The Brunswick daily news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1903-1906, 1903-12-20
LARGEST BRIDGE
IN THE WORLD
-
1t was Opened Yesterday
with Appropriate
Ceremonies
THOUSANDS WERE PRESENT
Thirty Thousand Flags Were Used
In Decorating the Span, Some
of Them Fifty Feet in Length.
Electrical Display.

and little ships, tugboats and row.
boats, naptha launches and steam
launches, and scows and crafts OF ev-
cry conceivable size and character
swarmed in the East river opposite
the Brooklyn navy yard today and
screeched their whistles and fred their
guns to appris= all within hearing
that tie newW',.iar shure bridge. af.
ter an expenditure Q. O,t0O,000 and
eight years of toll, was at last an ac.
ccmDlished fact, 1t was o day OF iu-
Lilstion for New York in general and
for Williamsburg in pt rtieL lar, for the
people of the last named section of
the metropolis the completion of the
new bridge means freedom from the
dangerous crush they have been obli.
ged to contend with for years in cross
ing the old Brooklyn bridge.
The ceremonies attending the for
NAL opening We're simple but Impress
i've. The chief officials of the city,
together with the representatives Of
the federal government, army and
navy officers, distinguished engineers
and other invited guests, assembled
sin the center of the gigantic span
across the river and listened to- ora
tions appropriate to- the occasion de-
Elivered by Mayor Low, Bridge COM
missioner Lindenthal and Borough
Presidents Cantor and Swantstorm.
Commissioner Lindenthal made the
opening address, formally turning the
bridge over to the city. The speech
I OF acceptance was delivered by Mayor
ow and was the chief feature OF the
y Aaies. The completion Of the
-. es was marked by the boom
"a cannon and unfurling of flags
ghout the great length Of the
& aeture
The general public was not per-
znltted to cross the bridge today and
thls was avoided the possibility Of a
crush such as was witnessed at the
opening Of the Brooklyn bridge and
which resulted in the death of more
] than score of persons. But one road
way of the new bridge is entirely COM
pleted and this will probably be open
to traffic tomorrow or Monday. 1t
is expected that the other roadway
and the paths for pedestrians will be
ready within few weeks.
In general appearance the new
bridge seems much more massive than
the old Brooklyn bridge, but at the
same time it is much less graceful.
In length, width, heigth and the num-
Der of its promenades and trolley
track the new structure surpasses
the old
The Manhattan terminal OF the new
structure is at Delaney street, while
the Williamsburg end is at South
Fifth street. In the construction Of
these great terminals and approaches
whole blocks of buildings were raised
The length of the bridge between Its
terminals is 1900 feet, over one and
a. third miles The main span, from
the center Of one tower to that oi
the other, is 1900 feet long, The
width of the structure is 118 feet as
compared with IS feet, the width on
the Brooklyn bridge. The minimum
heigth above mean high water at piel
head lines is 1872 feet and its minimum
heigth for 200 feet on either side
of the center of the main span is 1Ss
feet The heigth of the cables ON The
top of the towers is 333 feet at theil
center. -, fia.ilL
Three thousand and forty-eight ton!
of steel have been used in construct
ing the towers, while nearly 1900
tons have been put into the great ap
proaches. In each of the suspension
cables, which are Is 3-4 inches in diam
eter, there are 1850 separate wires
these wires being $500 feet long ant
three-slxteenths of an inch in thick
ness. Six and one-half million fee
of timber were required to- construc
the bridge and the steel employees
amounted to 10000 tons. 1t was nee
essary to excavate l25,ooo cubic fee
of earth and to tear down severa
hundred building and houses.