About the Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge opened to traffic on December 31, 1909. It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and Williamsburg bridges and is noted for its innovative design. It is considered to be the forerunner of modern suspension bridges and has served as the model for many of the long-span suspension bridges built in the first half of the twentieth century.
Four subway tracks are located on the lower deck of the bridge. There is a fascinating but not too well known story of the dangerous wobble of passing trains that was fixed in 1956.
“Since the tracks were on the outer part of the bridge, passing trains caused the structure to tilt and sway. The wobble worsened as train cars became longer and heavier. Eventually over years, when one train moved over the bridge one side would be 3 feet lower than the other side, severely damaging the structure”The original pedestrian walkway on the south side of the bridge was reopened after forty years in June 2001. It was also used by bicycles until late summer 2004, when a dedicated bicycle path was opened on the north side of the bridge. Further Info >
Our Lunch Hour Walk
On Wednesday--accompanied by two of my work colleagues--I took a brisk walk across the Manhattan Bridge. It was an absolutely beautiful day (in the 70s!) and there was no way we could stay inside for lunch hour --the sunshine was beckoning us! We went halfway across and then came back.Unlike the Brooklyn Bridge--where the walkway is in the center of the bridge--on the Manhattan Bridge, the walkway runs along each side of the bridge. The subways were frequent and unbelievably loud but despite the noise level that probably exceeded any Led Zeppelin concert, we still had a lot of fun. The only bummer was that the shadows of the fencing, etc. played havoc with our faces on the photos below... :-(
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| No we weren't pretending to be Zorro! The light and shadow effect at the time of day just made us look that way... |
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| I have such a way with women! :-) |
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| Tis a beautiful vista for sure on a sunny day... |
This may become a more frequent habit as these treks are becoming addictive!
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