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Crews work during Phase One of repairs to the upper level of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Work is expected to continue through summer 2017. Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin
MTA crews were deployed from Wednesday, January 3, through Friday, January 5, to clear facilities of snow and ice as the winter storm swept through the region.
This photo shows MTA Bridges and Tunnels crews performing snow removal operations at the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge on Thursday, January 4.
Credit: MTA Bridges and Tunnels
At the direction of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, MTA Bridges and Tunnels closed the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel at 2 p.m. on Monday, October 29, 2012, in advance of Hurricane Sandy.
Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.
Old Elbe Tunnel or St. Pauli Elbe Tunnel (German: Alter Elbtunnel or St. Pauli Elbtunnel (official name)) which opened in 1911, is a pedestrian and vehicle tunnel in Hamburg, Germany. The 426 m (1,398 ft) long tunnel was a technical sensation; 24 m (80 ft) beneath the surface, two tubes with 6 m (20 ft) diameter connect central Hamburg with the docks and shipyards on the south side of the river Elbe. This meant a big improvement for tens of thousands of workers in one of the busiest harbours in the world.
Four huge lifts on either side of the tunnel carried pedestrians, carriages and motor vehicles to the bottom. They are still in operation, though due to the limited capacity by today's standards, other bridges and tunnels have been built and taken over most of the traffic.
In 2008 approx 300.000 cars, 63.000 bicycles and 700.000 pedestrians used the tunnel. The tunnel is opened 24 hours for pedestrians and bicycles. For motorized vehicles opening times are currently Monday to Friday from 5.20 AM to 8.00 PM, on Saturdays from 5.20 AM to 4.00 PM
Isn't it boring when the weather at the beach is a bit ordinary.
Add to that the high contrast when taking a shot inside a black tunnel to a background sky.
See below for close to the SOOC original.
To provide some light at the end of the tunnel, just add some enhancements to create some interest. It doesn't matter if it isn't real, after all, photography is art, and so it is the eye of the beholder. It only has to be real on TV news, and you can't trust that either.
Using the circular (not square) Marquee tool in Photoshop, drag an oval/circle around the end of the tunnel. Press [CTL '] to place some grid lines on the screen if it helps guide you to the correct end position of the oval edges.
Select Layer-Copy to New Layer and the circle gets put on its own layer above the background image so whateer you do on this layer will cover the original.
Now that the beach and sky is selected use whatever enhancement effects you like and it will only affect the selected oval. So here I enriched the colour and contrast.
I found that the circle didn't quite cover the edges of the original circle, so press [CTL T] for Transform and just drag it a bit bigger until it sits neatly on the edge of the original circle.
I go a bit carried away, and pasted a B52 bomber from Guam to drag my signature across the sky, but that is definitely optional.
Have fun.
Knit one, PEARL one.
Bridges and Tunnels Theme
The Bronx-Whitestone Bridge is celebrating 75 years of service. The bridge opened to traffic on April 29, 1939.
Photo: MTA Bridges and Tunnels archives.
MTA crews were deployed from Wednesday, January 3, through Friday, January 5, to clear facilities of snow and ice as the winter storm swept through the region.
This photo shows MTA Bridges and Tunnels crews performing snow removal operations at the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge on Thursday, January 4.
Credit: MTA Bridges and Tunnels
Under its mother’s watchful eye, a peregrine falcon chick is banded by NYC DEP Research Scientist Chris Nadareski atop the south tower of the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. The chick, named Tillie, appeared healthy.
(Marc A. Hermann / MTA)
Unfortunately, many bridges and tunnels charge by the axle.
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The fishing pier on One Island on the Bay/Sea Gull Island, the southernmost of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel's four man-made islands.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) is a 23-mile (37 km) long fixed link crossing the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and connecting the Delmarva Peninsula's Eastern Shore of Virginia with Virginia Beach and the metropolitan area of Hampton Roads, Virginia. It replaced vehicle ferry services which operated from South Hampton Roads and from the Virginia Peninsula from the 1930s until completion of the bridge-tunnel in 1964.
The bridge-tunnel originally combined 12 miles (19 km) of trestle, two 1-mile (1.6 km) long tunnels, four artificial islands, two high-level bridges, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) of causeway, and 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of approach roads—crossing the Chesapeake Bay and preserving traffic on the Thimble Shoals and Chesapeake shipping channels. The system remains one of only eight bridge-tunnel systems in the world, three of which are located in Hampton Roads, Virginia.
Since it opened, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel has been crossed by more than 100 million vehicles. The CBBT complex carries U.S. Route 13, the main north–south highway on Virginia's Eastern Shore, and, as part of the East Coast's longstanding Ocean Highway, provides the only direct link between Virginia's Eastern Shore and South Hampton Roads regions, as well as an alternate route to link the Northeast and points in between with Norfolk and the Carolinas. The bridge-tunnel saves motorists 95 miles (153 km) and 1½ hours on a trip between Virginia Beach/Norfolk and points north and east of the Delaware Valley without going through the traffic congestion in the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. The $12 toll is partially offset by some savings of tolls in Maryland and Delaware on I-95.
Financed by toll revenue bonds, the bridge-tunnel was opened on April 15, 1964. It was officially named the Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Bridge-Tunnel in August 1987 after one of the civic leaders who had long worked for its development and operation. However, it continues to be best known as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
From 1995 to 1999, at a cost of almost $200 million, the capacity of the above-water portion was increased to four lanes. An upgrade of the two-lane tunnels was proposed but has not been carried out.
The CBBT was built by and is operated by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia governed by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission. The CBBT's costs are recovered through toll collections. In 2002, a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) study commissioned by the Virginia General Assembly concluded that "given the inability of the state to fund future capital requirements of the CBBT, the District and Commission should be retained to operate and maintain the Bridge-Tunnel as a toll facility in perpetuity."
Information from:
Level crossing
From Wikipedia
The term level crossing (also called a railroad crossing, road through railroad, train crossing or grade crossing) is a crossing on one level ("at-grade intersection") — without recourse to a bridge or tunnel — of a railway line by a road or path. It also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way (or a reserved track tramway) crosses a road.
Early level crossings had a flagman in a nearby booth who would, on the approach of a train, wave a red flag or lantern to stop all traffic and clear the tracks. Manual or electrical closable gates that barricaded the roadway were later introduced. The gates were intended to be a complete barrier against intrusion of any road traffic onto the railway. In the early days of the railways much road traffic was horsedrawn or included livestock. It was thus necessary to provide a real barrier. Thus, crossing gates, when closed to road traffic, crossed the entire width of the road. When opened to allow road users to cross the line, the gates were swung across the width of the railway, preventing any pedestrians or animals getting onto the line. The first U.S. patent for such crossing gates was awarded on 27 August 1867, to J. Nason and J. F. Wilson, both of Boston.]
With the appearance of motor vehicles, this barrier became less effective and the need for a barrier to livestock diminished dramatically. Many countries therefore substituted the gated crossings with weaker but more highly visible barriers and relied upon road users following the associated warning signals to stop.
In many countries, level crossings on less important roads and railway lines are often "open" or "uncontrolled", sometimes with warning lights or bells to warn of approaching trains. Ungated crossings represent a safety concern; many accidents have occurred due to failure to notice or obey the warning. Railways in the United States are adding reflectors to the side of each train car to help prevent accidents at level crossings. In some countries, such as Ireland, instead of an open crossing there may be manually operated gates, which the motorist must open and close. These too have significant risks, as they are unsafe to use without possessing a knowledge of the train timetable: motorists may be instructed to telephone the railway signaller, but may not always do so.
The director of rail safety at the UK HM Railway Inspectorate commented in 2004 that "the use of level crossings contributes the greatest potential for catastrophic risk on the railways." Eighteen people were killed in the UK on level crossings in 2003-4. Bridges and tunnels are now favoured, but this can be impractical in flat countryside where there is insufficient space to build a roadway embankment or tunnel (because of nearby buildings).
At railway stations, a pedestrian level crossing is sometimes provided to allow passengers to reach other platforms in the absence of an underpass or bridge.
Where third rail systems have level crossings, there is a gap in the third rail over the level crossing, but the power supply is not interrupted since trains have current collectors on multiple cars.
### ........must view as slide show.......##
TOBACCO ROAD
WILSON, NORTH CAROLINA
My mother Alma, also known as “Sister", was born here in 1918. She said she weighed just one pound when she was born and slept in a cigar box in the top drawer of a chest of drawers. Being just a kid, I didn't ever think about arguing with my mother. But I did learn as a teenager she would exaggerate at times.
She was born on a farm and if you are born on a farm you work on a farm. Farm work is hard. She once told me all she ever wanted to do was to get off the farm. It was probably a tobacco farm since there were acres and acres of tobacco farms each with a tobacco barn during the 1950's when I would visit. In fact Wilson was once a center of tobacco cultivation as the city was widely known as “The World's Greatest Tobacco Market” in the nineteenth century.
I am grateful that my dad, Paul Sr., met my mother when she was working at the J.C. Penney store in Wilson while he was stationed at Fort Bragg after World War II. When they married in 1946 and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania mom finally “Got Off of the Farm".
It is about 400 miles from Philadelphia to Wilson via U.S. Highway 301. That is the way we went before the Interstates were built. US. Highway 301 was established in 1932 and currently runs from Glasgow, Delaware to Sarasota, Florida.
Dad would drive mom and myself to Wilson most of the time, stay for a day or two, and then drive back to Philadelphia so he could go to work. As a youngster I really didn't realize how much dad did for us at the time but my appreciation for him has increased as I have aged. Unfortunately, dad passed away before I could tell him this, but I know he did everything he could to make life for my mother and me as easy as possible.
Mom and I did take the train from Philly to Wilson in 1948 (according to my baby book) when I was less than one year old and that would be my first Magnificent Traveling Adventure even though I remember nothing about it.
When dad drove us to Wilson, mom would pack a picnic lunch of ham biscuits, a few snacks and a cooler of Kool-Aid. Being the only child, I had the back seat to myself right next to the food and as soon as the car backed out of our driveway in Philly I'd ask mom if I could have some chips to eat.
Mom didn't drive, and I will tell you why. Are you ready for another “Mama Said"? (“Mama Said" was a top ten single by The Shirelles in 1961 reaching #4 on the U.S. pop chart and #2 on the U.S. R&B chart ). Well, my mama said she drove over her father when she backed out of the garage one day on the farm. Can you imagine that? He was okay but I'm sure that was a very traumatic experience! Guess that is why my mother never wanted to drive?
Dad would find ways to take a break from the eight-hour drive to Wilson. One was visiting Aunt Sarah in Dover, Delaware. Another was to drive down the Delmarva Peninsula and cross the Chesapeake Bay by ferry. The Delmarva Peninsula is about 180 miles (290 kilometers) in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia (hence its name), separating Chesapeake Bay from the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
Driving down the Delmarva Peninsula is longer, both in miles and time, but it is well worth it since the ferry boat that ran between Little Creek (near Norfolk, Virginia) and Kiptopeke Beach on Virginia's eastern shore would allow us to get out of the car and stretch our legs. Exploring the ferry boat Pocahontas (see the post card on the next page) was not an option but a must since being on deck gave a wonderful view of the bay, boat traffic on the bay and gave a nice cool breeze in the summer sun.
My first recollection of the car dad drove was a 1954 brown Ford but most of the drives to Wilson that I remember were in a 1957 two tone Ford that was lime green and white. Dad also had a 1965 Ford Mustang that was dark green.
All of the Fords were stick shift and I learned to drive the ’57 Ford to get my learners permit when I was 16 years old.
The Ferry Pocahontas (Photo by A. Bruce Joyner)
Then in 1964 a completely new adventure awaited us as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was completed. Following its opening on April 15, 1964, the Bridge-Tunnel was selected “One of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World. ” It is a series of bridges and tunnels that connected to Cape Henry on the Atlantic shore of Virginia and Cape Charles on the Eastern shore of Virginia. Talk about a breath taking-drive!
Arriving in Wilson mom and I would stay with her parents and visit with her brother and sisters for about a month before dad drove back to Wilson from Philly and brought us back home. It was a wonderful time for me and this would be the beginning of my “Magnificent Traveling Adventures”.
My grandparents were affectionately known as “Mammie" and “Pa". When I started to visit them in the 1950's they no longer had the farm but owned a combination gas station, grocery and feed/hardware store that was located next to the house they lived in. The store was built of wood and was split into two sections. One half had the groceries with a cash register on a penny candy display case and a large cooler for soft drinks. The other half was the feed/hardware store that had a pot belly stove in the center with bags and boxes of feed, grain and what not next to the walls. Every Saturday night locals would gather here and sing or play their guitar around the stove.
It was pretty darn good for a seven-year old boy to wake up and walk over to the store and have Pa hand me a RC Cola and a moon pie for lunch. Maybe even a pack of Nabs. This was AFTER eating a humongous breakfast cooked by Mammie of eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, biscuits and fried cornbread. This is when I learned to “sop" with a biscuit. But I quickly learned the best way to eat Mammies’ home-made biscuits was to poke a hole in it with my finger and pour molasses inside it! Oh my, what a special treat that was and oh so good!
Behind their house was a garden with many vegetables growing and behind the store was a chicken coop that Mammie would gather fresh eggs for breakfast every morning.
Between the store and the chicken coop was an area for burning trash and I did get into trouble one day when I rolled a used tire on the fire making black smoke that filled the sky that could be seen for miles.
The front of the house had a full porch where the adults would sit in wooden rocking chairs and talk while using church hand fans to keep cool and blow the gnats away. But the wooden swing was for us kids to laugh and play on as we thought what else could we do?
At night we would catch lightning bugs, a.k.a. fireflies, and put them in a jar or place their tails on our fingers pretending we had a ring on. You could see the headlights of the cars approaching either way on the road in front of the house. Then we would hear the cars before seeing them when they pass by the house as the car sound would fade as the car drove away.
The smell in the air after a rain still lingers with me and I keep trying to smell it now where I live in the city but it just isn't the same as it was on that “Tobacco Road” in Wilson, North Carolina at Mammies’ and Pa's house.
Mammie and Pa had five daughters and two sons. I knew them all except for Uncle Bill who died in the Korean War.
Uncle “RC" and Uncle Bill were the fifth and sixth child and of course they ALL worked on the farm.
I remember my mother telling me about the time her and Aunt Agnes seen a ghost in the farm house but not any other stories about farm life.
Do know they had an outhouse on the farm because Pa would always keep a pee pot under his bed in the house that was next to the store in the 1950's even though they had a bathroom.
Seemed as if there was always something to do in Wilson. Uncle RC would take me to see the Wilson minor league baseball games. I could walk to his home from Mammies’ and Pa's and visit his wife Aunt Helen and daughter Cathy.
Cousin Judy, Aunt Agnes daughter, and her then boyfriend Mac would take me bowling or to the movies. Judy and Mac have been married for over 50 years now!
Aunt Edith would take me to the A&W for a root beer at night with her daughters Barbara and Susan. We would sit in the car sipping our cold drinks and watch the moths and beetles fly around the building lights.
Sometimes I would stay with Aunt Marie and her husband Uncle Pete and twin cousins Ronnie and Donnie who were a year younger than I. Now get this, Uncle Pete owned a tobacco farm! That meant Ronnie and Donnie HAD TO WORK ON THE FARM on their summer vacation from school.
One year I actually worked on a farm – FOR ONE DAY! I went with Ronnie and Donnie to the tobacco farm and watched the men pull tobacco leaves off the plants and put them in a mule pulled cart. When the cart was filled they went to the open section of the tobacco barn where women would tie the leaves in a bunch and then tie the bunches of tobacco leaves to a stick that would be hung in the enclosed areas at each end of the barn to dry. My job was to carry these sticks filled with tobacco leaves to Ronnie and Donnie who would climb up to the top and fill the barn with freshly pulled tobacco leaves. At the end of the day the front of my white t-shirt was brown from the nicotine in the leaves and I didn't want to “work on the farm" anymore. The next day I stayed at Uncle Pete's house and started to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
Mom and I would visit Aunt Lena and Cousins Donna Faye, Bobby Wayne and Sharron in Fairmont, North Carolina and one time in 1957 we visited my Great Grandmother Mary Thomas Honeycutt who lived on a farm her entire life.
My Great Grandmother Mary was born in 1865 and lived in a house that did not have running water. The kitchen had a cast iron hand pump and the kitchen door handle was a wooden thread spool.
Bobby Wayne and I were playing in the corn crib and then the pasture with cows and a bull until our parents yelled at us to get out.
My cousin Barbara has been able to trace the family back to Elisha O. who was born in 1760. He was our Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather.
Aunt Edith sent me a letter telling me about members of our family who fought in the Civil War.
Now let me tell you about Uncle Marvin H, Aunt Agnes husband. He was a character and I loved him for who he was.
Uncle Marvin was a television personality called Uncle Fudd.
Uncle Marvin was also the first person I knew that own a foreign car. It was a Renault. When he, Aunt Agnes and Judy visited us in Philadelphia one time he turned the wrong way on the New Jersey Turnpike going home to Wilson and was driving towards New York City. He also was an expert smoking an entire pig for a “Pig Pull" which is gathering held in the American south that involves the barbecuing of a whole hog. Then he would make Carolina style pulled pork barbecue which is made with a zesty vinegar sauce. I still make this at home from time to time.
Now let's all sing the first verse of “Tobacco Road" a blues song written and first recorded by John D. Loudermilk in 1960.
I WAS BORN IN A TRUNK
MAMA DIED AND MY DADDY GOT DRUNK
LEFT ME HERE TO DIE ALONE
IN THE MIDDLE OF TOBACCO ROAD
I would visit Wilson, North Carolina many times during my life including the drives to/from Philadelphia to/from Gulfport, Mississippi during the 1980's that will be covered later in this book.
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Central Park Medical Unit
The New York Central Park Medical Unit is an all-volunteer ambulance service providing free emergency medical services to Central Park’s 40 million annual visitors.
The actual units in use by CPMU are specially designed to fit under all the bridges and tunnels in Central Park.
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The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), provides fire protection, technical rescue, primary response to biological, chemical and radioactive hazards, and emergency medical services to the five boroughs of New York City, New York, United States.
The New York City Fire Department is the largest municipal fire department in the United States and the second largest in the world after the Tokyo Fire Department. The FDNY employs approximately 11,080 uniformed firefighters and over 3,300 uniformed EMTs and paramedics.
The New York City Fire Department faces extraordinarily varied firefighting challenges in many ways unique to New York. In addition to responding to building types that range from wood-frame single family homes to high-rise structures, there are many secluded bridges and tunnels, as well as large parks and wooded areas that can give rise to major brush fires. New York is also home to one of the largest subway systems in the world, consisting of hundreds of miles of tunnel with electrified track. The multifaceted challenges they face add yet another level of firefighting complexity and have led to the FDNY's motto, New York’s Bravest.
Sydney fascinates me. Adelaide is such a flat city, but Sydney is three-dimensional. It has bridges and tunnels and ramps and walkways everywhere. I love it. I have yet to capture that feeling in a photograph though, but I'm always on the lookout when I'm there.
This car park stairwell caught my eye while I was walking around Sydney recently. There was something about the exposed interior of the staircase and the brightly coloured doors and matching columns that was striking enough that I went back to get this photo at 1am when I had to be in a taxi to the airport at 5am.
Exposure: f/6.3 1/3s ISO400
Camera: PENTAX K10D
Lens: smc PENTAX DA 21mm F3.2 AL LIMITED
Postprocessing:
- Exposure, WB adjust in UFRAW
- Unsharp mask, slight tone map, crop in GIMP
- Perspective correction in Hugin
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo toured the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (formerly known as the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel) on Oct. 30, 2012, with MTA Chairman and CEO Joseph J. Lhota and Jim Ferrara, President of MTA Bridges and Tunnels. The tunnel flooded during Hurricane Sandy.
Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.
The Postcard
A postally unused postcard that was published by the Manhattan Post Card Publishing Co. Inc. of 657 Broadway, N.Y.C., N.Y.
The card was printed in 1964 by Dexter Press Inc. of West Nyack, New York.
Note the absence of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the photograph. Ground-breaking for their construction did not take place until the 5th. August 1966.
On the back of the card the publishers have printed:
'Brooklyn Bridge
New York City.
The first bridge to Span the
East River to Brooklyn was
opened to traffic in 1883 with
a one penny toll charge.
Its span is 1,595 feet with an
overall length of 6,016 feet.
Until 1903, this bridge held
the honor of being the world's
largest suspension bridge.
The Lower Manhattan skyline
is in the background'.
Although the card was not posted, someone has written across the divided back:
"This seems to be taken from
Brooklyn.
Of course we go by subway
under the water to Brooklyn,
usually from N.Y. - a much
quicker way to travel".
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge. Opened on the 24th. May 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River.
It was also the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its opening, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m).
The bridge was designed by John A. Roebling. The project's chief engineer, his son Washington Roebling, contributed further design work, assisted by the latter's wife, Emily Warren Roebling.
Construction started in 1870, with the Tammany Hall-controlled New York Bridge Company overseeing construction, although numerous controversies and the novelty of the design prolonged the project over thirteen years.
Since opening, the Brooklyn Bridge has undergone several reconfigurations, having carried horse-drawn vehicles and elevated railway lines until 1950.
To alleviate increasing traffic flows, additional bridges and tunnels were built across the East River. Following gradual deterioration, the Brooklyn Bridge has been renovated several times, including in the 1950's, 1980's, and 2010's.
The Brooklyn Bridge is the southernmost of the four toll-free vehicular bridges connecting Manhattan Island and Long Island, with the Manhattan Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge, and the Queensboro Bridge to the north. Only passenger vehicles and pedestrian and bicycle traffic are permitted.
A major tourist attraction since its opening, the Brooklyn Bridge has become an icon of New York City. Over the years, the bridge has been used as the location for various stunts and performances, as well as several crimes and attacks.
Description of Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge, an early example of a steel-wire suspension bridge, uses a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge design, with both vertical and diagonal suspender cables.
Its stone towers are neo-Gothic, with characteristic pointed arches. The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), which maintains the bridge, says that its original paint scheme was "Brooklyn Bridge Tan" and "Silver", although a writer for The New York Post states that it was originally entirely "Rawlins Red".
The Deck of the Brooklyn Bridge
To provide sufficient clearance for shipping in the East River, the Brooklyn Bridge incorporates long approach viaducts on either end to raise it from low ground on both shores.
Including approaches, the Brooklyn Bridge is a total of 6,016 feet (1,834 m) long. The main span between the two suspension towers is 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) long, and 85 feet (26 m) wide.
The bridge elongates and contracts between the extremes of temperature from 14 to 16 inches. Navigational clearance is 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water. A 1909 Engineering Magazine article said that, at the center of the span, the height could fluctuate by more than 9 feet (2.7 m) due to temperature and traffic loads.
At the time of construction, engineers had not yet discovered the aerodynamics of bridge construction, and bridge designs were not tested in wind tunnels.
It was coincidental that the open truss structure supporting the deck is, by its nature, subject to fewer aerodynamic problems. This is because John Roebling designed the Brooklyn Bridge's truss system to be six to eight times stronger than he thought it needed to be.
However, due to a supplier's fraudulent substitution of inferior-quality cable in the initial construction, the bridge was reappraised at the time as being only four times as strong as necessary.
The Brooklyn Bridge can hold a total load of 18,700 short tons, a design consideration from when it originally carried heavier elevated trains.
An elevated pedestrian-only promenade runs in between the two roadways and 18 feet (5.5 m) above them. The path is 10 to 17 feet (3.0 to 5.2 m) wide. The iron railings were produced by Janes & Kirtland, a Bronx iron foundry that also made the United States Capitol dome and the Bow Bridge in Central Park.
The Cables of Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge contains four main cables, which descend from the tops of the suspension towers and support the deck. Each main cable measures 15.75 inches (40.0 cm) in diameter, and contains 5,282 parallel, galvanized steel wires wrapped closely together. These wires are bundled in 19 individual strands, with 278 wires to a strand.
This was the first use of bundling in a suspension bridge, and took several months for workers to tie together. Since the 2000's, the main cables have also supported a series of 24-watt LED lighting fixtures, referred to as "necklace lights" due to their shape.
1,520 galvanized steel wire suspender cables hang downward from the main cables.
Brooklyn Bridge Anchorages
Each side of the bridge contains an anchorage for the main cables. The anchorages are limestone structures located slightly inland, measuring 129 by 119 feet (39 by 36 m) at the base and 117 by 104 feet (36 by 32 m) at the top.
Each anchorage weighs 60,000 short tons. The Manhattan anchorage rests on a foundation of bedrock, while the Brooklyn anchorage rests on clay.
The anchorages contain numerous passageways and compartments. Starting in 1876, in order to fund the bridge's maintenance, the New York City government made the large vaults under the bridge's Manhattan anchorage available for rent, and they were in constant use during the early 20th. century.
The vaults were used to store wine, as they maintained a consistent 60 °F (16 °C) temperature due to a lack of air circulation. The Manhattan vault was called the "Blue Grotto" because of a shrine to the Virgin Mary next to an opening at the entrance.
The vaults were closed for public use in the late 1910's and 1920's during the Great War and Prohibition, but were reopened thereafter.
When New York magazine visited one of the cellars in 1978, it discovered a fading inscription on a wall reading:
"Who loveth not wine, women and song,
he remaineth a fool his whole life long."
Leaks found within the vault's spaces necessitated repairs during the late 1980's and early 1990's. By the late 1990's, the chambers were being used to store maintenance equipment.
The Towers of the Brooklyn Bridge
The bridge's two suspension towers are 278 feet (85 m) tall, with a footprint of 140 by 59 feet (43 by 18 m) at the high water line.
They are built of limestone, granite, and Rosendale cement. The limestone was quarried at the Clark Quarry in Essex County, New York. The granite blocks were quarried and shaped on Vinalhaven Island, Maine, under a contract with the Bodwell Granite Company, and delivered from Maine to New York by schooner.
The Manhattan tower contains 46,945 cubic yards (35,892 m3) of masonry, while the Brooklyn tower has 38,214 cubic yards (29,217 m3) of masonry.
Each tower contains a pair of Gothic Revival pointed arches, through which the roadways run. The arch openings are 117 feet (36 m) tall and 33.75 feet (10.29 m) wide.
The Brooklyn Bridge Caissons
The towers rest on underwater caissons made of southern yellow pine. Both caissons contain interior spaces that were used by construction workers. The Manhattan side's caisson is slightly larger, measuring 172 by 102 feet (52 by 31 m) and located 78.5 feet (23.9 m) below high water, while the Brooklyn side's caisson measures 168 by 102 feet (51 by 31 m) and is located 44.5 feet (13.6 m) below high water.
The caissons were designed to hold at least the weight of the towers which would exert a pressure of 5 short tons per square foot when fully built, but the caissons were over-engineered for safety.
During an accident on the Brooklyn side, when air pressure was lost and the partially-built towers dropped full-force down, the caisson sustained an estimated pressure of 23 short tons per square foot with only minor damage. Most of the timber used in the bridge's construction, including in the caissons, came from mills at Gascoigne Bluff on St. Simons Island, Georgia.
The Brooklyn side's caisson, which was built first, originally had a height of 9.5 feet (2.9 m) and a ceiling composed of five layers of timber, each layer 1 foot (0.30 m) tall. Ten more layers of timber were later added atop the ceiling, and the entire caisson was wrapped in tin and wood for further protection against flooding.
The thickness of the caisson's sides was 8 feet (2.4 m) at both the bottom and the top. The caisson had six chambers: two each for dredging, supply shafts, and airlocks.
The caisson on the Manhattan side was slightly different because it had to be installed at a greater depth. To protect against the increased air pressure at that depth, the Manhattan caisson had 22 layers of timber on its roof, seven more than its Brooklyn counterpart had. The Manhattan caisson also had fifty 4-inch (10 cm)-diameter pipes for sand removal, a fireproof iron-boilerplate interior, and different airlocks and communication systems.
History of the Brooklyn Bridge
Proposals for a bridge between the then-separate cities of Brooklyn and New York had been suggested as early as 1800. At the time, the only travel between the two cities was by a number of ferry lines.
Engineers presented various designs, such as chain or link bridges, though these were never built because of the difficulties of constructing a high enough fixed-span bridge across the extremely busy East River.
There were also proposals for tunnels under the East River, but these were considered prohibitively expensive. The current Brooklyn Bridge was conceived by German immigrant John Augustus Roebling in 1852.
He had previously designed and constructed shorter suspension bridges, such as Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, and the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky.
In February 1867, the New York State Senate passed a bill that allowed the construction of a suspension bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan.
Two months later, the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Company was incorporated. There were twenty trustees in total: eight each appointed by the mayors of New York and Brooklyn, as well as the mayors of each city and the auditor and comptroller of Brooklyn.
The company was tasked with constructing what was then known as the New York and Brooklyn Bridge. Alternatively, the span was just referred to as the "Brooklyn Bridge", a name originating in a 25th. January 1867 letter to the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
The act of incorporation, which became law on the 16th. April 1867, authorized the cities of New York (now Manhattan) and Brooklyn to subscribe to $5 million in capital stock, which would fund the bridge's construction.
Roebling was subsequently named as the main engineer of the work, and by September 1867, he had presented a master plan of a bridge that would be longer and taller than any suspension bridge previously built.
It would incorporate roadways and elevated rail tracks, whose tolls and fares would provide the means to pay for the bridge's construction. It would also include a raised promenade that served as a leisurely pathway.
The proposal received much acclaim in both cities, and residents predicted that the New York and Brooklyn Bridge's opening would have as much of an impact as the Suez Canal, the first transatlantic telegraph cable, or the first transcontinental railroad.
By early 1869, however, some individuals started to criticize the project, saying either that the bridge was too expensive, or that the construction process was too difficult.
To allay concerns about the design of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, Roebling set up a "Bridge Party" in March 1869, where he invited engineers and members of U.S. Congress to see his other spans. Following the bridge party in April, Roebling and several engineers conducted final surveys.
During these surveys, it was determined that the main span would have to be raised from 130 to 135 feet (40 to 41 m), requiring several changes to the overall design.
In June 1869, while conducting these surveys, Roebling sustained a crush injury to his foot when a ferry pinned it against a piling. After amputation of his crushed toes, he developed a tetanus infection that left him incapacitated and resulted in his death the following month.
Washington Roebling, John Roebling's 32-year-old son, was then hired to fill his father's role. When the younger Roebling was hired, Tammany Hall leader William M. Tweed also became involved in the bridge's construction because, as a major landowner in New York City, he had an interest in the project's completion.
The New York and Brooklyn Bridge Company - later known simply as the New York Bridge Company - was actually overseen by Tammany Hall, and it approved Roebling's plans and designated him as chief engineer of the project.
Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge
The Caissons
Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge began on the 2nd. January 2, 1870. The first work entailed the construction of two caissons, upon which the suspension towers would be built.
A caisson is a large watertight chamber, open at the bottom, from which the water is kept out by air pressure and in which construction work may be carried out under water.
The Brooklyn side's caisson was built at the Webb & Bell shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and was launched into the river on the 19th. March 1870. Compressed air was pumped into the caisson, and workers entered the space to dig the sediment until it sank to the bedrock. As one sixteen-year-old from Ireland, Frank Harris, described the fearful experience:
"The six of us were working naked to the waist
in the small iron chamber with the temperature
of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
In five minutes the sweat was pouring from us,
and all the while we were standing in icy water
that was only kept from rising by the terrific
pressure. No wonder the headaches were
blinding."
Once the caisson had reached the desired depth, it was to be filled in with vertical brick piers and concrete. However, due to the unexpectedly high concentration of large boulders on the riverbed, the Brooklyn caisson took several months to sink to the desired depth.
Furthermore, in December 1870, its timber roof caught fire, delaying construction further. The "Great Blowout", as the fire was called, delayed construction for several months, since the holes in the caisson had to be repaired.
On the 6th. March 1871, the repairs were finished, and the caisson had reached its final depth of 44.5 feet (13.6 m); it was filled with concrete five days later. Overall, about 264 individuals were estimated to have worked in the caisson every day, but because of high worker turnover, the final total was thought to be about 2,500 men.
In spite of this, only a few workers were paralyzed. At its final depth, the caisson's air pressure was 21 pounds per square inch. Normal air pressure is 14.7 psi.
The Manhattan side's caisson was the next structure to be built. To ensure that it would not catch fire like its counterpart had, the Manhattan caisson was lined with fireproof plate iron.
It was launched from Webb & Bell's shipyard on the 11th. May 1871, and maneuvered into place that September.
Due to the extreme underwater air pressure inside the much deeper Manhattan caisson, many workers became sick with "the bends" - decompression sickness - during this work, despite the incorporation of airlocks (which were believed to help with decompression sickness at the time).
This condition was unknown at the time, and was first called "caisson disease" by the project physician, Andrew Smith. Between the 25th. January and the 31st. May 1872, Smith treated 110 cases of decompression sickness, while three workers died from the condition.
When iron probes underneath the Manhattan caisson found the bedrock to be even deeper than expected, Washington Roebling halted construction due to the increased risk of decompression sickness.
After the Manhattan caisson reached a depth of 78.5 feet (23.9 m) with an air pressure of 35 pounds per square inch, Washington deemed the sandy subsoil overlying the bedrock 30 feet (9.1 m) beneath to be sufficiently firm, and subsequently infilled the caisson with concrete in July 1872.
Washington Roebling himself suffered a paralyzing injury as a result of caisson disease shortly after ground was broken for the Brooklyn tower foundation.
His debilitating condition left him unable to supervise the construction in person, so he designed the caissons and other equipment from his apartment, directing the completion of the bridge through a telescope in his bedroom.
His wife, Emily Warren Roebling, not only provided written communications between her husband and the engineers on site, but also understood mathematics, calculations of catenary curves, strengths of materials, bridge specifications, and the intricacies of cable construction.
She spent the next 11 years helping supervise the bridge's construction, taking over much of the chief engineer's duties, including day-to-day supervision and project management.
The Towers of the Brooklyn Bridge
After the caissons were completed, piers were constructed on top of each of them upon which masonry towers would be built. The towers' construction was a complex process that took four years.
Since the masonry blocks were heavy, the builders transported them to the base of the towers using a pulley system with a continuous 1.5-inch (3.8 cm)-diameter steel wire rope, operated by steam engines at ground level.
The blocks were then carried up on a timber track alongside each tower and maneuvered into the proper position using a derrick atop the towers. The blocks sometimes vibrated the ropes because of their weight, but only once did a block fall.
Construction of the suspension towers started in mid-1872, and by the time work was halted for the winter in late 1872, parts of each tower had already been built. By mid-1873, there was substantial progress on the towers' construction.
The arches of the Brooklyn tower were completed by August 1874. The tower was substantially finished by December 1874, with the erection of saddle plates for the main cables at the top of the tower.
The last stone on the Brooklyn tower was raised in June 1875, and the Manhattan tower was completed in July 1876.
The work was dangerous: by 1876, three workers had died having fallen from the towers, while nine other workers were killed in other accidents.
By 1875, while the towers were being constructed, the project had depleted its original $5 million budget. Two bridge commissioners, one each from Brooklyn and Manhattan, petitioned New York state lawmakers to allot another $8 million for construction. Legislators authorized the money on condition that the cities would buy the stock of Brooklyn Bridge's private stockholders.
Work proceeded concurrently on the anchorages on each side. The Brooklyn anchorage broke ground in January 1873 and was substantially completed by August 1875.
The Manhattan anchorage was built in less time. Having started in May 1875, it was mostly completed by July 1876. The anchorages could not be fully completed until the main cables were spun, at which point another 6 feet (1.8 m) would be added to the height of each 80-foot (24 m) anchorage.
The Brooklyn Bridge Cables
The first temporary wire was stretched between the towers on the 15th. August 1876, using chrome steel provided by the Chrome Steel Company of Brooklyn. The wire was then stretched back across the river, and the two ends were spliced to form a traveler, a lengthy loop of wire connecting the towers, which was driven by a 30 horsepower (22 kW) steam hoisting engine at ground level.
The wire was one of two that were used to create a temporary footbridge for workers while cable spinning was ongoing. The next step was to send an engineer across the completed traveler wire in a boatswain's chair slung from the wire, to ensure it was safe enough.
The bridge's master mechanic, E. F. Farrington, was volunteered for this task, and an estimated crowd of 10,000 people on both shores watched him cross.
A second traveler wire was then stretched across the span. The temporary footbridge, located some 60 feet (18 m) above the elevation of the future deck, was completed in February 1877.
By December 1876, a steel contract for the permanent cables still had not been awarded. There was disagreement over whether the bridge's cables should use the as-yet-untested Bessemer steel, or the well-proven crucible steel.
Until a permanent contract was awarded, the builders ordered 30 short tons of wire in the interim, 10 tons each from three companies, including Washington Roebling's own steel mill in Brooklyn.
In the end, it was decided to use number 8 Birmingham gauge (approximately 4 mm or 0.165 inches in diameter) crucible steel, and a request for bids was distributed, to which eight companies responded.
In January 1877, a contract for crucible steel was awarded to J. Lloyd Haigh, who was associated with bridge trustee Abram Hewitt, whom Roebling distrusted.
The spinning of the wires required the manufacture of large coils of it which were galvanized but not oiled when they left the factory. The coils were delivered to a yard near the Brooklyn anchorage. There they were dipped in linseed oil, hoisted to the top of the anchorage, dried out and spliced into a single wire, and finally coated with red zinc for further galvanizing.
There were thirty-two drums at the anchorage yard, eight for each of the four main cables. Each drum had a capacity of 60,000 feet (18,000 m) of wire. The first experimental wire for the main cables was stretched between the towers on the 29th. May 29 1877, and spinning began two weeks later.
All four main cables had been strung by that July. During that time, the temporary footbridge was unofficially opened to members of the public, who could receive a visitor's pass; by August 1877 several thousand visitors from around the world had used the footbridge. The visitor passes ceased that September after a visitor had an epileptic seizure and nearly fell off.
As the wires were being spun, work also commenced on the demolition of buildings on either side of the river for the Brooklyn Bridge's approaches; this work was mostly complete by September 1877. The following month, initial contracts were awarded for the suspender wires, which would hang down from the main cables and support the deck. By May 1878, the main cables were more than two-thirds complete.
However, the following month, one of the wires slipped, killing two people and injuring three others. In 1877, Hewitt wrote a letter urging against the use of Bessemer steel in the bridge's construction. Bids had been submitted for both crucible steel and Bessemer steel; John A. Roebling's Sons submitted the lowest bid for Bessemer steel, but at Hewitt's direction, the contract was awarded to Haigh.
A subsequent investigation discovered that Haigh had substituted inferior quality wire in the cables. Of eighty rings of wire that were tested, only five met standards, and it was estimated that Haigh had earned $300,000 from the deception.
At this point, it was too late to replace the cables that had already been constructed. Roebling determined that the poorer wire would leave the bridge only four times as strong as necessary, rather than six to eight times as strong. The inferior-quality wire was allowed to remain, and 150 extra wires were added to each cable.
To avoid public controversy, Haigh was not fired, but instead was required to personally pay for higher-quality wire. The contract for the remaining wire was awarded to the John A. Roebling's Sons, and by the 5th. October 1878, the last of the main cables' wires went over the river.
After the suspender wires had been placed, workers began erecting steel crossbeams to support the roadway as part of the bridge's overall superstructure. Construction on the bridge's superstructure started in March 1879, but, as with the cables, the trustees initially disagreed on whether the steel superstructure should be made of Bessemer or crucible steel.
That July, the trustees decided to award a contract for 500 short tons of Bessemer steel to the Edgemoor Iron Works, based in Philadelphia. The trustees later ordered another 500 short tons of Bessemer steel. However, by February 1880 the steel deliveries had not started.
That October, the bridge trustees questioned Edgemoor's president about the delay in steel deliveries. Despite Edgemoor's assurances that the contract would be fulfilled, the deliveries still had not been completed by November 1881.
Brooklyn mayor Seth Low, who became part of the board of trustees in 1882, became the chairman of a committee tasked to investigate Edgemoor's failure to fulfill the contract. When questioned, Edgemoor's president stated that the delays were the fault of another contractor, the Cambria Iron Company, who were manufacturing the eyebars for the bridge trusses.
Further complicating the situation, Washington Roebling had failed to appear at the trustees' meeting in June 1882, since he had gone to Newport, Rhode Island. After the news media discovered this, most of the newspapers called for Roebling to be fired as chief engineer, except for the Daily State Gazette of Trenton, New Jersey, and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
Some of the longstanding trustees were willing to vouch for Roebling, since construction progress on the Brooklyn Bridge was still ongoing. However, Roebling's behavior was considered suspect among the younger trustees who had joined the board more recently.
Construction progress on the bridge itself was submitted in formal monthly reports to the mayors of New York and Brooklyn. For example, the August 1882 report noted that the month's progress included 114 intermediate cords erected within a week, as well as 72 diagonal stays, 60 posts, and numerous floor beams, bridging trusses, and stay bars.
By early 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was considered mostly completed and was projected to open that June. Contracts for bridge lighting were awarded by February 1883, and a toll scheme was approved that March.
Opposition to the Bridge
There was substantial opposition to the bridge's construction from shipbuilders and merchants located to the north, who argued that the bridge would not provide sufficient clearance underneath for ships.
In May 1876, these groups, led by Abraham Miller, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court against the cities of New York and Brooklyn.
In 1879, an Assembly Sub-Committee on Commerce and Navigation began an investigation into the Brooklyn Bridge. A seaman who had been hired to determine the height of the span, testified to the committee about the difficulties that ship masters would experience in bringing their ships under the bridge when it was completed.
Another witness, Edward Wellman Serrell, a civil engineer, said that the calculations of the bridge's assumed strength were incorrect.
However the Supreme Court decided in 1883 that the Brooklyn Bridge was a lawful structure.
The Opening of the Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge was opened for use on the 24th. May 1883. Thousands of people attended the opening ceremony, and many ships were present in the East River for the occasion. Officially, Emily Warren Roebling was the first to cross the bridge.
The bridge opening was also attended by U.S. president Chester A. Arthur and New York mayor Franklin Edson, who crossed the bridge and shook hands with Brooklyn mayor Seth Low at the Brooklyn end. Abram Hewitt gave the principal address:
"It is not the work of any one man or of any one
age. It is the result of the study, of the experience,
and of the knowledge of many men in many ages.
It is not merely a creation; it is a growth. It stands
before us today as the sum and epitome of human
knowledge; as the very heir of the ages; as the
latest glory of centuries of patient observation,
profound study and accumulated skill, gained,
step by step, in the never-ending struggle of man
to subdue the forces of nature to his control and use."
Although Washington Roebling was unable to attend the ceremony (and rarely visited the site again), he held a celebratory banquet at his house on the day of the bridge opening.
Further festivity included a performance by a band, gunfire from ships, and a fireworks display. On that first day, a total of 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people crossed the span.
Less than a week after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, ferry crews reported a sharp drop in patronage, while the bridge's toll operators were processing over a hundred people a minute. However, cross-river ferries continued to operate until 1942.
The bridge had cost US$15.5 million in 1883 dollars (about US$436,232,000 in 2021) to build, of which Brooklyn paid two-thirds. The bonds to fund the construction were not paid off until 1956.
An estimated 27 men died during the bridge's construction. Until the construction of the nearby Williamsburg Bridge in 1903, the Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, 20% longer than any built previously.
At the time of opening, the Brooklyn Bridge was not complete; the proposed public transit across the bridge was still being tested, while the Brooklyn approach was being completed.
On the 30th. May 1883, six days after the opening, a woman falling down a stairway at the Brooklyn approach caused a stampede which resulted in at least twelve people being crushed and killed.
In subsequent lawsuits, the Brooklyn Bridge Company was acquitted of negligence. However, the company did install emergency phone boxes and additional railings, and the trustees approved a fireproofing plan for the bridge.
Public transit service began with the opening of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Railway, a cable car service, on the 25th. September 1883.
On the 17th. May 1884, one of P. T. Barnum's most famous attractions, Jumbo the elephant, led a parade of 21 elephants over the Brooklyn Bridge. This helped to lessen doubts about the bridge's stability while also promoting Barnum's circus.
Brooklyn Bridge in the Late 19th. & Early 20th. Centuries
Movement across the Brooklyn Bridge increased in the years after it opened; a million people paid to cross in the first six months. The bridge carried 8.5 million people in 1884, its first full year of operation; this number doubled to 17 million in 1885, and again to 34 million in 1889.
Many of these people were cable car passengers. Additionally, about 4.5 million pedestrians a year were crossing the bridge for free by 1892.
The first proposal to make changes to the bridge was sent in only two and a half years after it opened; Linda Gilbert suggested glass steam-powered elevators and an observatory be added to the bridge and a fee charged for use, which would in part fund the bridge's upkeep and in part fund her prison reform charity.
This proposal was considered, but not acted upon. Numerous other proposals were made during the first fifty years of the bridge's life.
Trolley tracks were added in the center lanes of both roadways in 1898, allowing trolleys to use the bridge as well.
Concerns about the Brooklyn Bridge's safety were raised during the turn of the century. In 1898, traffic backups due to a dead horse caused one of the truss cords to buckle.
There were more significant worries after twelve suspender cables snapped in 1901, although a thorough investigation found no other defects.
After the 1901 incident, five inspectors were hired to examine the bridge each day, a service that cost $250,000 a year.
The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, which operated routes across the Brooklyn Bridge, issued a notice in 1905 saying that the bridge had reached its transit capacity.
Although a second deck for the Brooklyn Bridge was proposed, it was thought to be infeasible because doing so would overload the bridge's structural capacity.
Though tolls had been instituted for carriages and cable-car customers since the bridge's opening, pedestrians were spared from the tolls originally. However, by the first decade of the 20th. century, pedestrians were also paying tolls.
However tolls on all four bridges across the East River - the Brooklyn Bridge, as well as the Manhattan, Williamsburg, and Queensboro bridges to the north - were abolished in July 1911 as part of a populist policy initiative headed by New York City mayor William Jay Gaynor.
Ostensibly in an attempt to reduce traffic on nearby city streets, Grover Whalen, the commissioner of Plant and Structures, banned motor vehicles from the Brooklyn Bridge in 1922. The real reason for the ban was an incident the same year where two cables slipped due to high traffic loads.
Both Whalen and Roebling called for the renovation of the Brooklyn Bridge and the construction of a parallel bridge, although the parallel bridge was never built.
Brooklyn Bridge in Mid- to late 20th. Century
Upgrades to the Bridge
The first major upgrade to the Brooklyn Bridge commenced in 1948, when a contract for redesigning the roadways was awarded to David B. Steinman. The renovation was expected to double the capacity of the bridge's roadways to nearly 6,000 cars per hour, at a projected cost of $7 million.
The renovation included the demolition of both the elevated and the trolley tracks on the roadways and the widening of each roadway from two to three lanes, as well as the construction of a new steel-and-concrete floor.
In addition, new ramps were added to Adams Street, Cadman Plaza, and the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) on the Brooklyn side, and to Park Row on the Manhattan side. The trolley tracks closed in March 1950 to allow for the widening work to occur.
During the construction project, one roadway at a time was closed, allowing reduced traffic flows to cross the bridge in one direction only. The widened south roadway was completed in May 1951, followed by the north roadway in October 1953. In addition, defensive barriers were added to the bridge as a safeguard against sabotage.
The restoration was finished in May 1954 with the completion of the reconstructed elevated promenade.
While the rebuilding of the span was ongoing, a fallout shelter was constructed beneath the Manhattan approach in anticipation of the Cold War. The abandoned space in one of the masonry arches was stocked with emergency survival supplies for a potential nuclear attack by the Soviet Union; these supplies were still in place half a century later.
A repainting of the bridge was announced in advance of its 90th. anniversary.
Deterioration and Late-20th. Century Repair
The Brooklyn Bridge gradually deteriorated due to age and neglect. While it had 200 full-time dedicated maintenance workers before World War II, that number had dropped to five by the late 20th. century, and the city as a whole only had 160 bridge maintenance workers.
In 1974, heavy vehicles such as vans and buses were banned from the bridge to prevent further erosion of the concrete roadway. A report in The New York Times four years later noted that the cables were visibly fraying, and that the pedestrian promenade had holes in it.
The city began planning to replace all the Brooklyn Bridge's cables at a cost of $115 million, as part of a larger project to renovate all four toll-free East River spans.
By 1980, the Brooklyn Bridge was in such dire condition that it faced imminent closure. In some places, half of the strands in the cables were broken.
In June 1981, two of the diagonal stay cables snapped, seriously injuring a pedestrian who later died. Subsequently, the anchorages were found to have developed rust, and an emergency cable repair was necessitated less than a month later after another cable developed slack.
Following the incident, the city accelerated the timetable of its proposed cable replacement, and it commenced a $153 million rehabilitation of the Brooklyn Bridge in advance of the 100th anniversary.
As part of the project, the bridge's original suspender cables installed by J. Lloyd Haigh were replaced by Bethlehem Steel in 1986, marking the cables' first replacement since construction. In a smaller project, the bridge was floodlit at night, starting in 1982 to highlight its architectural features.
Additional problems persisted, and in 1993, high levels of lead were discovered near the bridge's towers. Further emergency repairs were undertaken in mid-1999 after small concrete shards began falling from the bridge into the East River. The concrete deck had been installed during the 1950's renovations, and had a lifespan of about 60 years.
Brooklyn Bridge in the 21st. Century
The Park Row exit from the bridge's westbound lanes was closed as a safety measure after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the nearby World Trade Center. That section of Park Row was closed since it ran right underneath 1 Police Plaza, the headquarters of the New York City Police Department.
In early 2003, to save money on electricity, the bridge's "necklace lights" were turned off at night. They were turned back on later that year after several private entities made donations to fund the lights.
After the 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, public attention focused on the condition of bridges across the U.S. The New York Times reported that the Brooklyn Bridge approach ramps had received a "poor" rating during an inspection in 2007.
However, a NYCDOT spokesman said that the poor rating did not indicate a dangerous state but rather implied it required renovation. In 2010, the NYCDOT began renovating the approaches and deck, as well as repainting the suspension span.
Work included widening two approach ramps from one to two lanes by re-striping a new prefabricated ramp; seismic retrofitting; replacement of rusted railings and safety barriers; and road deck resurfacing. The work necessitated detours for four years.
At the time, the project was scheduled to be completed in 2014, but completion was later delayed to 2015, then again to 2017. The project's cost also increased from $508 million in 2010 to $811 million in 2016.
In August 2016, after the renovation had been completed, the NYCDOT announced that it would conduct a seven-month, $370,000 study to verify if the bridge could support a heavier upper deck that consisted of an expanded bicycle and pedestrian path.
As of 2016, about 10,000 pedestrians and 3,500 cyclists used the pathway on an average weekday. Work on the pedestrian entrance on the Brooklyn side was underway by 2017.
The NYCDOT also indicated in 2016 that it planned to reinforce the Brooklyn Bridge's foundations to prevent it from sinking, as well as repair the masonry arches on the approach ramps, which had been damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
In July 2018, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a further renovation of the Brooklyn Bridge's suspension towers and approach ramps. That December, the federal government gave the city $25 million in funding, which would contribute to a $337 million rehabilitation of the bridge approaches and the suspension towers. Work started in late 2019 and was scheduled to be completed in 2023.
Usage of the Brooklyn Bridge
Horse-drawn carriages have been allowed to use the Brooklyn Bridge's roadways since its opening. Originally, each of the two roadways carried two lanes of a different direction of traffic. The lanes were relatively narrow at only 8 feet (2.4 m) wide. In 1922, motor vehicles were banned from the bridge, while horse-drawn carriages were restricted from the Manhattan Bridge. Thereafter, the only vehicles allowed on the Brooklyn Bridge were horse-drawn.
By 1950, the main roadway carried six lanes of automobile traffic, three in each direction. It was then reduced to five lanes with the addition of a two-way bike lane on the Manhattan-bound side in 2021.
Because of the roadway's height (11 ft (3.4 m)) and weight (6,000 lb (2,700 kg)) restrictions, commercial vehicles and buses are prohibited from using the Brooklyn Bridge.
The weight restrictions prohibit heavy passenger vehicles such as pickup trucks and SUVs from using the bridge, though this is not often enforced in practice.
Formerly, rail traffic operated on the Brooklyn Bridge as well. Cable cars and elevated railroads used the bridge until 1944, while trolleys ran until 1950.
A cable car service began operating on the 25th. September 1883; it ran on the inner lanes of the bridge, between terminals at the Manhattan and Brooklyn ends.
Since Washington Roebling believed that steam locomotives would put excessive loads upon the structure of the Brooklyn Bridge, the cable car line was designed as a steam/cable-hauled hybrid.
They were powered from a generating station under the Brooklyn approach. The cable cars could not only regulate their speed on the 3.75% upward and downward approaches, but also maintain a constant interval between each other. There were 24 cable cars in total.
Initially, the service ran with single-car trains, but patronage soon grew so much that by October 1883, two-car trains were in use. The line carried three million people in the first six months, nine million in 1884, and nearly 20 million in 1885.
Patronage continued to increase, and in 1888, the tracks were lengthened and even more cars were constructed to allow for four-car cable car trains. Electric wires for the trolleys were added by 1895, allowing for the potential future decommissioning of the steam/cable system.
The terminals were rebuilt once more in July 1895, and, following the implementation of new electric cars in late 1896, the steam engines were dismantled and sold.
The Brooklyn Bridge Walkway
The Brooklyn Bridge has an elevated promenade open to pedestrians in the center of the bridge, located 18 feet (5.5 m) above the automobile lanes.
The path is generally 10 to 17 feet (3.0 to 5.2 m) wide, though this is constrained by obstacles such as protruding cables, benches, and stairways, which create "pinch points" at certain locations. The path narrows to 10 feet (3.0 m) at the locations where the main cables descend to the level of the promenade.
Further exacerbating the situation, these "pinch points" are some of the most popular places to take pictures. As a result, in 2016, the NYCDOT announced that it planned to double the promenade's width.
On the 14th. September 2021, the DOT closed off the inner-most car lane on the Manhattan-bound side with protective barriers and fencing to create a new bike path. Cyclists are now prohibited from the upper pedestrian lane.
Emergency Use of Brooklyn Bridge
While the bridge has always permitted the passage of pedestrians, the promenade facilitates movement when other means of crossing the East River have become unavailable.
During transit strikes by the Transport Workers Union in 1980 and 2005, people commuting to work used the bridge; they were joined by Mayors Ed Koch and Michael Bloomberg, who crossed as a gesture to the affected public.
Pedestrians also walked across the bridge as an alternative to suspended subway services following the 1965, 1977, and 2003 blackouts, and after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
During the 2003 blackouts, many crossing the bridge reported a swaying motion. The higher-than-usual pedestrian load caused this swaying, which was amplified by the tendency of pedestrians to synchronize their footfalls with a sway.
Several engineers expressed concern about how this would affect the bridge, although others noted that the bridge did withstand the event and that the redundancies in its design - the inclusion of the three support systems (suspension system, diagonal stay system, and stiffening truss) - make it probably the best secured bridge against such movements going out of control.
In designing the bridge, John Roebling had stated that the bridge would sag but not fall, even if one of these structural systems were to fail altogether.
Stunts Associated With Brooklyn Bridge
There have been several notable jumpers from the Brooklyn Bridge:
-- The first person was Robert Emmet Odlum, brother of women's rights activist Charlotte Odlum Smith, on the 19th. May 1885. He struck the water at an angle, and died shortly afterwards from internal injuries.
-- Steve Brodie supposedly dropped from underneath the bridge in July 1886 and was briefly arrested for it, although there is some doubt about whether he actually jumped.
-- Larry Donovan made a slightly higher jump from the railing a month afterward.
Other notable events have taken place on or near the bridge:
-- In 1919, Giorgio Pessi piloted what was then one of the world's largest airplanes, the Caproni Ca.5, under the bridge.
-- At 9:00 a.m. on the 19th. May 1977, artist Jack Bashkow climbed one of the towers for 'Bridging', which was termed a "media sculpture" by the performance group Art Corporation of America Inc.
Seven artists climbed the largest bridges connected to Manhattan in order to:
"Replace violence and fear
in mass media for one day".
When each of the artists had reached the tops of the bridges, they ignited bright-yellow flares at the same moment, resulting in rush hour traffic disruption, media attention, and the arrest of the climbers, though the charges were later dropped.
Called "The first social-sculpture to use mass-media as art” by conceptual artist Joseph Beuys, the event was on the cover of the New York Post, it received international attention, and received ABC Eyewitness News' 1977 Best News of the Year award.
John Halpern documented the incident in the film 'Bridging' (1977)
-- Halpern attempted another "Bridging" "social sculpture" in 1979, when he planted a radio receiver, gunpowder and fireworks in a bucket atop one of the Brooklyn Bridge towers.
The piece was later discovered by police, leading to his arrest for possessing a bomb.
-- In 1993, bridge jumper Thierry Devaux illegally performed eight acrobatic bungee jumps above the East River close to the Brooklyn tower.
-- On the 1st. October 2011, more than 700 protesters with the Occupy Wall Street movement were arrested while attempting to march across the bridge on the roadway.
Protesters disputed the police account of the event, and claimed that the arrests were the result of being trapped on the bridge by the NYPD. The majority of the arrests were subsequently dismissed.
-- On the 22nd. July 2014, the two American flags on the flagpoles atop each tower were found to have been replaced by bleached-white American flags.
Initially, cannabis activism was suspected as a motive, but on the 12th. August 2014, two Berlin artists claimed responsibility for hoisting the two white flags, having switched the original flags with their replicas.
The artists said that the flags were meant to celebrate the beauty of public space and the anniversary of the death of German-born John Roebling, and they denied that it was an anti-American statement.
Brooklyn Bridge as a Suicide Spot
The first person to jump from the bridge with the intention of suicide was Francis McCarey in 1892.
A lesser-known early jumper was James Duffy of County Cavan, Ireland, who on the 15th. April 1895 asked several men to watch him jump from the bridge. Duffy jumped and was not seen again.
Additionally, the cartoonist Otto Eppers jumped and survived in 1910, and was then tried and acquitted for attempted suicide.
The Brooklyn Bridge has since developed a reputation as a suicide bridge due to the number of jumpers who do so intending to kill themselves, though exact statistics are difficult to find.
Crimes and Terrorism Associated With Brooklyn Bridge
-- In 1979, police disarmed a stick of dynamite placed under the Brooklyn approach, and an artist in Manhattan was later arrested for the act.
-- On the 1st. March 1994, Lebanese-born Rashid Baz opened fire on a van carrying members of the Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish Movement, striking 16-year-old student Ari Halberstam and three others traveling on the bridge.
Halberstam died five days later from his wounds, and Baz was later convicted of murder. He was apparently acting out of revenge for the Hebron massacre of Palestinian Muslims a few days prior to the incident.
After initially classifying the killing as one committed out of road rage, the Justice Department reclassified the case in 2000 as a terrorist attack.
The entrance ramp to the bridge on the Manhattan side was subsequently dedicated as the Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp.
-- In 2003, truck driver Lyman Faris was sentenced to 20 years in prison for providing material support to Al-Qaeda, after an earlier plot to destroy the bridge by cutting through its support wires with blowtorches was thwarted.
Brooklyn Bridge Anniversary Celebrations
-- The 50th.-anniversary celebrations on the 24th. May 1933 included a ceremony featuring an airplane show, ships, and fireworks, as well as a banquet.
-- During the centennial celebrations on the 24th. May 1983, President Ronald Reagan led a cavalcade of cars across the bridge.
A flotilla of ships visited the harbor, officials held parades, and Grucci Fireworks held a fireworks display that evening.
For the centennial, the Brooklyn Museum exhibited a selection of the original drawings made for the bridge.
Culture
The Brooklyn Bridge has had an impact on idiomatic American English. For example, references to "Selling the Brooklyn Bridge" abound in American culture, sometimes as examples of rural gullibility, but more often in connection with an idea that strains credulity.
George C. Parker and William McCloundy were two early 20th.-century con men who may have perpetrated this scam successfully on unwitting tourists, although the author of 'The Brooklyn Bridge: A Cultural History' wrote:
"No evidence exists that the bridge
has ever been sold to a 'gullible
outlander'".
However, anyone taken in by fraudsters is hardly likely to publicize the fact.
A popular tradition on Brooklyn Bridge is for couples to inscribe a date and their initials onto a padlock, attach it to the bridge, and throw the key into the water as a sign of their love.
The practice of attaching 'love locks' to the bridge is officially illegal in New York City, and in theory the NYPD can give violators a $100 fine.
NYCDOT workers periodically remove the love locks from the bridge at a cost of $100,000 per year.
Brooklyn Bridge in the Media
The bridge is often featured in wide shots of the New York City skyline in television and film, and has been depicted in numerous works of art.
Fictional works have used the Brooklyn Bridge as a setting; for instance, the dedication of a portion of the bridge, and the bridge itself, were key components in the 2001 film Kate & Leopold.
Furthermore, the Brooklyn Bridge has also served as an icon of America, with mentions in numerous songs, books, and poems.
Among the most notable of these works is that of American Modernist poet Hart Crane, who used the Brooklyn Bridge as a central metaphor and organizing structure for his second book of poetry, 'The Bridge' (1930).
The Brooklyn Bridge has also been lauded for its architecture. One of the first positive reviews was "The Bridge as a Monument", a Harper's Weekly piece written by architecture critic Montgomery Schuyler and published a week after the bridge's opening.
In the piece, Schuyler wrote:
"It so happens that the work which is likely to be
our most durable monument, and to convey some
knowledge of us to the most remote posterity, is a
work of bare utility; not a shrine, not a fortress, not
a palace, but a bridge."
Architecture critic Lewis Mumford cited the piece as the impetus for serious architectural criticism in the U.S. He wrote that in the 1920's the bridge was a source of joy and inspiration in his childhood, and that it was a profound influence in his adolescence.
Later critics regarded the Brooklyn Bridge as a work of art, as opposed to an engineering feat or a means of transport.
Not all critics appreciated the bridge, however. Henry James, writing in the early 20th. century, cited the bridge as an ominous symbol of the city's transformation into a "steel-souled machine room".
The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge is detailed in numerous media sources, including David McCullough's 1972 book 'The Great Bridge', and Ken Burns's 1981 documentary 'Brooklyn Bridge'.
It is also described in 'Seven Wonders of the Industrial World', a BBC docudrama series with an accompanying book, as well as in 'Chief Engineer: Washington Roebling, The Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge', a biography published in 2017.
A statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel on Temple Way, Bristol, Avon.
The statue was presented to Bristol by the Bristol and West Building Society, it was created by sculpture by John Doubleday and unveiled 26th May 1982. It was moved from its original site at Broad Quay in 2006, the bi-centenary of Brunel's birth. Not only does it now front the modern offices of Osborne Clarke the firm of solicitors who did much of Brunel's legal work, but also waymarks the new additional access to Brunel's great station, created with development of Temple Quay. Another statue by Brunel, by the same artist, is located at Paddington Station, the eastern end of his great railway.
was an English mechanical and civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th century engineering giants", and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, changed the face of the English landscape with his ground breaking designs and ingenious constructions". Brunel built dockyards, the Great Western Railway, a series of steamships including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering.
Though Brunel's projects were not always successful, they often contained innovative solutions to long-standing engineering problems. During his career, Brunel achieved many engineering "firsts", including assisting in the building of the first tunnel under a navigable river and development of SS Great Britain, the first propeller-driven ocean-going iron ship, which was at the time (1843) also the largest ship ever built.
Brunel set the standard for a well-built railway, using careful surveys to minimise grades and curves. This necessitated expensive construction techniques and new bridges and viaducts, and the two-mile-long Box Tunnel. One controversial feature was the wide gauge, a "broad gauge" of 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm), instead of what was later to be known as 'standard gauge' of 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm). The wider gauge added to passenger comfort but made construction much more expensive and caused difficulties when eventually it had to interconnect with other railways using the narrower gauge. As a result of the Regulating the Gauge of Railways Act 1846, the gauge was changed to standard gauge throughout the GWR network.
Brunel astonished Britain by proposing to extend the Great Western Railway westward to North America by building steam-powered iron-hulled ships. He designed and built three ships that revolutionised naval engineering.
This house is located in the Beechhurst neighborhood of Queens, New York City and faces Long Island Sound with a view of the Throgs Neck Bridge. The bridge, which is designated as part of Interstate 278, links the boroughs of Queens and The Bronx. This section of the Long Island Sound is also considered to be part of the upper East River that separates the two boroughs.
The Throgs Neck Bridge was completed in 1961 and was designed by Othmar Ammann. It was built by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority and is still operated by its successor agency, MTA Bridges and Tunnels, a unit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. It is a vehicular toll bridge.
Shakadang Bridge and tunnel were opened in 2000, so they now provide good access to the popular Shakadang Trail within Taroko Gorge National Park. It's quite an amazing drive, because this section of the Cross Island Highway in Taiwan is features long tunnels as the area has huge steep mountains and gorges. The bridge is the only bit where you get some open air, prior to driving through more mountain tunnels. One unique Taiwanese feature of the bridge is 100 white marble lions that sit on the railings of the bridge. Great to see this feature being installed on such a modern structure.
After nearly 80 years in the salty sea-air, the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge is getting major upgrades and repairs to its lift span mechanical and electrical systems, structural steel and grid-deck repairs, bridge painting, and new fire line system and hydrants. Photo: MTA Bridges and Tunnels
Photos I took during the taxi ride from LGA, where my flight from Toronto landed at 8:30AM, to Brooklyn Heights, where my cab driver dropped me off at the Mariott Hotel to wait until the bridges and tunnels reopened. Time stamps are approximate, since these were print photos that I scanned later.
Note: this photo was published in a Sep 1, 2011 issue of Everyblock NYC for the "customized" region of Central Park.
Note: this photo was published in a May 7, 2015 blog titled "How to Make Running a Habit In 11 Simple Steps."
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You probably think that you already know everything that you need to know about the Central Park reservoir. After all, everyone has heard of New York City, and most people (except the residents of certain boroughs that we won't mention by name) assume that "New York City" means "Manhattan." And if you've heard of Manhattan, then you've heard of Central Park ... and if you know about Central Park, then you know about the reservoir in the middle of the park. What more is there to know?
Well, actually, there's a lot you should know, beginning with the fact that its official name is now "The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir," in honor of the late widow of President John Kennedy. But you can call it the Central Park Reservoir, because that was its original name, and that's what most of us here still do call it. (We also insist on calling the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge by its original moniker, "the Triboro Bridge," but who knows how long that will last.)
More importantly, it's not even a reservoir any more ... or, to be more precise, it became a "decommissioned" reservoir in 1993, when it was deemed obsolete because of a new water-main under 79th Street that connected to the Third Water Tunnel. (There was also some concern that the reservoir might eventually become contaminated because of the nasty habit of the rowdy bridge-and-tunnel crowd -- aka visitors from New Jersey, Long Island, and other 'burbs -- to pee in the reservoir after getting thoroughly sloshed on green beer and Ripple wine every St. Patrick's Day. But we don't really like to talk about that, because they eventually go home, and we make a lot of money from the event.)
So basically, the Central Park so-called reservoir is just a big pond with a billion gallons of water (give or take a gallon or two), with colorful Kanzan cherry trees along one section, a bunch of rhododendrons along another section, and lots of animals (mallards, Canadian geese, coots, loons, cormorants, wood ducks, raccoons, grebes, herons, and egrets) who hang out in the general area. It also has a 1.58-mile jogging path, which means that you can almost always find dozens of people jogging, walking, or racing around the park; and only the cynics would remind you that game show host Jack Barry died while jogging around the reservoir in 1984.
You might think that the reservoir was originally a pond or a small lake, or that it was fed and replenished by some kind of underground stream. But in fact, the reservoir was built during the period of 1858-1862 by Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, as part of the overall design of Central Park. It was never a source of water itself, nor was it a "collecting" reservoir; its purpose instead was to receive water from upstate New York, via the Croton Aqueduct, and distribute it to the thirsty residents of Manhattan. All of that predated the work of Olmstead and Vaux; the Croton aqueduct was begun in 1837, and began delivering water to New York City in 1842.
So much for the history of the place. Like I said, it's basically just a big pond in the middle of Manhattan; but it happens to be a very beautiful place, especially with the skyline of the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side, and central Manhattan so visible from different vantage points. During the brief week or two that the cherry trees are in blossom, it's almost as beautiful as the famous stretch of trees in Washington; and it's a peaceful place for a stroll throughout the spring, summer, and fall. It's even beautiful in the dead of winter, when much of the water has frozen over, and when the jogging path is basically empty...
On three consecutive days in mid-to-late August, I walked around the reservoir with my camera, doing my best to capture some of the peaceful beauty, as well as the activity of the joggers and walkers and tourists. On the first day, I walked clockwise around the reservoir -- because everyone else was following the posted rules, and was running/walking counter-clockwise, which made it easier for me to photograph them. Then I came back the next day and walked the circumference again, but this time in the officially-sanctioned counter-clockwise direction. And then I decided that all of the still photos had failed to capture the beauty of the fountain that sprays a plume of water high into the air, as well as the constant motion of all those joggers and walkers ... so I came back for a third lap around the park, but this time with my camera set to "video" instead of "still." I've done my best to winnow all of the photos and videos down to a representative set; but to truly appreciate the beauty of the place, you'll have to come back and see it for yourself.
By the way, don't ask me what a grebe is. I have no idea, and I can only hope that I haven't stepped on one by mistake as I've walked around the reservoir from time to time...
Turn back the clock 15 years and Birmingham New Street once echoed loudly to the grumble and scream of the Class 43's and their HST sets, operating on the extensive Virgin Cross Country network. Today their presence here has been reduced to four daily diagrams between Plymouth and the north, a shadow of their former influence here.
Here, 43384 departs Birmingham with the first of those diagrams, the 0821 Leeds to Plymouth, seen passing under the various bridges and tunnels on its way towards Fiveways south of the city.
Class 43's and their InterCity 125 sets were introduced onto the Cross Country Route towards the end of their production run in 1982. The Cross Country Route is traditionally designated as the line between Bristol Temple Meads, Birmingham, Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Leeds, Doncaster and York, where it joins the East Coast Mainline, although the Cross Country service pattern used to be much more diverse, with some obscure trains such as Sunderland to Shrewsbury, Aberdeen to Portsmouth, Hull to Birmingham and Dover to Glasgow. HST's primarily began operation on the longest services, those being from Penzance and Plymouth in the South West of England, to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen in Scotland.
Upon their introduction, the HST sets began to replace the older loco-hauled classes and services being operated by ageing Class 45 and 46 Peaks, as well as Class 47's, although in some instances a Class 50 would be pressed into service. The formation of these sets differed from the remainder of the HST sets in use as they only consisted of 7-cars (5 Standards, 1 Buffet, 1 First), as opposed to the 8-car formations on all other routes. Also, First Class was located at no particular end as these trains didn't serve a London terminus, whereas usual train formation tradition would have First Class at the London end, so business travellers didn't have far to walk to their waiting Rolls Royce!
Although HST operation was widespread, and many sets dedicated to the operation of the routes, there weren't enough to replace Loco-Hauled services entirely, and thus Class 47's continued to be prime mover's on the Cross-Country network right up until 2002 after the introduction of the Class 220/221 Voyagers.
In January 1997, the Cross Country network was privatised, and came under the ownership of Virgin Group, operator of both Cross Country services as well as trains on the West Coast Mainline from London Euston. For the Cross Country fleet, this consisted of 52 HST Powercars based at a variety of locations along their route, including Plymouth Laira, Manchester Longsight, Leeds Neville Hill, Derby Etches Park, Edinburgh Craigentinny, Glasgow Polmadie and Bristol St Phillips Marsh. This was the second largest number of HST Powercars operated by a single company behind Great Western Trains' fleet, including all 9 of the rare Buffered Class 43 units that had been used during the testing of the Class 91's on the East Coast Mainline in the 1980's.
The Network remained primarily the same, although there were less operations on the Southern Region, and many of the shorter journeys were cut back due to Franchise divisions. Additionally, the HST's had the task of operating trains from London Euston to Holyhead as part of the West Coast Franchise, with officially 5 powercars owned by that franchise to work the service. These powercars however could be swapped with Cross Country sets and vice versa. Holyhead services differed in that they were formed of 8-cars, with the traditional First Class at the London end.
Reliability early on however was a big issue with the HST's, with a prominent number of failures and cancellations due to poorly maintained stock. I remember well having my train cancelled due to a failure with the HST, or dragged into the station 6 hours late by a Class 47. In fact the reliability issues meant that Class 47's were posted at a myriad of locations so they could immediately spring into action if a Virgin HST happened to break down somewhere nearby.
Reliability issues were gradually improved as the franchise got to grips with its new fleet, and slowly the company began repainting trains from the previous InterCity Swallow livery into Virgin Trains red. In the Summer period, Virgin would increase capacity by hiring in a HST set from another company, usually GNER or Midland Mainline as their northern bases were more ideal for a single out-and-back journey.
However, as part of Virgin's commitment to upgrade both franchises, the company made an order in March 1998 to lease 34 Class 220 'Voyagers' and 40 Class 221 tilting 'Super Voyagers' from Bombardier to replace loco-hauled and HST services on the Cross-Country network. Loco-hauled services were first to go, with the Class 47's bowing out in September 2002. An increase in popularity however for the 2001 Summer Season forced Virgin to retain their HST's, but reduce them to 5-cars nicknamed 'Challengers' so they could keep up with the faster acceleration of the Voyager units. Some services did still operate at 7-cars, operating to their own diagrams, but time was rapidly running out for the HST's on the Cross Country network. The axe finally fell at the end of the 2003 Summer Season on September 27th, with the final service being to Glasgow Central hauled by 43154 and 43157.
This wasn't the end of the HST's however, as capacity issues with the smaller Voyager units meant that soon afterwards, Virgin was once again hiring HST's from Midland Mainline and GNER to operate the service. As for ex-Virgin Trains sets, these were either placed into storage or sold on to other operators, most notably Midland Mainline, who began to use them on the Project Rio service from London St Pancras to Manchester Piccadilly whilst the West Coast was being rebuilt.. These services ended in 2004, but some sets were retained while others were sent to First Great Western and GNER.
In November 2007 however, Virgin Trains lost the Cross Country franchise to Arriva, who made it their intention to return regular HST operation to the network. 5 former Midland Mainline Project Rio sets were brought in and refurbished throughout 2008 to operate 4 diagrams a day as far as Plymouth, two from Leeds, one from Edinburgh, and one from Glasgow. Powercars in operation with Cross Country were re-engined with brand new MTU powerplants, and their numbers changed to be increased by a figure of 200. Carriages were also refurbished, with the removal of the Buffet in place of a small kitchen, with food and drink service provided by a trolley. Seat reservations were made electronic, and the general interiors of the carriage fully refreshed for a much more pleasing interior.
Today these HST's continue to ply their trade on the Cross Country network, having never truly disappeared from the route. Most of the time these sets prove even more popular than First Great Western's, and considerably more than the Voyagers, and if I'm travelling to the Midlands I'll often try to reserve myself onto a HST (although Cross Country are known for supplying a Voyager instead at the last minute).
Museum that displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, commuter rail, and bridge and tunnel systems.
Cahill Expressway is the main artery road between Sydney Aiports and the Harbour Bridge and Tunnel. On this evening the traffic seemed heavy, thus the strong trails of headlights and tail lights on the curved road.
This is an entry into the CCCX Trade and Tolls Category:
RUSH HOUR AT THE WEST GATE
Ever since the King decide to put a toll on people entering for the Saturday Market, the traffic has been a nightmare!
This scene was meant to be a medieval version of NYC traffic at the bridges and tunnels, I hope that came across.
Enjoy!
Under its mother’s watchful eye, a peregrine falcon chick is banded by NYC DEP Research Scientist Chris Nadareski atop the south tower of the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. The chick, named Tillie, appeared healthy.
(Marc A. Hermann / MTA)
The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was known for its bridges and tunnels. Now remember "Ohio is flat and boring"...
I enjoy big infrastructure. Over the years, I've photographed a lot of great bridges and tunnels, some of which are still used to help people get from A to B but others have been left to abandonment. My favourite part of any drive is crossing a large body of water or a tall gorge as I like to see how the road takes on the landscape. Mountain passes such as the Cairnwell Pass also tick the same box.
Despite being the tallest pass in the UK, the Cairnwell Pass is also one of the more tame climbs. That's not to say it's an easy climb if you're on foot or cycling but the modern A93 tackles the pass via a road that has long, sweeping bends and straight sections all following a constant, if steep gradient up the side of the mountains.
Things weren't always this way, though. Before the road was modernised, there was an infamous hairpin on the hill climb known as the Devil's Elbow. There is a classic postcard image of a bus driving up the pass going around, claiming that the gradient was a gruelling 1 in 3 and based on the postcard, you'd be inclined to agree.
However, if you look more carefully at the postcard, as I have done on and off over the years since I first saw it, you can see that the photo is squint. This makes the hairpin look far worse than it actually is. The gradient on the old A93 alignment was never steeper than 1 in 6 (which is still very severe for a main road). The bus also looks to have been cut and pasted into the scene as the wheel position and shadowing don't look quite right. Still, you have to applaud the efforts of whomever it was who created that postcard as they obviously went to a lot of effort to sell the illusion.
Told you I can talk about roads all day long...
Officers gathered at the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel to salute MTA Bridges and Tunnels Officer Thomas Choi, who was struck by a motorist while performing his duties at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Oct. 20, 2013. He succumbed to his injuries without ever regaining consciousness on Dec. 29, 2014. Officer Choi is the first MTA Bridges and Tunnels Officer to die in the line of duty in the history of the agency.
Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It was also the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its opening, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) and a deck 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water. The span was originally called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge or the East River Bridge but was officially renamed the Brooklyn Bridge in 1915.
Proposals for a bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn were first made in the early 19th century, which eventually led to the construction of the current span, designed by John A. Roebling. The project's chief engineer, his son Washington Roebling, contributed further design work, assisted by the latter's wife, Emily Warren Roebling. Construction started in 1870, with the Tammany Hall-controlled New York Bridge Company overseeing construction, although numerous controversies and the novelty of the design prolonged the project over thirteen years. Since opening, the Brooklyn Bridge has undergone several reconfigurations, having carried horse-drawn vehicles and elevated railway lines until 1950. To alleviate increasing traffic flows, additional bridges and tunnels were built across the East River. Following gradual deterioration, the Brooklyn Bridge has been renovated several times, including in the 1950s, 1980s, and 2010s.
The Brooklyn Bridge is the southernmost of the four toll-free vehicular bridges connecting Manhattan Island and Long Island, with the Manhattan Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge, and the Queensboro Bridge to the north. Only passenger vehicles and pedestrian and bicycle traffic are permitted. A major tourist attraction since its opening, the Brooklyn Bridge has become an icon of New York City. Over the years, the bridge has been used as the location of various stunts and performances, as well as several crimes and attacks. The Brooklyn Bridge has been designated a National Historic Landmark, a New York City landmark, and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
Wikipedia
Note: this photo was published in a Aug 30, 2011 issue of Everyblock NYC for the "customized" region of Central Park.
Moving into 2012, the photo was also published in a Feb 9, 2012 blog titled "Thе Best iPod Docking Station – Portable Speakers."
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You probably think that you already know everything that you need to know about the Central Park reservoir. After all, everyone has heard of New York City, and most people (except the residents of certain boroughs that we won't mention by name) assume that "New York City" means "Manhattan." And if you've heard of Manhattan, then you've heard of Central Park ... and if you know about Central Park, then you know about the reservoir in the middle of the park. What more is there to know?
Well, actually, there's a lot you should know, beginning with the fact that its official name is now "The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir," in honor of the late widow of President John Kennedy. But you can call it the Central Park Reservoir, because that was its original name, and that's what most of us here still do call it. (We also insist on calling the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge by its original moniker, "the Triboro Bridge," but who knows how long that will last.)
More importantly, it's not even a reservoir any more ... or, to be more precise, it became a "decommissioned" reservoir in 1993, when it was deemed obsolete because of a new water-main under 79th Street that connected to the Third Water Tunnel. (There was also some concern that the reservoir might eventually become contaminated because of the nasty habit of the rowdy bridge-and-tunnel crowd -- aka visitors from New Jersey, Long Island, and other 'burbs -- to pee in the reservoir after getting thoroughly sloshed on green beer and Ripple wine every St. Patrick's Day. But we don't really like to talk about that, because they eventually go home, and we make a lot of money from the event.)
So basically, the Central Park so-called reservoir is just a big pond with a billion gallons of water (give or take a gallon or two), with colorful Kanzan cherry trees along one section, a bunch of rhododendrons along another section, and lots of animals (mallards, Canadian geese, coots, loons, cormorants, wood ducks, raccoons, grebes, herons, and egrets) who hang out in the general area. It also has a 1.58-mile jogging path, which means that you can almost always find dozens of people jogging, walking, or racing around the park; and only the cynics would remind you that game show host Jack Barry died while jogging around the reservoir in 1984.
You might think that the reservoir was originally a pond or a small lake, or that it was fed and replenished by some kind of underground stream. But in fact, the reservoir was built during the period of 1858-1862 by Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, as part of the overall design of Central Park. It was never a source of water itself, nor was it a "collecting" reservoir; its purpose instead was to receive water from upstate New York, via the Croton Aqueduct, and distribute it to the thirsty residents of Manhattan. All of that predated the work of Olmstead and Vaux; the Croton aqueduct was begun in 1837, and began delivering water to New York City in 1842.
So much for the history of the place. Like I said, it's basically just a big pond in the middle of Manhattan; but it happens to be a very beautiful place, especially with the skyline of the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side, and central Manhattan so visible from different vantage points. During the brief week or two that the cherry trees are in blossom, it's almost as beautiful as the famous stretch of trees in Washington; and it's a peaceful place for a stroll throughout the spring, summer, and fall. It's even beautiful in the dead of winter, when much of the water has frozen over, and when the jogging path is basically empty...
On three consecutive days in mid-to-late August, I walked around the reservoir with my camera, doing my best to capture some of the peaceful beauty, as well as the activity of the joggers and walkers and tourists. On the first day, I walked clockwise around the reservoir -- because everyone else was following the posted rules, and was running/walking counter-clockwise, which made it easier for me to photograph them. Then I came back the next day and walked the circumference again, but this time in the officially-sanctioned counter-clockwise direction. And then I decided that all of the still photos had failed to capture the beauty of the fountain that sprays a plume of water high into the air, as well as the constant motion of all those joggers and walkers ... so I came back for a third lap around the park, but this time with my camera set to "video" instead of "still." I've done my best to winnow all of the photos and videos down to a representative set; but to truly appreciate the beauty of the place, you'll have to come back and see it for yourself.
By the way, don't ask me what a grebe is. I have no idea, and I can only hope that I haven't stepped on one by mistake as I've walked around the reservoir from time to time...
"Cisco Bridge and Tunnel, Fraser Canon, Canadian Rockies"
Post Card. The Valentine & Sons' Publishing Co., Ltd. Montreal and Toronto. Printed in Great Britain.
British Manufacture.
The original CPR Cisco Bridge was pre-fabricated in England and shipped to Canada in 1883. When the current, 3-span bridge was built at Cisco in 1910, the original span was moved to the Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) Railway on Vancouver Island to cross the Niagara Creek Canyon, where it is still in use (now by the Southern Railway of Vancouver Island).
historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=britis...
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo toured the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (formerly known as the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel) on Oct. 30, 2012, with MTA Chairman and CEO Joseph J. Lhota and Jim Ferrara, President of MTA Bridges and Tunnels. The tunnel flooded during Hurricane Sandy.
Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.
NYC DEP Research scientist Chris Nadareski sits with falcon. Two baby boys and two baby girl peregrine falcons are banded atop the Bronx tower of the Throgs Neck Bridge. Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin
so this started as a painting for my friend paul, but is now a european release 7" package design for the band bridge and tunnel. ex-latterman! you better believe i was excited!
The 50th running of the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021. MTA Bridges and Tunnels personnel at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA
MTA Bridges and Tunnels and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection work together to assist falcons that reside atop the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge.
Photo: New York City Department of Environmental Protection / Christopher Nadareski.
The New York Transit Museum (also called the NYC Transit Museum) displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, commuter rail, and bridge and tunnel systems under the administration of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The main Museum is located in the decommissioned Court Street subway station in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of New York City.
MTA Bridges and Tunnels took advantage of reduced traffic volumes in May 2020 to ready its flood gates at the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (formerly Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel). Photo: MTA Bridges and Tunnels
This is the bridge over the River Thames at the Dartford crossing, on a misty morning, between the counties of Essex, to the north of the river, and Kent to the south. Going the other way the crossing is via tunnels.
The bridge and tunnels are the A282 and not as many people think the M25, London's orbital motorway. I understand this is because of the speed limits that motorways allow, 70mph, being too high for motorists travelling on the bridge or through the tunnels. The speed limit for both is 50mph.
This image is a frame from my dashcam.
96 of 122 pictures in 2022 - Something going under or over a bridge.