Manhattan Bridge south tracks
| Manhattan Bridge | |
|---|---|
View from Brooklyn
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| Coordinates | 40°42′26″N 73°59′27″W / 40.707222°N 73.9909°WCoordinates: 40°42′26″N 73°59′27″W / 40.707222°N 73.9909°W |
| Carries | 7 lanes of roadway, 4 tracks of the B D N Q trains of the New York City Subway, pedestrians, and bicycles |
| Crosses | East River |
| Locale | New York City (Manhattan-Brooklyn) |
| Maintained by | New York City Department of Transportation |
| ID number | 2240028 (upper) 2240027 (lower) |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Total length | 6,855 ft (2,089 m) |
| Width | 120 feet (37 m) |
| Height | 336 ft (102 m) (towers) |
| Longest span | 1,480 feet (451 m) |
| Clearance below | 135 ft (41.1 m) |
| History | |
| Designer | Leon Solomon Moisseiff |
| Constructed by | Othniel Foster Nichols |
| Construction start | 1901 |
| Construction end | 1912 |
| Opened | December 31, 1909 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 70,341 (2008) |
| Toll | Free both ways |
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The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The main span is 1,470 ft (448 m) long, with the suspension cables being 3,224 ft (983 m) long. The bridge's total length is 6,855 ft (2,089 m). This is one of four toll-free bridges spanning the East River; the other three are the Queensboro, Williamsburg, and Brooklyn Bridges.
The bridge opened to traffic on December 31, 1909. It was designed by Leon Moisseiff, and is noted for its innovative design. As the first suspension bridge to employ Josef Melan's deflection theory for the stiffening of its deck, it is considered to be the forerunner of modern suspension bridges and this design served as the model for many of the long-span suspension bridges built in the first half of the twentieth century. The Manhattan Bridge was also the first suspension bridge to utilize a Warren truss in its design.
The Manhattan Bridge was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and Williamsburg bridges. Erection of the superstructure and steel fabrication were contracted to The Phoenix Bridge Company. The bridge has four vehicle lanes on the upper level, split between two roadways. The lower level has three lanes, four subway tracks, a walkway and a bikeway. The upper level, originally used for streetcars, has two lanes in each direction, and the lower level is one-way and has three lanes in peak direction. The bridge once carried New York State Route 27 and later was planned to carry Interstate 478.
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