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How the Bridge was Built
Considered one of the greatest triumphs of nineteenth-century engineering when it opened in May, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was built to provide a suitable all-weather link between the then independent and rapidly growing cities of New York and Brooklyn. The brilliant engineer John Roebling proposed a great suspension bridge, a pioneering structure in its use of steel which would leave the busy East River free of obstruction. When he died in an accident as the bridge was being surveyed, his son Washington was chosen to complete the structure.
Washington was totally disabled in 1872 by caisson disease (the bends) and could never visit the site again. His remarkable wife Emily became his chief administrative aide and enabled Washington to finish the project successfully.
1870
The Bridge Foundations
The majestic towers of the bridge rest on wooden foundations called pneumatic caissons. Each caisson is a giant bottomless chamber which was built on land and slowly sunk to the river bed exactly where the tower was to rise. Inside the chamber, workers excavated debris until firm ground to support the weight of the tower was reached. The caisson was then filled with concrete. |