othmar H. Ammann was the bridge’s designer and construction in October 1927. The tower on the New Jersey side was built 76 feet into the Hudson River, while the tower on the New York side was built on the nearby steep shores. I lie down
Each tower was made of twelve feet long, fifty iron sections, and rose 604 feet into the sky. The towers use more than 43,000 tons of steel and each tower has an elevator leg in it.
At first the towers were to be covered in concrete slabs and decorated with granite, in order to hide the iron chests. The authors of the bridge abandoned this idea when they saw the natural beauty of the steel. This project saved one nearly million dollars and allowed the bridge to open eight months ahead of schedule.
On October 25th, 1931, the construction of the bridge was officially opened to the public. It cost about $52 million and the lives of a dozen people. Thirty thousand people witnessed its opening.
Ammann built the bridge with a mind of expansion. When he opened one field, a six-lane bridge. In 1946, two more lanes were added and in August of 1962 the second level was completely opened.
The George Washington Bridge today consists of two steps, the upper with eight spans, the lower with six spans. About 300,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day, making it one of the busiest in the world.
The bridge was originally called the “Hudson River Bridge” and other names for it were “Palisades Bridge,” “Fort Lee Bridge,” “Verrazano Bridge,” and “Columbus Bridge.” In 1930, the Port Authority decided to name it the “George Washington Memorial Bridge”. It was later renamed the “George Washington Bridge”.
sources:
brooklyn.about.com
mackinac bridge.org
id
historical bridges.org
