Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1904-01-14

One Of the greatest deeds evs
. wrought in stone and steel is N
new East River Bridge, formalI
opened. December last. Beside m
interest and admiration excited b
the building Of the first bridge tha
linked Brooklyn with Manhattan
this far more imposing climax of en-
gineering genius has passed almos
unnoticed, for two reasons,
Weaving these tremendous web,
OF steel over mile and halfof riv
er and shore. and swinging th,
crowded traffic of the greatest cit,
OF the land on slender cables around
which q man may clasp his arms, ar.
no longer novelty.
A fifty million dollar tunnel unde,
the Hudson River; a thirty five mil
lion dollar subway driven the length
oil the narrow strip of city packed
to suffocation; fifty million dollars
worth OF new railway terminals
one, two or three new bridges cost.
ing fifteen millions each-these only
arouse a furry of interest in New
York. It has no time to turn aside
for big things that would mark epochs
elsewhere.
The new bridge is forty per cent
wider and one-sixth longer than the
older Brooklyn Bridge, and the traf-
fic capacity is more than twice as
great or If 300, 900 can be crushed
across the old bridge In q day, then
nearly twO-thirds of a million will
be able to swarm across the greater
structure. Yet the cost OF the new
bridge is less by $500, 600, and the
time of building less than by FIVE
years. These facts mark the march
of engineering knowledge and expe-
rience in fifteen years.
The total length of the new bridge
is ZOO feet, a mile and a third OF
double-decked steel roadways soar
ing one hundred and thirty-five fee,
above tidevater, hung from steel
towers three hundred and thirty
five feet high. Four trolley tracks,
two tracks for elevated trains, two
driveways, two footpaths, and cy-
Gle path are laid in the one hundred
and eighteen feet OF width, three
times as wide as o cross-street of
New York. Twenty thousand tons
OF dead weight pull at the granite
anchorages before car or a passen-
ger crosses, compared with the IF
teen thousand tons of material striv-
ing to pull theolder Brooklyn Bridge
up by the roots.
Experts say that no possible strain
can break down the bridge, and tina,
when the old Brooklyn Bridge has
crumbled away and nothing is left
but the granite towers. the new
bridge will still be open for busi-
ness. Skeleton steel towers are
substituted for the granite monu.
ments at the ends Of the other bridge,
a seeming paradox when the Penn
sylvania Railroad is spending mil
lions to replace steel bridges by sol.
id stone to make more permanent
way. Much added strength is in
the four cables, which are eighteen
and quarter inches in diameter
against fifteen and three quarters
for the first bridge. The difference
is slight TO look at, but impressive
when seen beneath the steel jacket
ing which hides the most wonderful
and delicate achievement in all bridge
construction. Each of these forr
cables is made of 1856 separate
wires, each wire strung separately
across the East River, while one
hundred and forty men spun the
huge steel rope. This daring band
OF workmen bound twenty-six tons
OF steel wires into this cable web
each day, each wire thirty-five hun
dred feet long, and only three-six-
teenths Of an inch in diameter,
scarcely bigger than heavy picture
wire. Five thousand tons of steel
were fashioned thus into four cables
the thickness OF stout tree, and
the strength Of each little wire, test
ed beforehand, became part OF a
mighty harmony OF effort all pulling
together, yet the power to bear its
gigantic burden was no more than
the united endeavors Of thirty thous-
sand picture wires" :" The four
cables cost sl,4Oo. 900. - Coliier's
Weekly.