History of Hell Gate Bridge in New York City Email a friend DOES this bridge look familiar? Nope, you’re not looking at the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. This is her sister, New York City’s Hell Gate Bridge, which crosses the East River and connects Wards Island to Astoria, Queens in Manhattan. But anyone thinking the architects behind the beautiful arch bridge, Gustav Lindenthal and Henry Hornbostel, must have taken a sneaky trip Down Under for inspiration, think again. The Hell Gate Bridge was actually completed in 1916, well before the Harbour Bridge in 1932. The striking similarities are no coincidence though. When Australian engineer J.J. C Bradfield and his team were looking at possible designs for a bridge across Sydney’s harbour, this 17,000 foot-long beauty stood out and eventually became the inspiration for one of our most well known and photographed landmarks. England also has their very own version, the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, which was designed by Mott, Hay and Anderson, who based their model on both the Sydney and New York structures. Hell Gate Bridge, which connects Astoria, Queens, and Wards Island in Manhattan, NYC.

Picture: istockSource:istock Sunrise over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.Source:News Corp Australia The iconic Tyne Bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, 2015.Source:Supplied The Hell Gate Bridge, constructed using around 20,000 tonnes of metal, was the longest single-arch bridge span in the world when it opened and a civil engineering marvel in its own right. It was said to have been over-engineered so that sceptics believed it would actually stand. Because of this, Discover magazine famously declared a decade ago that the structure will be the last New York City bridge to fall after humans are gone from the earth, outliving every other span in the harbour by nearly a thousand years. For years the bridge created a vital connection between New York and New England for both freight and passenger traffic. So prominent was the four-track bridge that it became a target for Nazi demolition experts during World War II as part of Operation Pastorius, a failed German intelligence plan for sabotage. Film lovers might recognise it from 1973’s Serpico, where it provided the perfect imposing backdrop in a crucial scene in Sidney Lumet’s biopic starring a young Al Pacino.

It also makes an appearance in 1991 film Queens Logic. Al Pacino in an iconic scene from Serpico, 1973.Source:Supplied The Hell Gate Bridge, pictured in the 1930s, is still considered to be one of the world's strongest bridges.Source:Supplied Originally painted Hell Gate Red and repainted in 1996, the bridge has faded over time and is now a discoloured patchwork of pink, beige and brown. With the popular tourist attraction turning 100 this year (in September), Queens officials are calling on national railroad service Amrak to give her the ultimate birthday present, a fresh coat. “Given the significance of this year in the history of the bridge, and Queens’s burgeoning identity as a premiere tourist destination, we believe that the time is right to turn Hell Gate into another jewel adorning New York City’s waterfront,” elected officials have argued as the centennial approaches. Bridge Climb Sydney1:29 Absorb a 360 degree panorama as you journey to the summit of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Video: Bridge Climb Sydney September 30th 2014 Sydney Harbour Bridge Mathematics | Passy's World of Mathematics Passy's World of Mathematics Posted on October 13, 2012 by Passy Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics The Sydney Harbour bridge is a magnificent structure of mathematical genius, located in what has to be the world’s most beautiful city. In this lesson we look at the mathematics associated with the Sydney Bridge, including deriving the Quadratic Equations for both the lower and upper parabolic arches of the bridge. We then look at some additional mathematics of the bridge, as well as some similar bridges in other countries. There is an accompanying worksheet of our labelled measurement photographs, for teachers to set their own mathematics classes the task of calculating these equations. (See the “Free Gift to Subscribers” section at the end of this lesson for details).

Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics (Click the above image to enlarge to full size) Our approach to this problem was to use a photo we had taken of the bridge, and by making measurements on the photo in pixel units, (using Adobe Fireworks), scale the photo and obtain some (x,y) values to work with. The “Scale Factor” was derived by knowing that the real life span distance of the roadway below the arch was 503 meters, and then comparing this with the number of pixels (or dots) on the photo for this span. As shown above, this enabled us to then establish the following key values: Vertex Turning point is located at (h,k) = (251.5, 118) Three other (x,y) points on the arch are: (323,108) and (394.5,80) and (503,0). For any inverted Parabola graph, there is a standard equation that uses the (h,k) vertex, and the “Dilation Factor” of “a”, to determine the value of any (x,y) point on the Parabola graph.

The “Dilation Factor” value relates to how much the standard y = x squared parabola shape has been stretched or compressed. This standard quadratic equation is as follows: Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics For the Bridge, we have the vertex value, and we have some (x,y) values, and so all we need to do is determine the “a” Dilation Factor value. This can be done as shown below: Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics Substituting back into the standard equation, we then have the equation for the lower arch of the Bridge as the following: Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics Note that we have rounded off the Dilation Factor (“a” value) in our Equation to be 0.00188. This means in subsequent checking activities which follow, we did have to round off or truncate some “Y” values. For better accuracy, the exact value of a = 0.001880501 can be used.

We checked the above equation, by substituting the (x,y) values (323,108) and (394.5,80) and found that the equation is true in both cases. As a final visual check, we graphed our equation using the free online software at “Rechner Online”, and found that the graph shape does match that of the bridge. Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics (Click the above image to enlarge to full size) Note that we did have to transform the equation into the graphing form equation shown on the screen capture above, by fully expanding the turning point form, which cancelled out the 118. We then superimposed our bridge photo over this graph, which confirmed we have a perfect fit: Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics Upper Arch Parabola Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics The Upper Arch of the Sydney Harbour bridge is a flatter parabola than the lower arch. The Upper Arch is a Parabola in the main section, but then curves in a reverse parabolic shape towards its two end sections.

Shown below are our pixel to meter converted measurements for the upper arch. Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics (Click the above image to enlarge to full size) Using the same mathematical methods as we applied to the lower arch, we have determined the equation of the upper arch as follows. Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics Strength of the Harbour Bridge The parabolic shape and hanging roadway gives uniform distribution of the massive weight of the bridge. The bridge also has extensive triangulation to give it rigidity and strength. Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics In the cross members of the Bridge, there is also triangulation within the side beams of the main triangles. This creates maximum strength while minimizing weight. Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics Even under the bridge, and all the way along the sides, there is continual triangulation of the structure.

Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics Bridge Facts and Figures Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics The following websites have some great photos of the bridge being built in the 1930’s, as well as plenty of mathematical facts and figures. For example, the surface area that requires painting is equal to about the surface area of 60 sports fields. During the building of the bridge, 272,000 litres of paint were required to give the Bridge its initial three coats. This would be enough paint to paint around 50,000 bedrooms! On hot and cold days the two main arches may rise or fall 18 centimetres due to heating or cooling. There are hinges built on the bases of the bridge to cope with this. Building of the Bridge A brilliant Engineer called Dr Bradfield designed and project managed the build of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Not only did he champion its concept and funding, he saw the “Hell Gate” Railway Bridge in New York in the 1920’s (completed in 1916 and almost identical in design to the Sydney Harbour Bridge though smaller) and quickly changed the specification to create a similar design for Sydney. Had he not done so, the previously accepted design would have been built, which was quite ugly, and a very ordinary suspension bridge in comparison to the marvel we have today. The following is a great historical video of the building of the bridge. During the bridge construction, each half arch was held back by a series of cables anchored in tunnels carved in the rock. There were 128 cables on the southern shore supporting the southern arch and 128 on the northern shore. Read more about these cables and do some mathematics on the forces they contended with at the following link: Locating the Bridge Pylons Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics “One of the most critical tasks carried out before construction began was the survey that determined exactly where each of the main bearings was to be located. This was carried out using surveying equipment and a process of triangulation from a set baseline.

The survey, using a theodolite, was based on set survey marks at Mrs Macquarie’s point (G), in the grounds of Government House (A, B, E and F), on Kirribilli Head (H) and in Lavender Bay (J). The triangulation process allowed the centreline of the proposed Bridge (C, D) to be located precisely, and from there the position of the main bearings was set. In fact two different surveys were carried out, one by Dorman, Long & Co. Ltd. surveyors and the other by NSW Public Works Department surveyors. Each survey had its own baseline (AB and FE) and the resulting measurements were averaged to ensure a high level of accuracy.” Read more by clicking the link below. Other Sydney Style Bridges Image Copyright 2012 by Passy’s World of Mathematics Imagine the shock Passy got two years ago while on top of the Empire State Building in New York City. There he spotted the above sight of the pink bridge which looked identical to the Sydney Harbour Bridge! This New York bridge is a rail bridge called the “Hell Gate Bridge”, which was built before the Sydney Bridge.

It is in fact this railway bridge which inspired Dr Bradfield’s design of the Sydney bridge. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is 60% larger than Hell Gate. Although not the longest arch span in the world, Sydney’s weight, width, and load capacity are greater than the world’s other major arch bridges. Sydney Bridge was designed more than 85 years ago but has still not reached its maximum loading capacity. The Bayonne Bridge is another steel through arch bridge in the USA, which connects New York state to New Jersey Image Source: It also resembles the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but was built after Sydney, and is longer and narrower than the Sydney Bridge. The Runcorn Bridge in the UK was built in the early nineteen sixties, and is also a Sydney look-a-like steel through arch bridge. Image Source: The Tyne Bridge (also in the UK) is a lot like the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but not nearly as big. Image Source: It is erroneously thought by many people that the Sydney Harbour Bridge was a copy of the Tyne Bridge. Information from the UK’s BBC website confirms that the much smaller Tyne Bridge was actually copied off the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

“Sydney was first to start work on its bridge and provided the template for the Tyne Bridge. The Tyne Bridge was designed by Mott, Hay and Anderson who based their design on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This in turn was derived its design from the Hell Gate Bridge in New York. It’s long been thought that the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia was based on the Tyne Bridge. This is not the case and a quick look at the dates proves the case. Work started on the Sydney Bridge before building began on the Tyne Bridge. The confusion arises because the Sydney Harbour Bridge took longer to complete due to its larger size. The Sydney Harbour Bridge finally opened in 1932, three years after the Tyne Bridge.” Minecraft Sydney Harbour Bridge The following video shows a “Minecraft” reproduction of the Sydeney Harbour Bridge. There isn’t all the detailed triangulation, but the basic parabolic structure is a very good look a like. Also notice in the build that there are less horizontal blocks at the beginning of each arch, and then progressively longer rows of horizontal blocks towards the top. This demonstrates the changing gradient properties of the parabolic shape quite well.

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To find out exactly how free subscription works, click the following link: How Free Subscription Works If you would like to submit an idea for an article, or be a guest writer on our website, then please email us at the hotmail address shown in the right hand side bar of this page. Feel free to link to any of our Lessons, share them on social networking sites, or use them on Learning Management Systems in Schools. Enjoy, Dave Frieder Gallery. Copyright Dave Frieder ( ) The Hell Gate Bridge (originally the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge or The East River Arch Bridge) is a 1,017-foot (310 m) steel arch railroad bridge between Astoria in the borough of Queens and Randalls and Wards Islands (which are now joined into one island and are politically part of Manhattan) in New York City, over a portion of the East River known as Hell Gate. The Bridge is used by Amtrak and by some CSX, Canadian Pacific, Providence & Worcester Railroad, and New York and Atlantic freight trains. The bridge and structure are owned by Amtrak, part of its Washington, D.C. to Boston electrified main line known as the Northeast Corridor.

Metro-North Railroad trains may one day run on the bridge. The bridge is also part of the New York Connecting Railroad, a rail line that links New York City and Long Island to the North American mainland. The Hell Gate Bridge runs parallel to the Queens span of the Triborough Bridge, which connects Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan, and drivers can see the length of the bridge just east of the roadway. The great arch bridge is the largest of three bridges, along with more than 17,000 feet (5.2 km) long of approach spans and viaducts, that form the Hell Gate complex. An inverted bowstring truss bridge with four 300-foot spans crosses the Little Hell Gate (now filled in); and a 350-foot fixed truss bridge crosses the Bronx Kills (also now filled in). History The bridge was conceived in the early 1900s as a way to link New York and the Pennsylvania Railroad with New England and the New Haven Railroad. Construction was overseen by Gustav Lindenthal, whose original design left a gap of 15 feet between the steel arch and the masonry towers.

Fearing that the public assumed that the towers were structurally integral to the bridge, Lindenthal added aesthetic girders between the upper chord of the arch and the towers to make the structure appear more robust.[1] The original plans for the piers on the long approach ramps called for a steel lattice structure. The design was changed to smooth concrete to soothe concerns that asylum inmates on Ward's and Randall's islands would climb the piers to escape. [2] The engineering was so precise that when the last section of the main span was lifted into place, the final adjustment needed to join everything together was half an inch. The bridge was completed on September 30, 1916. It was the world's longest steel arch bridge until the Bayonne Bridge was opened in 1932. The bridge originally carried four tracks, two each for passenger and freight, but one freight track was abandoned in the mid-1970s. At one time, all tracks were electrified with the NH-PRR standard 11 kV 25 Hz overhead catenary; the passenger tracks since 1917, and the freight tracks from 1927 to 1969.

In 1996, the bridge received a facelift, including its first comprehensive paint job in 80 years. It was painted "Hell Gate Red," a dark, natural red. Trivia Was a target for Nazi demolition experts during World War II as part of Operation Pastorius. Is a centerpiece of the 1991 film Queens Logic. Is prominently featured in the 1973 film Serpico. Was the inspiration for the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia Would be the last New York City bridge to collapse if humans disappeared, taking a least a millennium to do so, according to the February 2005 issue of Discover magazine. Most other bridges would fall in about 300 years. [3] Was offered in miniature by famous toy train maker Lionel, the toy version being significantly 'abridged' due to the enormous size of the prototype. Today, a lesson in shameless grandeur and simplicity. The University of Houston's College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them. We call the confluence of the Harlem and the East Rivers in New York City Hell's Gate. Dramatic, I suppose, but why not!

A bridge opened over Hell's Gate in 1917. It's an arch of iron girders. The arch thickens at each end. It thins toward the center. You get a feeling of buoyancy looking at it. Othmar Ammann, who designed the bridge, caught Hell for it. This, says writer Christopher Bonanos, was an age of ornament, gravity, solidity, and dignity. Ammann's design was imperfect in some ways. But its simplicity, lightness, and freedom signaled a new era in design. Ammann had finished an engineering degree in Switzerland in 1902 and had come here soon after. Now -- in 1930 -- he was hard at work on two really grand bridges that're sure to carry his name far into the 21st century. One was the Bayonne Bridge -- an expanded version of his Hell's Gate triumph. It's a huge graceful arch of open structural steel. The other was the longest suspension bridge up to that time. It's the George Washington Bridge with its 3500-foot span. The George Washington Bridge also has open structural steel towers.

At first they were to've been faced with stone, but the Depression required cost cutbacks. Had Ammann meant all along for that great steel span to stand naked at the north portal of New York City? He never would say. Whatever Ammann's intentions, the outspoken modern architect Le Corbusier called it the most beautiful bridge in the world. Meanwhile, Ammann kept tying New York to land. He built the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge. He built the Throgs Neck Bridge. When Ammann died at 86 he'd just finished his last masterpiece. For the second time he'd given us the world's longest suspension span. The Verrazano Narrows Bridge is a plain study in grace, with a 4300-foot central span. He created a radical new deck design for the Verrazano Bridge to keep it from galloping in the wind. The deck thins toward its edges to guide wind around it. Ammann's work was meticulous. The towers are an inch and a half wider at the top to keep gravity's force dead-vertical -- despite Earth's curvature. So this remarkable 19th-century engineer left his stamp on bridge-building down through the 20th century.

He helped shape a new attitude toward design. Ammann was born ten years before the Eiffel tower was built. And he showed us the steel at the heart of design. Writer Bonanos says that he expressed structure without shame. It is that shameless joy in naked function that touches us. It is the simple grandeur of open steel against the sky. John Lienhard The massive beauty and advanced technology of the Hell Gate Bridge (more properly the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge) contrast sharply with nineteenth-century descriptions of the channel that it spans. Named for the dangerous rocks and perilous waters at the confluence of the East and the Harlem Rivers, Hell Gate is surrounded by Manhattan, Queens, and three islands: Wards, Randalls, and Roosevelt (formerly called Blackwell's, then Welfare).

Philip Hone (1780 -1851), writing of an 1844 visit there, described "the delightful scene: the clumps of fine old trees clothed in the gorgeous foliage of autumn, the lawn still bright and green, the mild, refreshing breeze, the rapid waters of Hell Gate covered with sailing vessels and steamboats -all combined to present a picture of consummate beauty." The construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad tunnel under the Hudson River and into Pennsylvania Station replaced the time-consuming and expensive water route for New York -bound passengers and freight from New Jersey and points south. Hell Gate Bridge -from the Sunnyside Yards in Queens across the Hell Gate to Wards Island, then across the Little Hell Gate to Randalls Island, and then over the Bronx Kill to the Bronx -was built to complete the linkage of the New York, New England, and Long Island rail lines with the Hudson River crossing. Together, tunnel and bridge created a direct route over the Bronx Kill to the Bronx. The longest, heaviest, strongest steel arch bridge in the world at that time and the only four-track long-span railroad bridge ever built, Hell Gate Bridge marks the apogee of American railroad power and prosperity.

Government regulation, poor management, and a proliferation of alternative methods of transportation -private cars, trucks, buses, and airplanes -eventually undercut the railroad's primacy. Engineer Gustave Lindenthal (1850 -1935) and architect Henry Hornbostel (1867 -1961) had previously been responsible for the redesign of both the Manhattan and Queensboro Bridges. Lindenthal, who served in 1902 -1903 as Commissioner of Bridges, firmly believed that a bridge could be both technologically sound and aesthetically pleasing. Despite his accomplishments and success, Lindenthal probably had no formal training in his chosen profession but apparently possessed "the extraordinary intelligence, energy, and self-discipline that enabled him to teach himself mathematics, engineering theory, metallurgy, hydraulics, estimating, management, and everything else a successful bridge designer had to know." PROVIDING A MUCH-NEEDED RAILROAD CONNECTION: In 1892, Oliver W. Barnes, an engineer associated with Pennsylvania Railroad president Alexander J. Cassatt and bridge designer Gustav Lindenthal, conceived plans for the Hell Gate Bridge.

Cassatt saw the Hell Gate project - originally called the "East River Arch Bridge" - as an opportunity to bring rail traffic from Pennsylvania Railroad routes in New Jersey and points west through New York City to New England. The project was to also tie into the Long Island Rail Road routes, in which the Pennsylvania Railroad had a controlling interest. Meanwhile, Lindenthal saw the Hell Gate project as his chance to construct his Hudson River Bridge, a suspension bridge with a 2,800-foot-long main span that would have been the longest in the world. That same year, the New York Connecting Railroad was incorporated to help realize this plan. In 1904, Lindenthal, who oversaw the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge and the construction of the ongoing Manhattan Bridge and Queensboro Bridge projects, was chosen as consulting engineer and bridge architect by the Pennsylvania Railroad, which had just acquired the New York Connecting Railroad. Under these auspices, Lindenthal was engaged in a project to connect the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad in New Jersey, the Long Island Rail Road in Queens, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in the Bronx.

Although the project allowed Lindenthal to design the Hell Gate span, it would not include his long-sought goal: a great suspension bridge across the Hudson River. Instead, the Pennsylvania Railroad decided to use exclusive tunnels for rail traffic across the Hudson and East rivers. DECIDING UPON A DESIGN: The entire project, a 3.2-mile-long railroad bridge from Astoria, Queens to the South Bronx, was comprised of the following sections: Highlighting this project was the Hell Gate span crossing the Hell Gate (roughly translated as "beautiful strait" in Dutch), a portion of the East River with treacherous currents separating Queens from Ward's Island, an island that was used for a large state mental hospital. The steel-arch span, which measures 1,017 feet, six inches long, was the longest span of its type in the world when it opened. The four concrete towers that serve as portals to the arch bridge are 250 feet high. An inverted bowstring truss bridge over Little Hell Gate connects Ward's Island with Randall's Island, the former site of a correctional facility. This section comprises of four 300-foot-long spans with reverse arches, each separated by arched concrete piers.

The four concrete towers that serve as portals to the bowstring truss bridge are 155 feet high. (The Little Hell Gate has since been completely filled in by parkland.) A 350-foot-long fixed truss span crosses the Bronx Kills. This section was originally planned as a bascule bridge with 175-foot leaves. (Much of the Bronx Kills was filled in subsequent years by parkland.) The viaduct sections are supported by arched concrete supports. From end to end, the bridge measures 16,900 feet long. Prior to the selection of the current design, three competing designs for a bridge with an 850-foot main span over the Hell Gate were considered: a stiffened suspension bridge with eyebar chains, a three-span continuous truss bridge, and a three-span cantilever bridge. None of these alternatives were selected, not only because of the concerns posed by the dynamic loading of heavy railroad trains, but also because of the tight curve that was necessary to avoid the state hospital buildings on Ward's Island. The approved design provided the high clearance required for navigation across the Hell Gate, but did not require the long, straight approaches of the other alternatives.

Although its foundations would be more costly, the steel arch design was cost-competitive because it required less steel than the other alternatives. CONSTRUCTING THE HELL GATE COMPLEX: Lindenthal employed a staff of 95 engineers to calculate how the weight of the trains would be borne by various parts of the bridge, how individual steel members would be made and joined, how much masonry would be required, and how the different functions of bridge construction (for example, the location of bridge abutments vis-à-vis the alignment of the steelwork) would be coordinated. With other engineers performing the calculations, Lindenthal concentrated on the aesthetics of the bridge. Lindenthal also appointed Othmar Ammann, who would later achieve fame in building twentieth-century suspension bridges such as the George Washington and Verrazano-Narrows bridges, as assistant chief engineer. Ammann explained the significance that his mentor placed on the visual appearance of his bridge: Mr. Lindenthal conceived the bridge as a monumental portal for the steamers that enter New York Harbor from Long Island Sound.

He also realized that this bridge, forming a conspicuous object that can be seen from both shores of the river and from almost every elevated point of the city, and will be observed daily by thousands of passengers, should be an impressive structure. The arch, flanked by massive masonry towers, was most favorably adapted to that purpose. A great bridge in a great city, although primarily utilitarian in its purpose, should nevertheless be a work of art to which science lends its aid. An elaborate stress sheet, worked out on a purely economic and scientific basis, does not make a great bridge. It is only with a broad sense for beauty and harmony, coupled with wide experience in the scientific and technical field, that a monumental bridge can be created. Fortunately, the Hell Gate Bridge was evolved under such conditions, and therefore may be said to be one of the finest creations of engineering art of great size that this century has produced. By 1905, two competing steel arch designs were evaluated for the Hell Gate span. The first design, a "crescent arch" where the upper and lower chords of the arch meet at the anchorages of the bridge, copied the design of Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel's Garabit Viaduct in France.

This design was assailed because it appeared weak in comparison to the great height at the center of the arch. Another design, a flatter "spandrel arch," had the lower chord begin at the bottom of the anchorages, while the upper chord began at the top of the anchorages. The latter design, which was inspired by similarly designed bridges over the Rhine River in Germany, appeared more rigid, and was ultimately chosen for the Hell Gate Bridge. The Hell Gate Bridge used more steel than the Manhattan and Queensboro bridges combined. The chords were made of a recently developed material - carbon steel - that gave greater strength for its weight. The heaviest bottom chord sections weighed 185 tons. All of this steel was necessary to handle the heavy rail traffic of the day: the bridge was capable of carrying 60 locomotives at a single time. Lindenthal also played a role in the design of the tower piers, the caissons for which had to be sunk to a depth of 90 feet to reach solid rock. He adopted the initial tower design submitted in 1906 by consulting architect Henry Hornbostel, but with modifications.

The original design left a gap of 15 feet between the beginning of the steel arch and the masonry towers. Fearing that the public assumed that the towers support the bridge, Lindenthal added girders between the upper chord of the arch and the towers so that they would appear connected. The girders did not have any engineering significance, but they added to the architectural beauty of the bridge. Construction of the Hell Gate project began in 1912, two years after the first trains traveled under the Hudson River tunnels to Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan. With construction well underway by 1914, another change was made, this time to the viaducts leading to the Hell Gate span. The original 1907 plan called for steel girders and steel piers to be used, since Lindenthal believed that locally soft ground conditions, and the underground network of sewers and utility lines would not support an all-concrete viaduct. Concerns that inmates at the state institutions on Ward's and Randall's islands would climb the steel piers for their escape forced Lindenthal to use concrete for the viaduct piers instead.

The steel girders would be kept, but to deaden of sound of passing trains, the rails would be embedded by 14 inches of broken-stone ballast, encased in concrete. Toward the end of 1915, the two trajectories of the steel arches from the Astoria and Ward's Island anchorages met high above the Hell Gate. The arch bridge, the two smaller bridges and the viaduct were completed in September 1916. By 1917, the first Pennsylvania Railroad train - the Federal Express service between Washington and Boston - went over the Hell Gate Bridge, completing the first uninterrupted rail service between the two cities. When it opened in 1916, the Hell Gate Bridge was the longest steel-arch bridge in the world. It held that title until the Bayonne Bridge opened in 1931. DOUBLE-DECKING THE HELL GATE? In the 1920's, when the City of New York proposed the Triborough Bridge to connect Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx, Lindenthal, who did not want to spoil the view of his Hell Gate Bridge, devised an alternative design.

Instead of constructing what he called a "suspension bridge of cheap pole and washline architecture," Lindenthal suggested adding a second deck to his Hell Gate railroad bridge to carry five lanes of automobile traffic. The alternative plan also called for two spurs: one to East 102nd Street to provide direct access to Central Park, and another at East 116th Street. While he did not immediately call for a spur at East 125th Street - he believed that the area was already too congested - one was planned for construction at a later date. THE HELL GATE BRIDGE TODAY: The Hell Gate Bridge, which today has the 17th longest main steel arch span in the world, continues to play a central role in rail transportation in the Northeast. Only three of the four tracks are used on the bridge. The two south tracks carry Amtrak Northeast Corridor trains, while the north inner track carries CSX and Norfolk Southern (the owners of the former Conrail routes) freight trains. The north outer track is no longer in operation.

In the late 1980's and early 1990's, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who spent his childhood near the bridge in Astoria, lobbied to have the Hell Gate Bridge refurbished. While the nearby Triborough Bridge was constantly being maintained and repainted, the Hell Gate Bridge had not been painted since it opened in 1916, except by the skillful hands of graffiti artists. Since the bridge was deemed structurally sound by Amtrak president W. Graham Claytor, Jr., he saw little need for spending money for "cosmetic purposes." Buttressed by a 1991 article in The New Yorker on what Moynihan called "a great engineering miracle," Congress appropriated $55 million to repair and refurbish the Hell Gate Bridge. A unique color was even selected for the bridge paint: "Hell Gate Red." The refurbishing project was completed in the 1996. The Hell Gate Bridge [Archive] - Wired New York Forum Kris May 4th, 2004, 11:36 AM The genius of the Hell Gate Bridge lies in its massive yet dynamic arc, seemingly tossed up in the air by the towers and miraculously frozen.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge's looks strained and lacks that grace. TLOZ Link5 May 4th, 2004, 04:39 PM Sorry to digress, but which bridge was finished first? Did they have the same architect? ZippyTheChimp May 4th, 2004, 06:56 PM Gustav Lindenthal did not design the Sydney, which was built about 15 years after Hell Gate. To me, the differences between the Hell Gate and the Sydney are comparable to the differences between the Bronx-Whitestone and the Verrazano-Narrows, both designed by Lindenthal's assistant, Othmar Ammann. thomasjfletcher May 4th, 2004, 07:10 PM I guess you get attached through familiarity. I always thought of the Hellgate as a rather odd little runt of a bridge, but it does have a certain delicacy the Sydney one lacks. However, I do love our coathager still the best...!

May 5th, 2004, 12:50 PM Sydney Harbour Bridge 1932 Captain Francis De Groot caused controversy on the Opening Day of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Saturday 19 March 1932 when he attempted to prevent Premier Lang from opening the Bridge. De Groot, who was an active member of the Political Party - New Guard, believed that the only person to open a Bridge of such importance should be a member of the Royal family. He was dismayed when it was announced that Premier Lang would officially open the bridge. In De Groot's attempt to stop Lang from opening the Bridge, he arrived at the ceremony on horseback and positioned himself quite close to where the ribbon had been stretched. Just prior to Premier Lang arriving, De Groot galloped forward and slashed the ribbon with his sword. He declared the Bridge open in the name of the "decent citizens of New South Wales". Needless to say, De Groot was arrested and taken to a psychiatric hospital. He was later declared sane, but fined 5 pounds and charged for offensive behaviour in a public place. After the De Groot incident, the ribbon was tied together, and the ceremony went ahead.

clasione May 11th, 2004, 12:45 AM thomasjfletcher, those colorful pictures in your post where really nice.... Best I've seen for a while.... :lol: Lauren Loves NY May 11th, 2004, 01:59 AM thomasjfletcher, those colorful pictures in your post where really nice.... Exactly what I was about to say. I love that painted picture on the old postcard. clasione May 11th, 2004, 02:38 AM Everytime I look at them - The color is just so amazing.... :shock: karenpnyc333 December 14th, 2004, 10:39 PM I live in Astoria in the shadow of the Hell Gate Bridge, and Astoria is the Hell Gate Bridge. clasione December 14th, 2004, 10:43 PM Everytime I look at those pictures it's like I'm seeing them for the first time..... The night pictures ---- The quality of the images and the color is amazing - wish they werent copyright protected....

:cry: Scruffy88 January 29th, 2006, 09:22 PM what a beautiful bridge. Top 3 in the city. awe inspiring. the curve is perfect. the color- inspired. laurence March 21st, 2007, 12:58 AM I live In Sydney, our coat hanger (Sydney harbour bridge) has just had its 75 birthday Hells gate bridge was built by Gustave Lindenthal and finished on 30th September 1916 The SHB was built by John Bradfield but a lot of the Design was done by Ralp Freeman and is a copy of Hells gate it was finished on 19th March 1932 with the loss of 16 lives. I seem to remember seeing a smaller bridge in the north of England built around 1880, but can not remember its name? thanks Laurence matt.knights March 25th, 2007, 09:25 PM laurence i think the bridge u are thinking of may be tyne bridge, newcastle upon tyne uk.

it does have some similarities to hells gate and sydney harbour. it was completed 1928 which makes it younger than hells gate but 5 years older than sydney harbour. i grew up in newcastle australia 1.5hrs nth of sydney and i have always loved the harbour bridge. i first (i think this is right) saw hells gate bridge in tom cruises war of the world and was amazed at the similarities to the SHB. I saw a news item the other day for the SHB 75th anniversary and it said contrary to popular belief that its design was borrowed from the tyne bridge, the SHB design was taken from hells gate. matt March 25th, 2007, 10:25 PM ^ You get a picture with every bottle of Newcastle Brown. (Look inside the star.) Laone May 22nd, 2007, 06:35 PM I am new to NYC and live in the shadow of Hell Gate Bridge. I am wanting to cross it and was wondering if anyone can give info on how to get up into/onto it for film and photography. thanks.

May 22nd, 2007, 11:22 PM Forget about it... May 25th, 2009, 10:06 PM View from the north (click thumb nails)... 1. ( 2. ( 3. ( 4. ( 5. ( BrooklynRider May 25th, 2009, 10:10 PM Under the span.... ( 2. ( 3. ( 4. ( 5. ( BrooklynRider May 25th, 2009, 10:15 PM A sense of how massive the bridge is... May 25th, 2009, 10:22 PM View from the south... ( 2. ( 3. ( 4. ( 5. ( BrooklynRider May 25th, 2009, 10:26 PM Road piers to the east... 1. ( 2. My favorite of the east photos... ( NYatKNIGHT May 26th, 2009, 11:52 AM Excellent.

I've never actually been right up to its base. Great bridge. scumonkey May 26th, 2009, 12:10 PM It was a pretty cool bridge for vintage toy toy trains as well! meesalikeu June 21st, 2009, 12:05 PM I live in Astoria in the shadow of the Hell Gate Bridge, and Astoria is the Hell Gate Bridge. i'll say -- to put it in perspective here is what karenpnyc is talking about! and for more perspective, here is an annotated walking tour i did in 2006 of astoria -- the second link includes the hellgate bridge: astoria, queens pt 1 of 2: a real ethnic mash-up: astoria, queens pt 2 of 2: straight to hell: October 3rd, 2009, 03:42 AM TSTRONG October 20th, 2009, 04:07 AM I've got this picture of the Hell Gate Bridge, but can't find the photographer who took it or owns it. Can anyone help?

Thank you so much April 8th, 2010, 02:20 PM ( Picture of Hell Gate Bridge ( thanks to moacir ( and New York Pictures ( Derek2k3 June 10th, 2010, 11:42 PM needs a paint job. January 26th, 2011, 12:56 AM Hi everyone: I felt compelled to present this image: 12025 As you can see the original design for the Hell Gate Bridge of 1907 by Henry Hornbostel and Gustav Lindenthal resembles the Sydney Harbor Bridge even more than the final construction. I call your attention to the two tower buttreses at either end of the arch. Hornbostel's designed called for two headstone-like pediments similar to what is at either end of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. I can only surmise that J.J.C. Bradfield ( got the original plans for the Hellgate with these buttresses which he used for the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

(Please note that the photo of the drawing is from 'NEW YORK 1900' by Robert Stern, Gregory Gilmartin and John Massengale, Note to the administrator, if there is any copyright infringement please remove the picture.) joegoeny January 26th, 2011, 01:10 AM One more note, the bridge was completed in September 30, 1916. It would be entirely fitting to have a Centennial celebration. I would propose that an elevated walkway and bike path be constructed above the rail road so as not to interfere with the service. Of light weight construction such a walkway could easily be carried by this bridge. It would allow a pedestrian connection between Northern Queens and Manhattan that does not currently exist. And it would bring the communities that have lived under the shadow of this bridge into a more intimate contact and appreciation of it. Feel free to comment. Thank you, Joe Merry February 1st, 2011, 08:41 AM Randall's Island Bike Path To Connect to South Bronx Greenway Rendering courtesy NYCEDC The NYC Economic Development Corp.

is planning to create a new bicycle and pedestrian path on Randall's Island under the Hell Gate Bridge. The path will eventually connect the island to the South Bronx Greenway ( which is bringing bicycle access to the waterfront through a network of bike paths in SoBro. With so much hot air expelled over bike lanes in Brooklyn and Manhattan, it's nice to know the Bronx is getting some love, too! Of course, the virulently anti-cyclist editors at the NY Post took one look at this development and said, "Bikeway to hell!" But from what an NYCEDC spokesman told us, there's nothing hellish about it. Right now the only way to legally get to the island by bike is via the 103rd Street Pedestrian Bridge in Manhattan. But that bridge is closed during the winter months. (Also, it's currently being rehabilitated and won't open until at least mid-2011.) There are other pedestrian bridges, but they're technically for pedestrians only. Once complete, the Randall's Island bike network will bring the island closer to cyclists in the Bronx. The project is being funded by the city, with a budget TBD.

Kyle Sklerov at the NYCEDC tells us, "The construction of new bike and pedestrian pathways will provide increased recreational opportunities and improved access to Randallï¿½s Island. The pathways will provide visitors great opportunities to walk, jog, and cycle under the historic Hell Gate Bridge railroad trestle." September 19th, 2012, 06:26 AM Awesome. And everyone's on the correct side :). October 1st, 2013, 12:19 PM Happy Birthday, Hell Gate Bridge by Mitch Waxman Sheï¿½s 1,087 feet long, provides a very long island with a rail link to the continent, and was built as the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge. She was designed by Gustav Lindenthal, and is considered to be the most robustly designed structure in all of NYC. Famously, Discover Magazine once declared that she would outlive every other span in the harbor by nearly a thousand years (#.UkXsII5MZ4M). Modernity and common usage refers to her as the Hell Gate Bridge, and she lives in Astoria.

She opened for business on this day in 1916, and today is her birthday. A rail bridge, she spans the Hell Gate section of the East River between Astoria, Randallï¿½s Island, and the Bronx. There are four tracks up there, and she is operated and owned by Amtrak, although freight trains from CSX and others are regularly seen transiting through. Her approaches include just over three miles of elevated track which cut through Astoria and then across Randallï¿½s, where a couple of smaller bridges are found (crossing Little Hell Gate and the Bronx Kill) whereupon it enters the South Bronx. There was more steel used in the Hell Gate Bridge construction than was used in the Queensboro and Manhattan Bridges combined, some 20,000 tons of metal. Considered a vital strategic asset of the United States, the Hell Gate Bridge and the rather explosive history of the waterway it crosses were discussed in a Brownstoner posting which was offered back in August ï¿½ Hell Gate: A Bright Passage ( The bridge was completed on September 30th, 1916, but didnï¿½t open to traffic until April of 1917.

The top of the arch of the Hell Gate Bridge is some 305 feet over the water. When she opened, she was the longest arch bridge in the world. The steel was manufactured in Pittsburgh ( by the Carnegie Steel Company. The bridge is painted in a color called ï¿½Hell Gate Red,ï¿½ a pigment which has not exactly lived up to expectations ( Nevertheless, the old girl is ninety seven today, and we should all look so good at her age. Happy Birthday, Hell Gate. October 3rd, 2013, 01:53 PM That's red??!? Derek2k3 October 3rd, 2013, 11:56 PM It looks like the bridge hasn't been repainted since it opened. Shame. Maybe they can give it a centennial gift in a few years.

EastMillinocket December 23rd, 2013, 11:57 AM New York Daily News City project aims to make Randalls Island pedestrian friendly with new pathwayConstruction began Wednesday on a quarter-mile pathway that will offer streamlined pedestrian access to Randalls Island by 2015.BY JOEY SCARBOROUGH ( NEW YORK DAILY NEWSTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2013, 5:01 PM Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to enjoy the quarter-mile pathway connecting the South Bronx to Randall's Island. The project is expected to be completed by early 2015. It's going to be a lot easier to walk and bike to Randalls Island. The city started construction Wednesday on new quarter-mile pathway to connect the South Bronx and the underused East River island, began construction Wednesday. The $6.9 million project will add a safe pathway that runs from 132nd St. in Port Morris to Randalls Island. The path, which will be finished in 2015, will run under the existing Amtrak trestle, and over the Bronx Kill to Randalls Island.

The island counts 330 acres of recreational land including athletic fields, gardens, picnic areas and waterfront pathways, but they are not readily accessible by foot or bike despite the islandï¿½s proxmity to the South Bronx. ï¿½The Connector will provide a long-awaited direct link between the South Bronx and the hundreds of acres of parkland on Randalls Island,ï¿½ said City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, whose district includes Randalls Island and the South Bronx. jscarborough@nydailynews.com Sydney Harbour Bridge - SkyscraperCity Sydney Harbour Bridge As a general reminder, please respect others and respect copyrights. Go here to familiarize yourself with our posting policy. Page 1 of 3 Likes (Received): 9 Sydney Harbour Bridge It turns out that Sydney harbour bridge has a sister which is the bayonne bridge, which is 2 Feet longer!! and it was built a year before sydney harbour bridge. I think sydney ripped off the design from Bayonne, New Jersey in the USA. But Sydney harbour bridge is far more beautiful than the Bayonne Bridge, especially with the city next to it.

Go to wikipedia, I there is an article on it: But as you can see in the pictures The Sydney Bridge has a better design in my opinion with a more interesting design. Bayonne Bridge: Who cares? No one has heard of the Bayonette Bridge. Nice pics though - thanks! (although, your referencing standards are hilarious -"various websites"). How do reference academic papers? "various writers/experts") __________________ I wanted spirit, but I found alcohol I wanted soul, but i bought myself some style I wanted to meet God, but I got religion. before you jump to conclusions. dont quote wikibloody pedia stuff. its really bad.lol this is a well known fact. Architect of Sydney harbour bridge-John Bradfield visited Hell Gate,NYC in 1916 to oversee the construction of a rather unusual bridge. being the 1017ft/310m steel arch bridge of Hell Gate. > He then realized this would be a great design for Sydney harbour. Sydney harbour bridge started in 1923! The Bayonne Bridge was also BASED on Hells Gate design and started 5 years after SHB in 1928.

they made sure it was slightly longer then SHB to have longest title,but it is a thin (25m) compared to SHB which is worlds widest long span bridge at 49m! thats nearly double the width! Hell Gate is also only thin at 30m. Bradfiled also added 90m pylons which are purely decorative. i nice touch dont you think! well there you go.SHB didnt rip off bayonne, both copied Gustav Lindenthals 1916 Hells Gate design. Bayonne only took 3 years (1928-31) while SHB took neary 10 (1923-32). i know which one looks the most impressive! __________________ Sydney Harbour Bridge -1932, Sydney Opera House- 1973, Sydney Tower- 1981, Crown Sydney- 2019, 338PittSt 2020.. before you jump to conclusions. dont quote wikibloody pedia stuff. its really bad.lol this is a well known fact.

Architect of Sydney harbour bridge-John Bradfield visited Hell Gate,NYC in 1916 to oversee the construction of a rather unusual bridge. being the 1017ft/310m steel arch bridge of Hell Gate. > He then realized this would be a great design for Sydney harbour. Sydney harbour bridge started in 1923! The Bayonne Bridge was also BASED on Hells Gate design and started 5 years after SHB in 1928. they made sure it was slightly longer then SHB to have longest title,but it is a thin (25m) compared to SHB which is worlds widest long span bridge at 49m! thats nearly double the width! Hell Gate is also only thin at 30m. Bradfiled also added 90m pylons which are purely decorative. i nice touch dont you think! well there you go.SHB didnt rip off bayonne, both copied Gustav Lindenthals 1916 Hells Gate design. Bayonne only took 3 years (1928-31) while SHB took neary 10 (1923-32).

i know which one looks the most impressive! Come one, wiki is not that bad. You can't trust any source 100%. And with common topics, the shit quickly gets sorted out. I know what you mean though - don't believe anything you read automatically, use some discretion (and other backup sources). Also, a good trick is to learn how to use the discussion and history tabs to get the story behind the article. gives you a better idea. Wiki is great that it cuts thru all the commercial shit that google digs up - in fact, having people edit it freely is actually better than websites who only the webmaster can edit. ie, the shit usually gets cut. I actually walked home across the bridge tonight. First time in maybe 5 years. I used to always do it. love it!!! __________________ LifeBeginsAt80: Where the hell is Hell Gate Bridge? Bounty Voyage Re-enactment crew sail past Resolution Island. Saturday, April 11, 2009 Where the hell is Hell Gate Bridge? This story was first published by OhmyNewsInternational.

To read their version, with interesting illustrations and live links, please cut and paste this address: Its design inspired engineers around the world Where in the world is this bridge? If you answer "Sydney, Australia" you're wrong. If you guess "Newcastle, UK" or "Auckland, New Zealand" you're still wrong. But if you say "New York City" you've hit the jackpot. It's the Hell Gate Bridge, a 1,017-foot (310 m) steel arch carrying railroad traffic across part of the East River called Hell Gate. Its revoltionary design caused a stir when it opened officially on September 30, 1916. Doomsayers at the time predicted it would collapse, but it's still in business, and will probably remain so for centuries. It inspired the construction of similar bridges around the world. The Hall Gate Bridge was designed by Gustav Lindenthal (1850-1935), a brilliant self-taught civil engineer. Born in Brno in what is now the Czech Republic, he had first worked as a mason and carpenter.

At 18, he moved to Vienna, and found a job in the engineering department of a railroad company. He never attended university, but taught himelf mathematics, engineering theory, metallurgy, hydraulics, estimating, management, "and everything else that a successful bridge engineer needed to know," quoting Henry Petroski's book, "Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and the Spanning of America." Lindenthal emigrated to the US in 1874. At first, he worked as a journeyman stonemason for the memorial granite building of the Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, and later was employed by the Keystone Bridge Co. on numerous projects before being recognized as a gifted bridge engineer. It's thought his early memories of a famous bridge in Cologne (Koln), Germany, inspired his design for the Hell Gate Bridge. Eminent bridge designers from other countries visited Lindenthal and marvelled at his radical ideas. One of them was Australia's Dr. JJC Bradfield, lead engineer in the New South Wales Department of Works.

When he returned home to Sydney from a six-month world tour in 1922,, he changed the design for a Harbor bridge from an ugly cantilever to a graceful single- arched steel structure. Sydney Harbor Bridge (aka The Coathanger), opened in 1932, is the world's largest but not longest steel arch bridge. Its total length, including approach spans, is 1149 metres and its arch span 503 metres. Its top is 134 metres high. People had talked about building a bridge from the northern to the southern shore of the harbor since 1815, when the then colony's Government Architect, Francis Greenway. thought of one being needed one day. Various designs were considered and discarded for more than a century. Then in 1922 a general design was prepared by Bradfield and officers of the NSW Department of Public Works. The Government called for worldwide tenders to build the bridge. The contract was let to Dorman Long and Co of Middlesbrough, UK. Construction began in 1924, took eight years. and employed 1,400 men.

Six million hand driven rivets and 53,000 tonnes of steel were used. The bridge now carries eight traffic lanes and two railroad tracks. The Bridge was officially opened on March 19, 1932. Before Premier JT Lang could cut the ribbon, Captain Francis de Groot , a member of a right-wing political group called The New Guard, rode up on his horse and slashed the ribbon with his sword. He thought the Bridge should be opened by a member or representative of the Royal Family. Police arrested him, and the Premier cut the hastily repaired ribbon with a pair of gold scissors. The Tyne Bridge in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England is a smaller version of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, with a length of 397 metres and the main span 161 metres. "There is much controversy surrounding the two bridges, and which one may have been a model for the other," says an Australian Government website. http // "Although the Tyne Bridge was opened in 1928 - four years before the Harbour Bridge was opened - the tender was submitted and contract signed for the Sydney Harbour Bridge in March 1924. The designs for the Harbour Bridge were put forward by Dr.

J C Bradfield before this date. The tender for the Tyne Bridge was accepted and contract signed later that year in December 1924." Three final points: Actor/comedian Paul Hogan was once a rigger on the Sydney Harbor Bridge. A few weeks ago, the luxury liner Queen Mary II, the largest ship to visit Sydney, was too tall to go under the Harbour Bridge and too long to dock at the International Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay. The world's longest steel arch is the Lupu Bridge 550m. (1804ft.) in Shanghai, China, according to a list of longest spans published by Wikipedia Case Study Australia - AkzoNobel Pakistan Case Study Australia Sydney Harbour Bridge This world famous bridge across Sydney Harbour carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Opened in 1932, it was inspired by Hell Gate Bridge in New York City. There are eight lanes in total, and it’s now possible for tourists to climb the southern half of the bridge as part of an official tour. AkzoNobel products: Sydney Harbour Bridge Sydney Harbour Bridge by lou16 The Sydney Harbour Bridge has become an iconic Australian landmark since it was completed in the 1930s.

Let’s look at the Sydney Harbour Bridge in more detail. The Sydney Harbour Bridge Affectionately Called The ‘Coathanger’ Sydney Harbour Bridge has become such an iconic Aussie sight that’s it’s hard to believe that it has only been around since the early 1930s. In fact I find it hard to believe that when Grandma J travelled to Sydney in 1913 the harbour didn’t have either the famous Harbour Bridge or the other Sydney icon – the Sydney Opera House! The Sydney Harbour Bridge is actually the largest steel arch bridge in the world and is a sight to behold, especially on New Year’s Eve when the pyrotechnics light it up beautifully as it’s broadcast around Australia to bring in yet another new year. Sydney Harbour Bridge Posters Poster It’s hard to imagine Sydney without the Harbour Bridge as it seems an almost essential artery in the Sydney transport system feeding both into and out of the city, but it wasn’t all easy sailing to get the famous harbour bridge constructed. There were quite a few shenanigans involved in the 10 years between 1922 when tenders for designs were called for and 1932 when the bridge was finally opened.

Price info Milson's Point in 1913 before the Sydney Harbour Bridge was designed or work had even begun. Little could the people in this postcard realize that where they were walking would one day be home to one side of an enormous steel bridge that would ferry Sydneysiders across the river daily. Sydney Harbour Bridge History Ideas for a bridge to join the north and south side of Sydney Harbour were first put forward way back in 1815, but the technology that would be involved made the project not just difficult, but extremely expensive. Consequently we entered the 20th century with the idea of a bridge as well just a pipedream. During the 1800s however steel began to be mass produced and this would change the history of bridge building. As the steel industry was surging forward it was also being used to change the history of bridge building. One of the pioneers of steel bridges was the German born American John A Roebling who pioneered the use of ‘steel rope’ to make suspension bridges. Essentially he used thick cables of steel intertwined together to form an incredibly strong ‘rope’ that was able to suspend the road part of the bridge between the support pylons.

This idea along with the great improvements that had also been made in the history of welding both helped to inspired people such as Dr John Bradford to continue to dream about a harbour bridge for Sydney and to push towards making that dream a reality. In 1900 submissions were officially sort for a proposed harbour bridge, but still Sydney would be left relying on a ferry service as all of the submissions were deemed to be unsatisfactory by the New South Wales (NSW) government. Next in 1923 submissions were called to build a bridge once again, this time the bridge would become a reality. Between 1900 and 1923 something else that was to inspire the idea of a harbour bridge happened and it’s name was The Hell Gate Bridge. New York’s Hell Gate Bridge was completed in 1916 and it’s design was what is referred to as a through arch bridge. According to Wikipedia the definition of a through arch bridge is “ a bridge made from materials such as steel or reinforced concrete in which an arch rises above the deck so it passes through the arch.

Cables in tension suspend the deck from the arch.” This was the perfect type of bridge to build in order to cross Sydney Harbour as it just wasn’t a solution to support the bridge from beneath during the construction and so inspiration for the resulting Sydney Harbour Bridge had been successfully completed. The planets were aligning and the bridge was about to be born. In 1922 the NSW government passed the Sydney Harbour Bridge Act and tenders were called for the construction of a bridge between Millers Point in The Rocks and Milsons Point in the North Shore. In 1924 the tender was awarded to an English firm called Dorman Long and Co Ltd. In order to placate Austalian’s about the tender going to an overseas firm assurances were made that the workforce needed to build the bridge would be Australians. In fact over 2000 Australians were employed to build the bridge. The bridge journey was about to begin and the face of Sydney was going to be changed forever. The Building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge Let the Shenanigans Begin! The actual building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge began in 1923 when the ‘turning of the first sod’ ceremony took place on the north shore on July 28th.

The 1920s was a time of prosperity in Australia and on the basis of this the Premier of NSW, Jack Lang, borrowed heavily to finance the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (he also introduced a number of other monetary reforms at the same time). The money borrowed would become the cause of some drama before the bridge was to be completed. The building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge is credited to a partnership between two men who both shared a dream of wanting to create a bridge to unite the North Shore of Sydney with the bustle of Circular Quay. The two men were Dr John Bradfield, an engineer with the Public Works Department and Jack Lang, the premier of New South Wales. Jack Lang was a member of the Labour Party and had set up a number of great things such as abolitioning fees for state high schools and setting up pensions for widows. He saw the Harbour Bridge as not just a great piece of infrastructure for the city, but also a source of employment. In fact the bridge earned a nickname of the Iron Lung because it helped to breathe life into the city by employing many residents during the depression. In fact during the construction of the bridge there were 1400 people working at any given time on the bridge.

This also meant that their wages also went into the local community. Poster John Bradfield was one of the main proponents for the bridge and had been pushing for the building of one to take place since before the first World War. He had recommended first a suspension bridge, then a cantilever bridge before proposing that the bridge should be a steel arch bridge. His vision was a lot grander than just the Sydney Harbour Bridge, however as his grand vision saw the bridge as an extension of a electric suburban railway network. In the words of Jack Lang “Bradfield wanted to be the Napoleon III of Sydney. He wanted to pull down everything in the way of his grandiose schemes. He was always thinking of the future. He was probably the first man to plan for Sydney as a city of two million.” So what was with the Shenanigans? Well there was drama and controversy surrounding both of these main movers and shakers in the Bridge build. In John Bradfield’s corner there was a designing controversy whereas Jack Lang’s corner saw a financial scandal erupt. Most schoolchildren will tell you that JJC Bradfield designed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and this is where the drama about who designed the bridge is all about.

Dr Bradfield was the chief engineer of the Sydney Harbour Bridge construction and was the one that pushed for the ‘style of bridge’ that we eventually got. However the detailed design of the bridge that won the tender was created by Ralph Freeman who was a consulting engineer for the company Dorman, Long & Co Ltd who won the tender. Somewhere along the way the history of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was rewritten to the point that many believe Bradfield had designed it in fact Freeman is reported to have become very upset with Bradfield over comments that he made during construction essentially taking credit for the bridge design himself. In 1929 the stock markets crashed and the carefree Jazz Age of the 20s was brought to a screeching halt – we were about to enter the depression and yet the NSW government owed a lot of money to Britain including the loan taken out to commission the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. What to do? Well Jack Lang had a plan – re-negotiate a better interest rate with the British banks, unfortunately the other members of the federal Labour Party disagreed and because the federal government had underwritten the NSW government loan they insisted that the payments be made.

Jack Lang refused to stop paying pensions to widows and other such programs that would adversely affect the people of Sydney in order to pay what he saw as crippling interest rates so he instructed his government not to make any loan repayments until Britain re-negotiated interest rates on the money owed. The first loan repayment was then made by the federal government who didn’t want to be seen in a bad light by the ‘mother country.’ The second loan repayment caused all kinds of drama. Now the official story goes that Jack Lang refused to pay and the upshot was that he was relieved of his position by the Governor of NSW Sir Philip Game. However I recall watching a program on the History Channel that seemed to indicate that he did more than refuse to pay he emptied the government bank accounts and hid the money when a federal government official came to demand payment – it certainly makes for a juicier story! Sydney Harbour Bridge Trivia In 1932, before the bridge was opened 96 steam locomotives were positioned in various different ways to test it’s load capacity. Officially opened on 19th March 1932. 800 families were relocated when their homes were destoyed in order to build the bridge.

During construction of the bridge 53,000 tonnes of steel was used along with 6 million hand driven rivets. 16 workmen died during the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. When the harbour bridge is painted it uses approx. 80,000 liters of paint for just one coat. Today more than 150,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily. Sydney Harbour Bridge Pictures The Hell Gate Bridge New York City Guide For Visitors The Hell Gate Bridge If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. Posts 5,739 The genius of the Hell Gate Bridge lies in its massive yet dynamic arc, seemingly tossed up in the air by the towers and miraculously frozen. The Sydney Harbour Bridge's looks strained and lacks that grace. Posts 23,689 Gustav Lindenthal did not design the Sydney, which was built about 15 years after Hell Gate.

To me, the differences between the Hell Gate and the Sydney are comparable to the differences between the Bronx-Whitestone and the Verrazano-Narrows, both designed by Lindenthal's assistant, Othmar Ammann. Posts 218 I guess you get attached through familiarity. I always thought of the Hellgate as a rather odd little runt of a bridge, but it does have a certain delicacy the Sydney one lacks. However, I do love our coathager still the best...! 218 Sydney Harbour Bridge 1932 Captain Francis De Groot caused controversy on the Opening Day of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Saturday 19 March 1932 when he attempted to prevent Premier Lang from opening the Bridge. De Groot, who was an active member of the Political Party - New Guard, believed that the only person to open a Bridge of such importance should be a member of the Royal family. He was dismayed when it was announced that Premier Lang would officially open the bridge. In De Groot's attempt to stop Lang from opening the Bridge, he arrived at the ceremony on horseback and positioned himself quite close to where the ribbon had been stretched.

Just prior to Premier Lang arriving, De Groot galloped forward and slashed the ribbon with his sword. He declared the Bridge open in the name of the "decent citizens of New South Wales". Needless to say, De Groot was arrested and taken to a psychiatric hospital. He was later declared sane, but fined 5 pounds and charged for offensive behaviour in a public place. After the De Groot incident, the ribbon was tied together, and the ceremony went ahead. 1 tyne bridge, newcastle upon tyne uk laurence i think the bridge u are thinking of may be tyne bridge, newcastle upon tyne uk. it does have some similarities to hells gate and sydney harbour. it was completed 1928 which makes it younger than hells gate but 5 years older than sydney harbour. i grew up in newcastle australia 1.5hrs nth of sydney and i have always loved the harbour bridge. i first (i think this is right) saw hells gate bridge in tom cruises war of the world and was amazed at the similarities to the SHB.

I saw a news item the other day for the SHB 75th anniversary and it said contrary to popular belief that its design was borrowed from the tyne bridge, the SHB design was taken from hells gate. matt

Question: In which city is Hell Gate Bridge, said to have inspired Sydney Harbour Bridge?
Answer: New York