The iconic Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Staten Island, is turning 60 years old.
Photo by Erica Price
As the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge approaches its 60th anniversary on Nov. 21, the monumental feat of engineering remains an integral piece of New York City’s infrastructure.
Once the longest suspension bridge in the world, and now the 13th-longest globally, the bridge handles over 200,000 vehicles every day and plays a crucial role in connecting Brooklyn and Staten Island.
To better understand the iconic structure, Brooklyn Paper spoke with experts from WSP, the firm behind the bridge’s original design and ongoing maintenance and preservation.
“This bridge is not merely a crossing; it’s a major lifeline that holds up 1.4 million tons of concrete and 143,000 miles of cable wire,” said Jonathan Morey, senior bridge engineer at WSP. “It truly represents the ingenuity of its time and the continuous advancements in engineering that keep it operational today.”
The bridge was initially proposed to connect Staten Island with the rest of the boroughs.
According to Stuart Rankin, a professional engineer and senior vice president of the National Bridges and Structures Practice at WSP, Staten Island was effectively cut off from the rest of the city before the bridge’s opening in 1964.
“You can’t even imagine the inconvenience it caused,” Rankin said. “The only way to traverse to Manhattan was by ferry, which limited both mobility and economic growth for Staten Island.”
The connection was first proposed as a tunnel with a rail connection to the other boroughs. However, shortly after construction began, the then government prohibited rail travel through the tunnel. This cut off any potential funding from the freight rails, effectively cutting the tunnel construction budget.
Now preparing to build a bridge, the engineers realized they were addressing more than just a transportation hurdle, but also…
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