Brooklyn Bridge
Walk towards manhattan! Mighty construction of stone and steel
The lengthy ramp of the Brooklyn Bridge ascends, the oldest bridge over the East River. The plans for the first steel hanging bridge in the world, which rests on two mighty piers about 40m/130ft over the water, were drawn up by the engineer Johann August Röbling, originally from Mühlhausen in Thuringia Röbling, Johann August. He died two years later from injuries incurred during a work accident. His son Washington Roebling continued the work. In 1872 he suffered from the bends after he left a caisson too soon, before the pressure had been equalized. His wife Emily took over the construction project; the partially lamed Roebling directed the work from home and watched through his telescope from the window of his house in Brooklyn. The bridge was inaugurated in May 1883 after 16 years of construction. It is 1,052m/1,150yd long without the ramps (the entire span is 2–3km/1.2–1.8mi). The walkway, reserved for pedestrians, runs 5.5m/18ft above the six-lane street, from which walkers, joggers and cyclists have an impressive view of Manhattan with its skyscrapers and of the South Street Seaport as well as the Upper Bay with the Statue of Liberty in the distance, especially in the evening; at night the bridge is seen as an impressive string of lights between Brooklyn and Manhattan.
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