Litchfield enquirer., 1880-01-01
THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

interested in the progress of the great bridg
 nov>in process of construction betWeen thi city and Brook lyn, I shall endeavd in thi
 letter to give you some information regardinl | it's history, present condition and it's prospect
 of speedy completion. When we take int I consideration the vast magnitude of the worl and it's importance to the commercial weifar
 of the two great cities which it unites, w
 must realize that no intelligent person who as
 pires to keep abreast of the times can afford
 to remain ignorant of this the greatest engi
 neering feat of the age, if not of all previous
 ages. s
 At various times during the past twenty -fiv' years different projects for bridging the Eas River have attracted considerable attenti0l
 and numerous plans have been proposs l it was not until the year 1866 that the htAe ! took definite shape and charter was Gnt4f
 by the Legislature to the New Yor afl
 Brooklyn Bridge Company. Privileg va!
 thereby given the company to expend tl s9n
 of $5, ,0OO, GOO, of which $3. 900, 900 wato 10
 subscribed by Brooklyn as the greatesi8be3e
 ficiary of the work, $1, 800, 900 by New Folk,
 and the remainder by private stocking l Subsequently the cities assumed the Eodk
 holders contribution to ensure that tho Hofk
 should be permanently public one.
 The directors selected as chief 8peer Col. John A. Roebling and under his el cid1' supervision the plans were consummate& akA on Jans 3, 1870, the actual constructid I'll commenced. The first essential point as tf secure thoroughly solid foundations f the two great piers over which the cables the suspension of the bridge were to pass apd
 which were to stand close beside the 4ter's edge. It was found necessary to excav e te the depth of 45 feet on the Brooklyn4ide
 while, to gain safe foundation for the New York tower, the workmen were compel q to penetrate to the depth of 75 feet. ThiaE pork
 was performed by means of caissons. W in. mense hollow structures of wood and kpn,
 which were sunk by building upon the the
 masonry of the towers and gradually reni6ging from beneath them the earth and bou&iers. The labor in the caissons was very exhau<ting | owing to the great pressure of the atnospherf forced in by air pumps in order to expo the
 water, and many 8 man has to day c4nsti- | tuition broken down in this exscting setRlce. But the towers slowly arose before the ejea 0f the people of Brooklyn aad New York and, | in spite of the numerous adverse predictions, finally attained their full proportions de9ing the year 1876. Excepting the Tower of Babel l and the Great Pyramid, no more masiye structures have ever been reared by the hand of man. Each pier raises it's gigantic pTpor- tions from base of 168x102 feet to the taaRer- ing elevation of 278 feet above the w<fers edge, dwaring intoinsignifcance all the Eic- lures about it, yet such is the harmony H Us vast proportions, and so exact the symn tFy of each part, that, at first view, the ani5 ses. timent is one of disappointment. and conject- ures as to the height range from 100 to 15O feet. It is only after many visits that the magnitude of the dimensions grows gradually into realization, and the grandeur of the work is revealed in it's full significance. The enormous granite blocks of which the towers are constructed were foated from the coast of Maine on barges.
 The chief engineer died, but the work was continued by his son; and, although at times abandoned for lack of funds, has been unusu- ally free from accidental delays. The amount appropriated by the Legislature proved utter ly inadequate, and further appropriations have been obtained from time to time, making the total sum about $13,5OO, 900, though it is but justice to say that this amount does not vary materially from the first estimates of Col. Roebling.
 On March 29th, 1877, the first wire was carried across the stream, and the workmen were soon busily engaged in the construction of the four great cables which span the river, each 15a inches in diameter, and containing 5, 5,296 separate steel wires bound together in strands. The cables were completed some months ago, and the workmen are now em- ployed in the hazardous occupation of fasten- ing the strings which drop from the cables at intervals of six feet and are to sustain the pom derous weight of the 85 foot bridge, which will contain an elevated walk sixteen feet wide for pedestrians; while, below, the space will be devoted to tramways for the horse and elevated railroads, passages for carriages trucks, etc. Land bridge railroad which pro poses to carry passengers the length of the bridge in four minutes by means of cars pro- pelled by an endless wire.
 The exact distance between the towers is 1,595 feet-the longest single span in the world; from the entrance of the bridge in Brooklyn to the tower on that side, over the massive structures of stone and brick known as the anchorages, is 1.600 feet; the cores bonding distance on the New York side, 2,492 feet j; making the entire length of the bridge 5,987 feet, or more than 1s miles. The height of the center of the span is 135 feet above high water. sA@ sgAs
 To aid in the construction, foot bridge was thrown across between the summits of the towers; and, by dint of perseverance,, the ad- venturous may obtain permission to cross upon the narrow. ribbonlike pathway which sways at such dizzy height above the turbid waters of the East River. The trip across this frag- ile structure oa clear, bracing day affords a pleasurable and exhilarating sensation. As the walk is composed of slats but three feet long. fastened upon wire ropes with an inter- val of 2A inches between each slat and it's neighbor, the passage involuntarily suggests "reminiscences of that narrow bridge of Al Sirat over which deyout Mahometans believe that the souls of the departed must thread their perilous course towards the open gates of Par adise where the Houris welcome them with cheering song The faithful tremble but.pa in safety the heart of the unbeliever fails him and he topples over into the fearful gulf If the reward of the passage of our Al Serat" is not so great, it is yet we'll the risk and trouble; for upon. arriving at the summit, a nlf)et y,0pnficnuf TO y,s,,o ,,s. l;1, -. 6, t