The Williamsburg Bridge (New York City, New York)

 road bridge, suspension bridge, 1903_construction, metro bridge

Said to have been inspired by the works of the eminent French architect Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the landmark Williamsburg Bridge is the largest of the three suspension bridges that span the heavily-navigated East River.

A gargantuan structure noted for its 35-story steel towers and ponderous stiffening trusses, the Williamsburg Bridge boldly reaches from Delancey Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to Marcy Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Designed by Leffert L. Buck and architecturally embellished by Henry Hornbostel, the bridge took seven years and $30 million to construct. Upon its completion in 1903, it became the longest suspension bridge in the world, supplanting a record held by the Brooklyn Bridge for the previous two decades. The first elevated train went into service on the bridge in 1905. Originally named Williamsburgh, the letter h has largely dropped from use though the original name plaque still bears the old spelling.

Williamsburg Bridge Bytes:

Construction commenced - November 7, 1896
Open to traffic - December 19, 1903
Total Length - 7308 feet
Length of the main span - 1600 feet
Length of each of the four cables - 2985 feet

Traffic direction flow for the four interior lanes is one-directional during the work week accommodating inbound traffic to Manhattan during the morning and changing to outbound flow for the evening.

Taken from NYCDOT: www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/bridges.html#william...
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