The Significance of Brooklyn Bridge

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BROOKLYN BRIDGE

The Brooklyn Bridge has played a significant role in New York’s history. The building of the bridge required hard work and constant efforts by its designer and workers to complete it. It is the oldest suspension bridges in United States and was the first steel-wire suspension bridge in the world. Today 137,500 vehicles drive the bridge daily and over a million people walk or bike across the Brooklyn Bridge annually. As a matter of fact, The Brooklyn Bridge not only connects two independent cities to commute on daily basis also a helpful source for getting  jobs  and residency in two connected cities.

        The making of the  Brooklyn Bridge started. when a man named John Roebling came up with the idea for the bridge in 1855. when he became frustrated while waiting for a ferry.. He found work as a civil engineer. He quickly came with idea of making bridge. He completed his first major bridge in 1855, which was the Niagara River Gorge Bridge. After several more successful projects, According to Academichelp.net Roebling began to lobby influential people in New York for a bridge he had designed to cross the East River. In 1867, an act was passed to raise funding for the bridge and two years later, the design for the Brooklyn Bridge was approved. The same month the plans were approved, Roebling’s foot was crushed by a ferry and he soon after died of tetanus. His son, Washington, took over and ground was broken on the bridge on January 3, 1870.. Later, Washington Roebling became a victim of caisson disease which left him paralyzed so, his wife Emily Roebling step in and spend next eleven years’ as his assistant and supervisor of the construction of the bridge.”

Furthermore, On May 24, 1883, Brooklyn Bridge was opened for public and thousands of people visited but the Washington Roebling couldn’t attend the opening ceremony because of his sickness. So, the American President Chester A. Arthur and New York’s mayor Franklin Edson visited to him for shook hands. According to the Brooklyn Bridge Facts-summary on the first day after opening ceremony 1,800 vehicles and 150,000 people crossed the bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge was constructed much stronger that it doesn’t need to be tested. Ironically, there was no equipment existed to measure the aerodynamics of Bridge.

Brooklyn bridge is a great achievement which helps people to travel across Manhattan to Brooklyn, producing new job opportunities and help in growing the economic value of New York city. Before the development of bridge these cities are disconnected. It was difficult for people to travel across these cities and very time consuming. According to BrooklynBridgeworld.com “The Brooklyn Bridge transformed Brooklyn into a borough of New York City and increased Brooklyn's population from 580,000 inhabitants to 1 million over the 15 years since it was opened. The bridge solved the problem of the lack of housing on the narrow island of Manhattan as people are now able to live in their homes in Brooklyn”. Moreover, due to the lack of transportation to cross the river people more likely to stay on Brooklyn and Manhattan.. They only have specific jobs. It was difficult to trade from one side to other side of the region. Shortage of jobs in cities lead compact the economy. By the same token, housing issues raised in Manhattan. People required more space to live. In some ways, the constructing of Brooklyn Bridge beneficial to resolving some issues.