Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - History Other The Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge In the winter of 1852, John Roebling and his 15 year-old son, Washington were riding a ferry boat across the East River from New York to Brooklyn. John Roebling was an engineer. His specialty was building bridges. As he looked across the East River, he could picture the bridge he wanted there. For years after that, John tried to convince people that his plan for a bridge across the East River was a good one. But most people thought it was nearly impossible to bridge the wide and powerful river. John knew it would be difficult. There were many problems to be solved. The bridge would have to be strong enough to withstand the swift currents and powerful winds of the East River. It could not get in the way of the hundreds of boats that traveled on the river every day. It had to be so high that the masts of tall sailing ships could easily pass under it. And it had to be long. The East River was nearly half a mile wide at that point. But John also knew about a type of bridge that could solve all the problems. It was called a suspension bridge. Every suspension bridge is different, but they all work in the same way. The roadway doesn’t rest on supports. Instead it hangs in the air, suspended from thick cables. Only two towers are needed to hold up the cables, and they can be placed far apart to keep the river open for boat traffic. Finally in 1867 The New York Bridge Company made John A. Roebling engineer. In just three months he produced all drawings, cross sections, location plans, preliminary surveys, estimated cost, took sounding, and wrote his proposal. In June of 1869 John finished the design for the bridge. He and Washington climbed out onto the end of a pier to determine the exact location of the Bridge. He was so intent on what he was doing that he ignored the whistle of an aproaching ferry. Washington shouted a warning but his father couldn’t move fast enough. The boat slammed into the pier, John’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 ½ 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 ½ 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 construction projects. She won respect of all the workers. They realized how important she was to the building of the bridge. The construction of the towers was very different. Every day thousands of people watched in amazement from ferries and docks as three tall cranes, powered by noisy steam engines, hoisted each huge stone block high into the air and swung it into position. The excitement mounted as the towers grew taller, since most buildings then were less than 5 stories high, the 25-story tower must have seemed stupendous. Once the towers were finished, the two anchorages were built. The heavy roadway pulls down on the main cables, but the anchorages hold them firmly and keep them from sagging. Each anchorage weighed 120,000,000 pounds. Next, thousands of thin steel wires were strung from Brooklyn to New York. It was called spinning cable. Bundles of wires were wrapped together to make four main cables. Each cable contained over 3,500 miles of steel wire, enough to stretch from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. This was the first that a bridge had been built with steel cables. Before that, iron cables, chains, or even ropes had been used, and there had been disastrous results. He chose to use steel because it is stronger than iron, another wise decision. Since then, only steel has been used in bridge construction. Although the men were skillful and very careful, accidents still happened. One of the most serious occurred when a strand broke loose. It whipped through the air, killing two men, and injuring others. Altogether, including John Roebling, 21 men died working on the Brooklyn Bridge. The towers and anchorages were finished. The four main cables were in place. All that remained to be done was to hang the roadway from the main cables. Steel suspender cables were used for this. The suspenders were attached at the top to the main cables, and at the bottom to steel floor beams. Then the beams were bolted to each other to make a strong, stiff roadway floor. Washington strengthened the bridge even more by adding extra cables called diagonal stays. Diagonal stays had not been in his father’s original plan, but Washington wanted to make sure that even heavy railroad trains could cross the Brooklyn Bridge safely. When it was finished, the bridge was six times stronger than it needed to be. Safety and strength were not the only things that John thought about when he designed the Brooklyn Bridge. He believed the people of New York and Brooklyn deserved a bridge that was as beautiful as he could make it. The elegant high arches of the stone towers, the graceful swoop of the main cables, and the pattern created by the suspender cables and diagonal stays made the bridge very lovely. John even raised the walkway above the level of the road so the pedestrians had a view of New York Harbor that was as breathtaking as the bridge itself. On May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bride was opened. Stores, businesses, and even the Brooklyn schools were closed for the day. People came from all over the country to be a part of the opening ceremony. Washington Roebling peered through his binoculars as Chester A. Arthur, president of the United States, walked across the bridge to meet Emily on the other side. That night, there was a great party in honor of the Roeblings’ beautiful bridge. Hundreds of thousands of people cheered for over an hour as fireworks exploaded from the towers. New York had never had such a celebration! Washington and Emily watched the fireworks from their bedroom window. After 14 years the long struggle was over. The Brooklyn Bridge was built. This became the “Eighth Wonder Of The World.” Bibliography: Word Count: 1318
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