The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1909-04-08
GREENSBORO BRIDGE
IS NOW COMPLETED
A Great Structure Over a Mre
in Length
stretches From New York Over
Blackwelrs Island To Long Island

City
New York Especially. - The new
| Queensborough bridge CONNECTING
New York and Long Island City was
informally opened to pedestrians
and vehicles Tuesday. Thousands
of persons and long procession Of
automobiles gathered at either end
of the bridge, all anxious 10 be
the first over after Mayor George
b. Mcclellan, accompanied by sev.
eral of the city officials, had crossed
the 7,149-foot roadway in an auto.
mobile. A crowd of newsboys beat
everyone out but the mayor by run.
ming from Manhattan to Queens.
borough as fast as they could sprint
The formal ceremony of opening
the bridge will be held on June H.
A 100000 fund has been raised for
the celebration
Here are some figures showing
that in many respects the Queen.
borough bridge is the greatest of the
four structures spanning the East
River:
Total length of bridge, including
approaches, 7,749 feet.
Length of bridge proper, 3,724Ia
feet.
Length of river span west of is.
land, LISP feet.
Length of river span east of is
land, 9S4 feet.
Length of island span, $50 feet
Clear height above mean high
water, 1876 feet.
Height of towers above bottom
chord, 1855 feet.
Approximate total dead load, steel
paving, etc, 120,00O,000 pounds.
Maximum live load, 10000 pounds
per foot of bridge.
Hourly capacity, cars and prone.
made, $4,000 persons.
Location, from East Fifty-ninth
Street, Manhattan, across East River
and Blackwell's Island to Long Is
land City.
Type of bridge, cantilever.
The bridge contains four trolley
| tracks, two elevated railroad tracks,
| two floors, roadway SO feet wide
| wide.
Cost s2O,oOO,OOO.
Among the bridge builders, the
| greensboro is ranked second in size
to the greatest cantilever structure
! in existence - the Firth of Forth
( bridge in Scotland, with span OF
| LILO feet. With the Brooklyn and
Williamsburgh Bridges to keep it
company the trio constitute three
of the worlds greatest products of
the bridge builders art. Brooklyn
bridge has span of 1896 feet,
I while Williamsburgh surpasses it by
only five feet.
The surface lines and elevated
each have capacity of 10000 per-
sons per hour in one direction. The
bridge will furnish a direct and con-
venient route for vehicular traffic
from Manhattan to points on Long
Island, diverting traffic from the
East Thrty-fourth and East Ninety
second Street ferries to the new
structure.
When the Quebec bridge collapsed
there was alarm among the engi-
neers, as the plans of the two
bridges were fundamentally similar.
So work was stopped on the Queens
boro Bridge till il was ascertaincd
that the Quebec bridge fell through
fault in calculations, and that the
Greensboro calculations proved to be
all right upon revision.
Unlike the Brooklyn bridge, the
towers of which there are four-two
on Blackwell's Island, and one on
the New York and Long Island sides
are Of steel. They are rocking"
towers. That is, they are construc-
ted on a pivot so as to give" this
way or that with varying strains.
This is necessary because of the
expansion of the steel in summer,
and cont act on in winter. Annual
variation, IL is said, is about one inch
hnndrad foot Tho niarS
on which the towers rest are built
of stone, as are also the approaches,
but otherwise the bridge is steel
throughout. Consequently the ex-
pansion and contraction due to
change in temperature must be
figure. in hundreds of feet
Although formal opening of the
city's property will not occur until
June ~, when a great carnival and
pageant will take place, the struc-
ture, which has been six years in the
making, is now practically complete.
A few odds and ends. of course, still
remain to be attended to. The light
ing plant is not finished and there
are car tracks to be laid-to say
nothing of new coat OF paint In
which the bridge stands in imminent
need.
AS II stands-or, more properly
speaking, hangs-the huge cantilever
is decked out in coat of red, the
brilliant brick-red color which all
steel structures have to wear in their
infancy. The effect is striking, II
not beautiful, and is heightened be-
cause of the great quantitg of steel
used in the span. In bulk II sur
passes its downtown neighbors, the
Brooklyn and Williamsburgh bridges,
and for miles along the river front
the bridge Is the most CONSPICUOUS
thing in sight. From d stance
its lines give the impression of pow
er and tremendous strength.