Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-05-30

I1llGs put uISt III JD1ub VI SlRullChlC6-
was TO day dedicated to the use of the
people. Amid the. booming of cannon,
the shrill whistling OF Thousand steam
ers, and the plaudits of great masses of
citizens, the Brooklyn bridge was for
mally presented to the cities of New
York and Brooklyn The President of
the United States and the officers of his
cabinet, the governor of the state OF
New York aud staff, senators and repre-
sentatlves from many states and terrific
rleS. and the mayors OF both cities were
approving witnesses of the ceremony.
This evening a splendid bouquet OF rock
cts was sent up from the center of the
main span, and at the same time foun-
tains of silver and gold rain began to
play from the tops of the towers. This
was followed by a volley of shells, stars,
meteo1s, fiery serpents and rockets of
every description. Fire balloons were
sent up constantly and the air between
and above the towers was transformed
into a glorious sea of twinkIing, glowing,
blazing fires CT every conceivable tint.
The structure itself was lit up oy electric
lights.
The towers of the bridge are 2762
feet high. At the height Ct 118 feet
above high water mark each tower is di-
vided into three sub-towers by two ave-
nues 81 feet wide. These rise to q
height of 1909 feet, above which the
full towers rise 80 feet higher to point
where huge iron plates rest as a kind of
saddle for the play of the cables sup
porting the bridge and running back to
the anchor8ges on either side. The
Brooklyn tower was finished in May,
1875, and the New York tower IN July,
1876.
The bridge may be said to begin at
Chatham Square In New York and end
at the corner of Sands and Washington
Streets in Brooklyn, but the bridge
proper, the single span which consti-
tutes the marvel Of engineering skill,
stretches 1 ,5951 feet from tower to tower
and 3, 400 from anchorage to anchorage.
At the towers the bridge is lis eet
above high water mark and In the center
135 feet. The anchorages that
hold the wires are located $50 feet
inland from the towers on each side.
They are vast aggregations of stone, 119
feet by 132 feet at the base, 80 feet
above high water mark, and weighing
60. 600 tons each.
The bridge is held up By cables-four
huge punches Of wires, laid parallel and
bound together by an unbroken wrap
ping, also of wire. Each wire is an
eighth of an inch thick, and there are
5000 of them in each cable, making a
bunch or bundle about sixteen inches
thick. To bind them 1t was necessary
to arrange the wires In small parcels, 19
to q cable, and each holding 27S single
wires. These parcels or bundles formed a
continuous wire rope 200 miles long, which
was carried from anchorage to anchorage,
back and forth, 27S times. The ropes
when laid were bound together. and
then the several ropes were tightly
wound into one huge cable. In this
way four cables were made. The weight
Of the central span is 6, 740 tons, and
the estimated weight of a crowded
bridge, carts, people and all, is 1880
tons. These supporting cables must
therefore be capable of holding up s, 100
tons, and it is calculated that the length
wise pull in the cables becomes about
$1,000 tons. and their extreme
strength $4,000 tons. As the struc-
ture, now presents itself there are
five parallel avenues, about Is feet
wide. The outer two, nineteen feet
wide, are devoted to vehicles. and the
central road, fifteen and a half feet
wide, is reserved for pedestrians. On
either side of this elevated footpath is
an avenue for the use of surface cars,
one line going to Brooklyn, the other
coming to New York. It is intended to
keep the cars continually On the go by
means of 2 continuous chain, and once
on the passengers will not be able to
get off. Neither will they be permitted
to get on at any point, save the termini
Of the road.
The following tables give the length,
span, cables, and cost of construction of
the great bridge, together with a COM
parison with other great bridges of the
world:
Cons ruction commenced January 8, 1870.
Bridge completed 1888.
Length Of river span, 1. 595 feet inches.
Length Of each land span, $50 feet, 1850 feet.
Length of Brooklyn approach, gil feet.
Length Of New York approach, i, 562 feet 6
inches.
Total length Of bridge. 5. 989 feet.
Width of bridge, SIS feet.
Number of cables, 4.
Diameter of each cable, 1554 inches.
First wire was run out May 20, 1877.
Length Of wire in cables, exclusive of wrap
ping wire. Il. SCI miles.
Length of each single wire in cables, 3,5T9
feet.
Weight Of four cables, inclusive of wrapping
wire, 3,58875 tons.
Depth of tower foundation below high water,
Brooklyn, As feet.
Depth of tower foundation below high water,
New York, rs feet.
total height of towers above high water, 27S
feet
Clear height of bridge in center of river span
above high water, at 80 degrees Fahrenheit,
135 feet.
Height OF towers above high water, 119 feet
3 inches.
Grade of roadway, 81 feet in 100 feet.
Height of towers above roadway, 159 feet.
THE BRIDGE TOLLS.
Cents.
horse or horse and man............
horse and vehicle. ........... To
2 horses and vehicle. .............. -. 20