The Manhattan Bridge was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges.
Here are the facts you ought to know:
– opened to traffic on December 31, 1909 (although incomplete)
– took 11 years to construct: from 1901 to 1912
– designed by Leon Moisseiff, who later designed the infamous original Tacoma Narrows Bridge that opened and collapsed in 1940
– connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River
– carries automobile, truck, subway, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic
– total lenght: 6,855 ft (2,089 m)
– width: 120 feet (37 m)
– height (towers): 336 ft (102 m)
– longest span: 1,480 feet (451 m)
– clearance below: 135 ft (41.1 m)
– daily traffic: over 450,000 commuters, including 106,700 commuters in 85,400 vehicles, 4,000 bicyclists and 340,900 mass transit riders in 950 subway trains; over 75% of all Manhattan Bridge crossings are by public transit
OTHER FACTS:
The elaborate grand entry to the bridge on the Manhattan side was part of the “City Beautiful” movement and was completed in 1915. The arch and colonnade were designated a New York City landmark on November 25, 1975. There have been countless attempts by traffic engineers to remove the structure.
The bridge played a large role in the Steve Martin romantic comedy film The Lonely Guy (1984), in which it is a popular spot for lonely guys to commit suicide, and the meeting place for Martin and Judith Ivey.
The film I Am Legend (2007) shows the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges with their center spans destroyed. A flashback reveals they were hit by missiles to stop the exodus from a quarantined Manhattan.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/manhattan-bridge.shtml
MAP & DIRECTIONS:
