When last did it occur to you that New York is pretty much an archipelago? Apart from movies that mostly ignore the waters as they highlight all buildings in New York City, what other excuse do you have? Well, let me answer that – none. This is because I’m about to run you through famous bridges that stretch over the Beautiful waters of New York.
New York’s map shows it as a city with at least 19 rivers and 17 lakes. This number might look small in the grand scheme of things until you find out that the geographical constituencies of New York are interconnected through a network of about 2,000 bridges! If New York is adorned with these many bridges, you’ll agree that the least you can do is know the most popular of these numerous bridges. This is so you can share a stronger connection and have a consciousness of these bridges whenever you see them or go across them.
THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
Location
As indicated by the map, Brooklyn Bridge is a suspended bridge that is located in New York, NY 10038, USA. It is one bridge so popular that it gets about 4000 visitors from all parts of the globe on a daily basis. It is a particularly famous bridge since it connects two major parts of the city: Manhattan and Brooklyn.
History
This City bridge seems to be a rather ancient bridge as it was built in the 19th century and building it cost just $15 million at the time (that amount is well over $309 million today). This project majorly started with an architectural structure signed by John Augustus Roebling, and it was completed by his son, Washington Augustus Roebling. What’s more, is that it took about six hundred laborers to put it over the East River in 14 years. In these 14 years, about 24 workers lost their lives while building. Considering the excellent structure of the bridge, as well as its strong durable frame, one would think it would require more money, time, and efforts to make such a huge project a success. In 1984, a man particularly led 21 elephants over the bridge, to show how strong and durable it is.
Tour
Taking in the intriguing sight of this bridge is not something to do while speeding across it in a car. It’s preferable to take a stroll or ride a bike at most. Rather than entertaining thoughts of passing out on the bridge, you should assure yourself that walking through a bridge that is 6000 feet long is not impossible after all. You can take on the journey from the end in Manhattan, particularly at park row and center street. If you prefer to pick it up from Brooklyn, then you can use the walkway at Carman Plaza East or the one stands where Tillary Street and Boerum Place overlaps. You have to be very deliberate about sticking to the walkway or your lane, as the bridge conveys about 150,000 people and vehicles on a daily basis. You don’t want to upset the order of things on the bridge.
THE MANHATTAN BRIDGE
Location
The Manhattan Bridge is another suspension bridge in NYC. Just like the Brooklyn Bridge, it also crosses the East River in New York. This time, it connects Manhattan to Brooklyn at Canal Street in Manhattan and Flatbush Avenue Extension in Brooklyn.
History
This bridge in New York City was designed by Gustav Lindenthal, Nichols, Modjeski and Leon Moisseiff and built by the Phoenix bridge company. The foundations for the towers were laid in 1901 and by 31st of December 1909, the bridge was officially opened to traffic. Though it is the third bridge to be suspended across the East River, it was the first one to be built according to the deflection theory. This theory basically postulates that bridges can be suspended on lightweight using suspension cables alone, as huge beams are not exactly necessary. True to this theory, the bridge has been standing for over a century without heavy beams for support.
Tour and outlook
The Manhattan Bridge is about 6,855 feet long and it conveys about 450,000 persons on a daily basis. The bridge is one that you can walk across. As you do so, get ready to have a beautiful view of the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor and Brooklyn Bridge.
THE WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE
Location
This bridge has one end on Delancey Street Manhattan and the other on Broadway Williamsburg.
History
This bridge is another one of the many suspended bridges in the city. It was designed by Gustav Lindenthal and opened to traffic in 1903. At that time, it made its mark as the longest suspension bridge in the world. It was also the first bridge to have all-steel towers. The design was inspired by the Eiffel tower. When it opened in 1903, the Williamsburg Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, with 7308 feet. It is also famous for being one of the last set of bridges to have lanes for carriage in NYC.
Outlook and tour
This 7308 feet bridge also stretches over the East River, linking Manhattan and Brooklyn. The bridge transits about 140,000 motorists, 92,000 transit riders, 600 bikers, and 500 pedestrians. The bridge has four vehicular roadways, and each one has two lanes. While two of the roadways are meant for cars, buses, and the rest, the other two roadways are subway tracks. The bridge also accommodates a walkway and a bikeway.
VERRAZANO NARROWS BRIDGE
Location
This bridge can definitely get a nomination for the award of NYC’s finest. This bridge connects Brooklyn to Staten Island.
History
The bridge was opened to traffic in 1964 and was a record-breaking one at the time. Being a double-decker bridge, it was the longest bridge in the world until 1983. The bridge
was built by a team whose senior partner was Othmar Herrmann Ammann. Milton Brumer also worked on the team as Chief Engineer. It also had a host of engineers on the team among which were Leopold H. Just as a design engineer, John West Kinney as construction engineer as well as Herb Rothman and Frank L. Stahl as project engineers. It took $325 million to make this bridge a reality. It is also important to state that the bridge was named after an Italian; Giovanni da Verrazzano who was the first European to explore the New York bay.
Outlook and Tour
This bridge is a beautiful one that ought to be more popular in NYC than it presently is. It’s quite unfortunate that most people in the City are not exactly conversant with this bridge since it holds a distant spot on the map. Another downside will be its lack of walkways and bikeways. You can only cross through its 13,700-foot length by car.
QUEEN’S BORO BRIDGE
Location
To locate this bridge on your map, search for Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, New York, NY 10044, USA
History
The Queen’s Boro Bridge might seem famous, but it is perhaps a victim of the familiarity syndrome. Since it’s a link that is popularly used to connect Queen’s from Manhattan, people of the City hardly hold any form of awe for the bridge. To cure this familiarity syndrome, let’s get familiar with its history. Also known as 59th bridge, the Queen’s bridge was completed in 1909 and was especially respected for it’s ability to carry heavy weight. The bridge’s initial structure came with trolleys that transported people into different areas of Queens. It also had car elevators at some point which took people to Roosevelt Island, right at the center of East River.
Tour and Outlook
This bridge is about 3960 feet so you can walk through the bridge. From Manhattan, you can start walking from the East 60th Street between First and Second Avenues, or at Crescent Street and Queens Plaza North if you’re walking from Queens. As you walk or drive through the bridge, you’ll get beautiful views of the Long Island City, East River, and United Nations Headquarters in the City.
GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE
Location
This bridge stretches over the Hudson River in NYC. The map shows it as George Washington Bridge, Fort Lee, NJ 07024, USA. It connects Manhattan to New Jersey
History
This bridge is the fulfillment of a 100-year-old dream! After hundred years of searching for a way to stretch a bridge access the vast Hudson River, the bridge was finally built from 1927 to 1931, as designed by Othmar Amman and Cass Gilbert. It in fact held cars and trains comfortably. It was later expanded in 1962.
Tour and Outlook
If this bridge is famous for anything, it’s the traffic. Though it has 14 lanes, it is in fact one of the busiest bridges in the world. In essence, trying to tour the bridge with a car might not be so enjoyable since you’ll be stuck in traffic the whole time. It’s better to walk through or bike instead.
There are many other awesome bridges in NYC, such as JF Kennedy Bridge, Hell’s Gate Bridge, Cantilever bridge, and other bridges that deserve a tour from you while you’re still in NYC.
