Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1867-06-20
A GREAT WORK.
Bridging of the East River between
New York and Brooklyn. 4
From the New York World, ts

The last State Legislature passed two
bills providing for the construction OF
bridges between this city and Brooklyn, or
rather incorporated two companies for that
purpose. One of these is to connect the
lower portion of New York with Brook
Ign, and the upper section with either Wiz
liamsburg or Astoria. The latter company
in the erection of their bridge will have
the benefit of Blackwells Island to rest
their towers or piers, and thus secure a
much shorter span with less cost in con-
struction. The real bridge, and that in
which science will show its power, will be
that which connects New York with Brook
lyn proper. Thisiis the structure that will
overshadow and outrank everything else
IN the country. " -2H-ssesz ss'7sss
The committee on surveys, after an in
tereSting contest, selected John A. Roeb-
ling as engineer of the bridge. The ma
gchinery may, therefore, be said to be placed
in motion for the prosecution or rather the
commencement of this great work.ye Mr..
RR. is a Prussian by birth and education,
but has been SO long identified with the in
terests of this country that he is American
in his ideas and habits He is about sixty
years of age, and a man, of wealth., ? He
has one of the most extensive wire-work
establishments in the world at Trenton,
which he has built up while he has been
constructing suspension bridges, in this
country. Heis, in fact, the highest authori-
ty in the world on the question of suspen2
sion bridges-a position which hehas just
ly earned by deVoting all his time and tai
ents for the last twenty years to the subject
of suspension bridges He had charge of
the bridge at Niagara Falls, which was, at
the time, considered one of the greatest
achievements of engineering skill of the
age" He was also the engineer of the sus-
pension bridge at Pittsburgh, and his more
recent work was that across the Ohio at
Cincinnati, which is the longest span of
any that has yet been built in this country,
but not equal in extent to that contem-
plated by this company ey,<qa ton II al
r The exact location of, the bridge has not
yet been determined. Upon this rests the
question of length of the span of the sus-
pension portion The, point will unques-
tionably be selected which will prove the
shortest distance across the river That
point, according to the surveys which have
already been made, will secure the location
of the bridge, starting at the junction of
Main and Fulton streets, Brooklyn, and
running in direct line to the river to a
landing of the Fulton ferry, on the Brook
Ign side, or near what is known as Mars
ton & Powers coal yard. In front OF that
point, it is understood now, will be the
location on that side of the river The
shortest distance from. this point to the
New York shore will bring it to point in
the vicinity of Pier No 35 East river It
is altogether probable that the western
tower will be constructed somewhere be-
tween Piers Nos IS and SO.
| The charter of the company provides
that the center of the bridge shall be 1870
feet above the water in the river This
win make the point where it strikes the
shore so much above the ground that it
will be necessary to build bridge from a
half to three,q quarters of a. mile to gain
that Tise.a There are, Il therefore, but two
points where the ground is sufficiently
raised on the New York side to make
| the terminus practicable one is in Chat
ham square and the other Printing House
square. The bill provides that the ter
minus shall not be south of junction of
Nassau and Chatham Streets dnifo 80 80
The point most likely to be selected as
the terminus is at the junction of Nassau,
Franklin and Chatham streets, or in front
of the old Tammany hall bailding. 1t is
estimated that the bridge can be built
across from this point with span OF 1850
feet from center to center of the towers,
over which the cables are TO be suspended.
This is a longer span than any other bridge
in the world, and will therefore be a great
er achievement as well as furnish an addi-
tional test of the strength of works of this
kind. The length of the suspension bridge
at Niagara Falls is 821 feet from center to
center of towers that of the bridge re-
Gently completed across the Ohio river, at
Cincinnati, is 1867 feet from center to
center of tower. The span of the New
York and Brooklyn bridge will, therefore,
be at least 1893 feet longer than at Cincini
NATL II, it becomes necessary to select
any other location for the bridge except
that designated above, the length Of the
span will be increased. 98ol ,HoH4i 9lf1l. %
" Nodefnite plan has yet been agreed
upon as to the mode of constructing the
bridge aside from its suspension feature.
The width, the number of stories and the
number of cables all as yet in doubt
One of the duties of the engineer selected
will be to arrange the plans and make out
full estimates of costs and details until
that is done, no correct idea of the bridge
can be given .., ...-......,. 81. AIN nh
Several of the parties interested con
suited Engineer Roebling before he was
appointed, and itappears that he favors
only one story, or one floor bridge, and.
about seventy-five feet wide This width
approaches the limit beyond which it will
not be. safe to go more than four or five feet
in constructing bridge. In this plan it is
proposed to have three sets of cables-one
on each side and one down the middle of
the bridge The roadway to be arranged
in this plan as follows A sidewalk on
each side for foot-passengers, seven feet, in
width-both making IA feet devoted to foot
passengers Next inside of these walks
carriageway of 13 feet each, or rs feet com.
bined. On the side of this Carriageway,
which will be the space on each side of the
cables in the middle of the bridge, is space
for cars say about 16 feetieach, or 80 feet
in all. This leaves three feet out of the rs
for ratings and the cables in the middle of
the bridge. In this way Mr.. Roebling es
Inmates that he can provide for the accom-
mediation of 100000 people to cross the
bridge in day. .vTs
g The cars he proposes to have construct
ed on plan specially adapted to his serv-
ice, wide and long, and capable of accom-
modating 100 passengers each and so ar
ranged as to enable passengers to get on
and off more rapidly than any now in use. |
The propelling power to be stationary en- |
gines at each end, and an endless cable. /
The bridge rising from each end until it |
reaches the centre, the moment the car |
reaches the centre of the bridge it becomes |
in itself propelling power. 1t is estima-