Two bridges in New York City: Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge.

 

There are two main bridges in New York City.

One bridge leads to Brooklyn, the other to Manhattan.

MANHATTAN BRIDGE

The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that connects Manhattan to downtown Brooklyn. It is 6,855 feet in length. It was designed by Leon Moisseiff and the first car crossed it on Dec 31, 1909.

Subway tracks were added in 1908. It has four car lanes on the upper level (two go to Manhattan and two to Brooklyn) and the lower level has three car lanes into Manhattan, four subway tracks, a bikeway and walkway.

BROOKLYN BRIDGE

The first fixed bridge across the Hudson was the Brooklyn Bridge. It opened on May 24, 1883 and was at the time considered the worlds longest suspension bridge spanning 1,595.5 feet. It took 13 to 14 years to build at the cost of $14 million. The towers are built with limestone, granite and Rosendale cement.

There is a walking path, bicycle path and two car lanes. Over 20 people died building the bridge including the original designer, John Augustus Roebling. He died taking a compass reading while on the bridge. His son, Washington Roebling took over.

Even though it’s over 125 years old, it still carries 125,000 people and cars a day.