When was queensboro bridge built

Three of the truss spans are over land, one foot m long span crosses the east channel of the East River, and the other 1,foot m long span crosses the west channel of the East River, the latter of which was the longest cantilever span in North America until it was exceeded by the Quebec Bridge in Locally known as the 59th Street Bridge the title of Simon and Garfunkel's "Feelin' Groovy" song and the Queensboro Bridge, the structure's cantilever spans are unique in that they have no suspended spans between the cantilever arms and are "through-cantilever" trusses.

For this reason, some people mistakenly think that the Queensboro Bridge is a suspension bridge, particularly from the appearance of the upper chords of the eye bar chains in the long cantilever arms across the East River channels — because their overall shape resembles a catenary curve. Plans to construct a bridge across this section of the East River—using Blackwell's Island renamed as Welfare Island in and Roosevelt Island in as a stepping stone—were discussed as early as with a plan by Benjamin Henry Latrobe.

One design by John Roebling in called for two narrow suspension spans joined by a cantilever bridge in the middle, predating his proposal for the Brooklyn Bridge. Subsequent plans in the s and s called for a railroad connection between Long Island and Grand Central Station before tunnels and Pennsylvania Station were completed in and the East Side Access project was started with the construction of the 63rd Street Tunnel in A major goal of the bridge was to open up farmland in Queens for new residential development to support Manhattan's growing workforce.

The Queensboro Bridge was designed by preeminent bridge engineer Gustav Lindenthal, although other leading engineers were involved in the early planning stages, including Richard S. Buck and Othniel Foster Nichols. The bridge was originally designed as a pure cantilever span.

Lindenthal changed it to a through-cantilever truss without a suspended span using massive steel eye bars for the top chord. As a continuous span under live load, its design required a computational method unique for the time. Gustav Lindenthal also reduced the width of the bridge from feet 37 m to 80 feet 24 m , adding a second deck while keeping the same carrying capacity.

A panel of engineers was named to review Lindenthal's design and concluded Buck's deck plan was preferred, but also suggested a revised plan which was accepted. The plans were revised and approved in August of In addition to changing the design of the cantilever structure, Lindenthal commissioned architect Henry Hornbostel to add artistic details to the bridge. These included domed masonry towers on the anchorages and ornamental finials capping the bridge's towers.

Click to book your Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn bus tour. History and Facts The Queensboro Bridge - An iconic cantilever bridge Construction of the Queensboro Bridge began in as part of a major infrastructure expansion of New York City, which had absorbed several boroughs just a few years before.

Gustav Lindenthal was the chief civil engineer for this major project. Henry Hornbostel was hired as the main architect for this new crossing over the East River. The Beaux-Arts style was incorporated into some components of the cantilever trusses In the summer of , the Queensboro Bridge was ready to accommodate pedestrians and other forms of traffic.

Of course, motorized vehicles have yet to dominate the transportation system of NYC or other major cities nationwide. Several elevated rail tracks were built to accommodate the growing rapid transit network of the city. During the Great Depression, elevators were set up to connect the bridge with Roosevelt Island. A few decades later, the elevators were shut down as the island became accessible via another bridge.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were invested into major renovations of the structure in the 's. Today, the bridge carries more than , vehicles on a daily basis. Buck and Henry Hornbostel, the three men set forth the plans in motion to begin the construction of the Queensboro Bridge. The bridge took eight years to build. The construction of the bridge began in The Queensboro Bridge was opened to traffic on June 18th For many, there is an air of Romanticism found in the 59th Street Bridge.

First of all, the view of Manhattan from the bridge is quite breathtaking from both levels. Although, the view from the upper level is much less unobstructed. The view and the whole idea of the entrance way into Manhattan has infiltrated popular culture from many different angles.

Countless movies have been filmed on the 59th Street Bridge. A small sampling of well-known movies that filmed scenes on the bridge include such notable films such as The Dark Knight Rises, The Great Gatsby, Anger Management, The Accidental Husband, Spiderman , and the iconic Woody Allan film Manhattan, which even used a photographic shot of the Queensboro Bridge in the move poster of the film.

We should also not ignore the thousands of student films and amateur photography shot from a bridge that delivers the most breathtaking visuals of the Island of Manhattan.

From motion pictures to television, print ads, commercials and song, the majestic qualities of the 59th Street Bridge and its surroundings have served the commuter, business, political and artistic world of New York City for over a century. He holds B. Next Article. Photo by Brian Kachejian. Related Posts.