True American Pride - Real Things to Celebrate About This Nation (#12)
Our Nation's Iconic Bridges
"Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness." (Frank Ghery, US architect and designer)
My 12th entry in this series was inspired when I saw a reminder of a birthday today that I’m sure few Americans are noting. John A. Roebling was born today in Prussia in 1806. And like almost all Americans, I wouldn’t know a thing about Mr. Roebling. But 40 years ago, I read one of the 1st books by (in my opinion), America’s greatest historian, David McCollough, “The Great Bridge”. In it, McCollough told the dramatic and captivating story of both Roebling, who became one of America’s 1st great civil engineers, and his epic project of building the Brooklyn Bridge in the late 19th century.
It was Roebling’s invention of twisted wire cable that made it possible for bridges to be built bigger and longer in the U.S. In 1869, Roebling was hired to build a suspension bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York. It took over 14 years to complete this innovative, but dangerous project. At least 20 workers died during the construction, including John Roebling himself! His son, Washington, and his son’s wife Emily, had to take over the project to finish it. Their heroic efforts are quite a read in McCollough’s book!
Today, according to the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT), over 120,000 vehicles, 30,000 pedestrians, and 3,100 bicyclists cross the Brooklyn Bridge every day.
It’s estimated that there are over 615,000 bridges in the United States today. Texas is the state with the most bridges (55,701). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is also known as the "City of Bridges" and has 446 bridges, which is more than any other city in the world. It’s estimated that 42% of our nation’s bridges are over 50 years old. 7.5% of the nation’s bridges, are considered structurally deficient. So clearly, future investment in America’s infrastructure is critical. America’s bridges clearly contribute to both our economy and are expressions of our culture as well.
The Royal Gorge Bridge (southern CO). 956’ over Arkansas River (built in 1929)
Many of these spans are beautiful and iconic in their architechture: testaments to their designers and the dedicated efforts of millions of workers in their construction. So I’ll end today simply with sharing pictures of some of my favorites of these American creations. May they stand tall and strong and serve us for a long time.
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (opened in 1937)
The Bixby Creek Bridge near Big Sur, CA (opened in 1932)
The Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge - Hoover Dam NV (opened 2010)
Benson Bridge, Multnomah Falls OR ( Built in 1914)
Tillikum Crossing Portland OR - No cars allowed on it. (Opened in 2015)
One of my favorites is the Megler bridge is Astoria.