Williamsburg Bridge
The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge across the East River in New York City, connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. Originally known as the East River Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge was completed in 1903 and, at 7,308 feet (2,227 m) long, was the longest suspension bridge span in the world until 1924.
Williamsburg Bridge
8 lanes of roadway
2 tracks of the 
trains of the New York City Subway
Pedestrians and bicycles
Streetcar tracks (until 1948)
2240039[1]
7,308 feet (2,227 m)
118 feet (36 m)
1,600 feet (490 m)
10 feet 6 inches (3.2 m) (inner roadways only)
135 feet (41 m) at mean high water
December 20, 1903
105,465 (2016)[2]
Free
Proposed in January 1892, the bridge project was approved in 1895. Work began on June 19, 1896, under chief engineer Leffert L. Buck. Despite delays and funding shortfalls, the bridge opened on December 19, 1903. In addition to roads, walkways, and New York City Subway tracks, the bridge had four trolley tracks, which were replaced with roads in 1936 and 1949. The bridge underwent a substantial renovation in the 1980s and 1990s following the discovery of severe structural defects, and it was again being renovated in the 2020s.
The Williamsburg Bridge's main span is 1,600 feet (490 m) long and is carried on four main cables, which are suspended from two 335-foot (102 m) towers. Unlike similar suspension bridges, the side spans are supported by trusswork and additional towers. The 118-foot-wide (36 m) deck carries eight lanes of vehicular traffic, two subway tracks, and two walkway and bike paths that merge in Manhattan. The bridge is one of four free vehicular bridges between Manhattan Island and Long Island maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation, along with the Queensboro Bridge to the north and the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges to the south. The bridge also serves as a connector highway to and from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278) in Brooklyn.
Development[edit]
Planning[edit]
Legislation to incorporate the East River Bridge Company was introduced in the New York State Legislature in January 1892. The company wished to build a suspension bridge across the East River from Manhattan, within New York City, to the then-separate city of Brooklyn.[3] The company was incorporated on March 9, 1892.[4] The East River Bridge Company, led by Frederick Uhlmann, was authorized to construct two bridges from Manhattan to Brooklyn, one of which would run to Broadway in the Eastern District of Brooklyn (later known as Williamsburg).[5] The United States Secretary of War approved the span to Williamsburg in January 1893 under the condition that the bridge be at least 140 feet (43 m) high at its center.[6]
The East River Bridge Company's capital stock was set at $2 million in mid-1893,[7][8] and three men were appointed as bridge commissioners.[9] An elevated rapid transit line on the bridge was approved in September.[10] The commissioners submitted a report on the planned bridge to the New York Supreme Court in October,[11] but the Supreme Court ruled in January 1894 that the $2 million in capital stock was not sufficient to fund the bridge's construction.[12] The East River Bridge Company dug a hole for one of the bridge's piers in Brooklyn on February 15, 1894, to prevent the company's charter from expiring.[13] The New York Court of Appeals, the state's high court, upheld the Supreme Court ruling October.[14] The company's directors held a meeting that November to devise a timeline for the bridge's construction.[15] Concurrently, a London-based firm offered to finance the bridge, and the company moved to condemn a property in the path of the bridge's Manhattan approach.[8]
In March 1895, Charles A. Schieren, mayor of Brooklyn, requested that his corporation council draft a bill for the East River Bridge between Broadway in Brooklyn and Grand Street in Manhattan.[16] The same month, the State Legislature considered a bill to terminate the East River Bridge Company's charter.[17] Schieren and New York City mayor William L. Strong agreed in April to jointly fund the bridge[18] and appoint a group of commissioners.[19] Schieren appointed three commissioners that June,[20] and the commissioners proposed hiring an engineer and issuing bonds the next month.[8] Uhlmann proposed turning over his company's assets to the commissioners,[21] who initially rejected his offer.[22] The commission decided to buy Uhlmann's charter in December 1895.[23] A State Supreme Court justice issued an injunction against this purchase in March 1896;[24] this decision was reversed on appeal,[25] and another Supreme Court justice ratified this purchase that June.[26]