The Brooklyn Bridge
A dream is to live. “The Brooklyn Bridge” by Elizabeth Mann illustrates the history of the creation of the Brooklyn Bridge and its challenges. The Brooklyn Bridge begins on the Fulton Ferry in the winter of 1852. John Roebling was an engineer, his specialty was building bridges. John Roebling had the great idea of creating a bridge to cross the East River from New York to Brooklyn. Many people thought it was impossible, and it took him 15 years to convince people that it would work. John says “The Ferry is not good enough.” However, building the Brooklyn Bridge required a lot of sacrifice and effort, it was not easy and John Roebling knew it; This essay will deal with the structural challenges that went into building the Brooklyn Bridge and the impact it caused on society.
A legendary story of engineering and an extraordinary family. John Roebling knew that building a bridge from New York to Brooklyn would be very expensive and very compromising, although he knew that this would be his biggest build. At that time, New York and Brooklyn were two different cities, separated by the East River. Today they are united in the same city called New York thanks to the idea of John Roebling to create the Brooklyn Bridge. According to “The Brooklyn Bridge” by Elizabeth Mann, “The bridge would have to be strong enough to withstand the swift currents and powerful winds of the East River.” (Mann 1996). John has studied the East River environment and knows he can’t go wrong. The bridge must be high enough for large ships to pass through easily, and it must be long. According to “The Brooklyn Bridge” by Elizabeth Mann, “When the construction was going to take place John died in a freak accident” (Mann 1996). Unfortunately, John Roebling dies and his son Washington who was very close to his father took responsibility for completing his father’s dream. He knew that he was the only one who could complete this dream because he lived it with his father.
Washington built foundations to support the bridge towers. Since it is built on the muddy bottom of the river the bridge would not be safe; foundations had to be dug by hand down to the bedrock. According to “The Brooklyn Bridge” by Elizabeth Mann, “He had built them on a solid surface. He had to dig down through the mud to reach bedrock” (Mann 1996). Washington looked for the safest way to plant the towers so that they would not have difficulties. One of the biggest construction challenges was building the foundations for the two support towers. To perform this function, caissons had to be created; this was a dangerous process that allowed workers to access the bottom of the river. On the other hand, two drilling rigs were totally destroyed due to a fire that occurred in one of the caissons. This left a lot of damage and deaths. Washington realized that “if the excavation was stopped before the caisson rested on a solid surface, the tower could tip over.” This was one of the causes for which Washington endeavored and began to study the ground under the caisson more thoroughly; discovering a solid area that would support the bridge tower. Further, it was the first time that a bridge with steel cables had been built. Mann says, “Before that, iron cables, chains, or even rope had been used, and there had been disastrous results. Bridges had collapsed because of weak cables.” (Mann 1996). Washington wanted to be sure that it had a stable structure. Washington does not want the
construction to be a disaster which uses steel cables that have higher performance and are stronger.
The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge was a challenging task that took years to complete. The Brooklyn Bridge is an amazing thing. At first, no one believed in John Roebling’s ideas; it was quite a difficult challenge that took the lives of many people. Many of the workers died working on the Brooklyn Bridge and many suffered major injuries. The bridge facilitated the mobility of workers descending from Brooklyn to Manhattan. John Roebling not only thought about the safety and the great impact that the bridge would have, but he also gave a good design because he believed that “the people of New York and Brooklyn deserve a bridge as beautiful as he could make it”. All dreams can be fulfilled as John Roebling did, you just have to fight to complete your goals.
Works Cited:
The Brooklyn Bridge. 1996. Elizabeth Mann. Structural challenges at the Brooklyn Bridge:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-brooklyn-bridges-builders-fought-fire-flood-and-death
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