Williamsburg Bridge

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Williamsburg Bridge
Carries	8 lanes of roadway, 2 tracks of the J M Z trains of the New York City Subway, pedestrians, and bicycles
Crosses	East River
Locale	Manhattan and Brooklyn, in New York City
Maintained by	New York City Department of Transportation
Design	Suspension bridge and truss causeways
Total length	2,227.5 meters (7,308 ft)
Width	36 meters (118 ft)
Longest span	487.7 meters (1,600 ft)
Vertical clearance	10 feet 6 inches (3.2 m) (inner roadways only)
Clearance below	41.1 meters (135 ft) at mean higher high water
AADT	110,000
Opening date	December 19, 1903
Toll	Free
Connects: Manhattan at Delancey St. with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn
Coordinates	40°42′49″N 73°58′20″W / 40.713744°N 73.972299°W / 40.713744; -73.972299Coordinates: 40°42′49″N 73°58′20″W / 40.713744°N 73.972299°W / 40.713744; -73.972299

The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn on Long Island at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (Interstate 278). It once carried New York State Route 27A and later Interstate 78.

Historical film clip of a procession during the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge in 1903.

Construction on the bridge, the second to cross this river, began in 1896, with Leffert L. Buck as chief engineer, Henry Hornbostel as architect and Holton D. Robinson as assistant engineer, and the bridge opened on December 19, 1903 at a cost of $12,000,000. At the time it was constructed, the Williamsburg Bridge set the record for the longest suspension bridge span on Earth. The record fell in 1924, when the Bear Mountain Bridge was completed. It is an unconventional structure, as suspension bridges go; though the main span hangs from cables in the usual manner, the side spans leading to the approaches are cantilevered, drawing no support from the cables above. The main span of the bridge is 1600 feet (488 m) long. The entire bridge is 7308 feet (2227 m) long between cable anchor terminals, and the deck is 118 feet (36 m) wide. The height at the center of the bridge is 135 feet (41 m) and each tower is 335 feet (102 m); these measurements taken from the river's surface at high water mark.

This bridge and the Manhattan Bridge are the only suspension bridges in New York City that still carry both automobile and rail traffic. In addition to this two-track rail line, connecting the New York City Subway's BMT Nassau Street Line and BMT Jamaica Line, there were once two sets of trolley tracks.

The Brooklyn landing is between Grand Street and Broadway, which both had ferries at the time. Both withered and went out of business in the following years.

The bridge has been under reconstruction since the 1980s, largely to repair damage caused by decades of deferred maintenance. The cast iron stairway on the Manhattan side, and the steep ramp from Driggs Avenue on the Williamsburg side to the footwalks, were replaced to allow handicapped access in the 1990s. The bridge celebrated its 100th anniversary in December 2003.

No tolls are charged for motor vehicles to use the bridge.

Had the Lower Manhattan Expressway been built, the Williamsburg Bridge would have obtained the Interstate 78 designation.

Rail tracks

The bridge towers prominently over East River Park.

The rapid transit tracks in the center of the bridge were initially used by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company elevated railroad. Today, the New York City Subway J M Z trains use these tracks.

Two tracks on the south side carried streetcars from the Brooklyn side:

• Williamsburg Bridge Local, 1904-1948
• Nostrand Avenue Line, 1904-1923 and 1931-1948
• Ralph Avenue Line, 1905-1908; Ralph and Rockaway Avenues Line, 1908-1923 and 1931-1948
• Tompkins Avenue Line, 1906-1923 and 1931-1947
• Reid Avenue Line, 1904-1923 and 1931-1937
• Broadway Line, 1904-1923
• Franklin Avenue Line, 1904-1923
• Grand Street Line, 1904-1923
• Sumner Avenue Line, 1904-1923
• Wilson Avenue Line, 1904-1923
• Bushwick Avenue Line, 1904-1921
• Nostrand-Culver Line and Nostrand-Prospect Line, 1906-1919

Two north-side tracks carried Manhattan streetcars:

• Grand Street Line, 1904-1932
• Post Office Line, 1919-1932
• Seventh Avenue-Brooklyn Line, 1911-1919
• 8th Street Crosstown Line, 1904-1911
• 14th Street-Williamsburg Bridge Line, 1904-1911
• Fourth Avenue and Williamsburg Bridge Line, 1904-1911

Williamsburg Bridge in popular culture

• The Williamsburg Bridge appears in the movies Once Upon a Time in America, The Lost Weekend (1945), The Naked City (1948), Johnny Suede (1991), Scent of a Woman (1992), American Gangster (2007), Serpico (1973), the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die, The French Connection (1971), and The Naked Brothers Band.

• The bridge is mentioned in the novel The Alienist (1994) by Caleb Carr.

• The bridge is mentioned several times in the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943) by Betty Smith.

• During a sabbatical from performing, American jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins would venture to the Williamsburg Bridge for practice sessions, in order to spare a neighboring expectant mother the noise.

• Soul Coughing lead singer Mike Doughty refers to the Williamsburg Bridge in the song "True Dreams of Wichita.".

• Altamonte lead singer James Cashman refers to the Williamsburg Bridge in the song "Hannah".

• East Bay(San Francisco) rockers, Black Cat Music, have a song titled "Williamsburg Bridge Song".

• Locals frequently refer to the bridge as the "Willy B."

• A scene in the book The Last Olympian takes place on the Williamsburg Bridge.

The 1928 Edward Hopper painting "From Williamsburg Bridge" depicts a long-gone building as seen from the bridge's since remodeled walkway. See http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/hopper/fullscreens/urbanpictures/229-031.shtm

Gallery

Fireworks on opening night, 1903.	Williamsburg Bridge view from Manhattan side	J Train on Williamsburg Bridge	Williamsburg Bridge from the Lower East side of Manhattan
From South 6th Street	From South 6th Street	View of cables and saddle housing	Bicycle and pedestrian path

References

• Abandoned Stations: Williamsburg Bridge Railway terminal

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Williamsburg Bridge

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Williamsburg Bridge bikeways

• Bridges at New York City DOT
• Williamsburg Bridge in the Structurae database
• HAER Williamsburg Bridge entry at the Library of Congress
• nycroads.com Williamsburg page. Has excellent construction photos (taken from Parsons Transportation Group (parsons.com site), the successor company to the design firm that executed the original design) as well as replacement bridge proposal details

Crossings of East River Upstream 14th Street Tunnel Williamsburg Bridge Downstream Rutgers Street Tunnel