Brooklyn Bridge | New York Amazing Bridge

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There are a few large suspension bridges in areas around the world. The United Kingdom has the Clifton Suspension Bridge as well as the Humber Bridge. Sidney Australia has the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Japan has the Akashi-Kaiko bridge that was built in 1998 and Hong Kong China has the Tsing Ma Bridge that links Ma Wan to Lantau. Denmark and France also have impressive suspension bridges with the Storbaelt, Denmark and the Le Pont De Normandie. The Golden Gate Bridge is one of America's iconic bridges, but the first real massive suspension bridge was the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge crosses over the East River connecting the big city of Manhattan to the neighboring suburbs of Brooklyn. It was first called the Brooklyn Bridge when some one wrote the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1867. It wasn't even built yet. It was completed in 1883 and it was the first steel wire suspension bridge. Until 1903, it was the longest suspension bridge ever built. They finally added the bridge to the National Historic Landmark record in 1964.

The great bridge has seen the forms of transportation completely transform for more than a hundred years and was always updated to accommodated the changes. The bridge originally was traveled by horse back, horse drawn carriage, and trolley traffic. Over the years the trains and trolleys along with the horses were replaced by motor vehicles and walkways. Today, the bridge has six lanes devoted to auto traffic and a walkway for bicycles and pedestrians. The bridge has some height and weight restrictions so it is on open to large commercial trucks or buses.

As with any place that carries large numbers of people on any given day, there have been some unfortunate events surrounding the bridge. There is always a few jumpers with a bridge no matter how high it is. The first person to jump of the Brooklyn Bridge did so in 1885, only a couple of years after it opened. There have been many more since then. There has been a notable shooting on the bridge which was in 1994. Motivated by revenge over one religions person against a religions group. Even during the building of the bridge some strange things happened to the builders themselves.

John Roebling the main builder in charge, was injured during the construction and ended up dying of complications leaving the project to his son. Washington Roebling took up the reigns for his father until he suffered from decompression sickness and suffered a paralyzing injury. His wife, Emily Warren Roebling, ended up being the main communication between her husband and the engineers. She ended up learning all about how to engineer a bridge and spent eleven years assisting in the construction.The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the many icons of New York City and Brooklyn. Millions of post cards are sent all over the world with its picture on it. Credit