7;s injury became badly infected and he died of lock jaw, a month later.John’s sudden death was a shock to everyone. Now Washington and his father’s dream was in danger, and he was the only one who could keep it alive. Although he was young and inexperienced, he decided he had to carry on the work his father had started. He accepted the job of Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge. Washington began immediately. He had to build foundations under the water to support the bridge towers. If he built them on the muddy river bottom, they could slip, and the bridge would be unstable. He had to build them on a solid surface. He had to dig down through the mud to reach bedrock. To do this he used enormous caissons. The caissons sat on the river bottom and protected the workers inside as they dug. In 1871, the Brooklyn caisson reached solid bedrock at 44 feet below the river, and the caisson was filled with concrete. The first foundation was finished. On the New York side of the river, the caisson sank deeper and deeper below the river without reaching solid rock. Washington worked day and night doing tests on the soil beneath the caisson. He discovered that it was hard-packed sand and gravel, a very solid surface. He concluded that it could support the bridge tower. The caisson was 78 feet below the river.Washington spent many hours in the caisson, and he got a disease, called caisson disease, nowadays called the bends. Washington never returned to the bridge. From then on his only view of construction was through binoculars from his bedroom window. Work continued, thanks to Washington’s wife Emily (Warren) Roebling. She carried his instructions to the men on the bridge and brought him progress reports. She talked with him about the work and became involved in making important decisions. In many ways she took over for him. It would have been especially hard for Emily. At that time, women never worked on c...
