16 quotes found
"This bridge needs neither praise, eulogy nor encomium. It speaks for itself. We who have labored long are grateful. What Nature rent asunder long ago, man has joined today."
"The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the greatest monuments of all time. Its unprecedented size and scale, along with its grace of form and independence of conception, all call for unique and unconventional treatment from every point of view. What has been thus played up in form should not be let down in color."
"The lists the Sunshine Skyway at no. 3 among the "The World's Top Ten Bridges," and residents of Florida's middle-western coast are rightfully proud of the majestic cable-stayed bridge, the fifth-largest such structure on the planet. Its bright yellow cables, set against the azure blue of the bay waters, or pink-and-orange sunsets, make for stunning landscape paintings and art photographs suitable for framing. It has been indeed become an iconic Florida image, these days emblazoned on everything from T-shirts and coffee mugs to expensive limited-edition porcelain collectors' plates. In 2012 the put the Sunshine Skyway on a stamp, using a digital illustration by Chicago artist Dan Cosgrove."
"If you're putting that offshore fishing trip on the back burner due to rapidly rising fuel costs, you can still nail the big ones from the . The south side — 8,250 feet long, with 571 parking spaces — is the longest fishing pier in the world. ... s attract marine life. There are 65 of them along the south side and 18 running perpendicular to the north pier. The underwater structures owe their existence to a tragedy: the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapse in May 1980, when a freighter crashed into a bridge support during a terrible storm (35 people died). Rubble from the collapsed bridge was placed on the sandy bottom to form the reefs."
"— Sean Michael Davis was hauling his life across the Sunshine Skyway bridge that November afternoon, almost two years ago. He was moving to a new home in Palmetto, his box truck stuffed with furniture. He admired the way the sun hit the water and thought about what lay ahead. — He saw her on the second trip: a young woman in her 20s with shoulder-length dirty blond hair and green velour pants. She parked her silver car on the northbound crest. Davis, 41, slowed his truck. — He watched the next 10 seconds unfold from his southbound lane. He tried calling 911 but could not get through to the right dispatcher. — There would be no time for an intervention. — The young woman walked straight to the wall, hiked her leg over the berm and was gone. No hesitation. No intervention. Gone."
"Due to the disastrous history of the original Sunshine Skyway, safety was paramount in the design of its replacement. One of the most obvious precautions taken … is the inclusion of 36 large concrete bumpers called s that surround the piers close to the shipping lane which are at the greatest risk from passing ships. Each of these dolphins is designed to withstand the direct impact of an 87,000-ton ship traveling at a speed of 10 ."
"DeYoung's is the first nonfiction book about the iconic Sunshine Skyway Bridge and its abrupt demise at the bow of a 606-foot freighter run afoul in a sudden storm. The bridge was one of the longest structures in the world at the time the two segments of it were built (in 1954 and 1971). In 1954, it was the first bridge in the United States constructed entirely of and steel rods. After it was destroyed, the bridge was reconstructed with a and now claims to be the fifth longest bridge of that design in the world, spanning nearly five miles of water. ... each day, an estimated 52,000 vehicles navigate its five-degree incline to cross from to ."
"The original bridge was praised as one of the longest over-water spans in the . A second structurally identical span was built to the southwest in 1971 in order to bring the bridge to interstate standards. This meant that two lanes could each be devoted to north-south traffic, as opposed to a single lane each way. This was done both to increase traffic fllow as well as to connect which, in the early 1970s, was in the planning stages to reach across . (The interstate would run from the to the Skyway in 1978.) ... A freighter named the collided with the newer southern span of the bridge on May 9, 1980. Bad weather caused rough seas, and at 7:33 a.m., the ship collided with one of the main span’s support columns. More than 1,300 feet of the steel cantilever structure at the bridge’s apex fell onto the deck of the ship and . About 35 people, 26 of them in a bound for Miami, were killed in the accident. The only survivor’s car landed on the deck of the ship. To this day it remains the second deadliest bridge failure in the United States."
"Between the completion of the bridge on paper and the inauguration of construction, a distressing event took place. This was the death of , in 1869. It was difficult to believe that the loss would not prove irreparable, and yet in fact had preserved him to be the real builder of the bridge, although not a hammer had been lifted when he died. His son, , who was already associated with the work, enjoyed the confidence and shared the ability of his father. The board of trustees appointed him chief engineer—the position he has held during the entire progress of construction."
"When, in 1865, Mr. first took fairly hold of this enterprise, and had plans and estimates made by competent men, almost the same line was recommended as the Bridge actually now occupies. This line extends from a point in Brooklyn near the junction of and s about 38½ above , to , near the , about 61½ feet above high-water mark. When afterwards permission was obtained from the United States Government to put a suspension-bridge across the river, that permission stipulated that the channel of the river should not be interfered with in any way, and that the highest part of the Bridge should be at least one hundred and thirty-five feet above high-water mark."
"... In 1921, the bridge was a cornerstone image in and 's cinematic hymn to New York, '. Subsequently, the bridge has appeared in countless films, from 's ' (1928) and 's ' (1933) to such recent blockbusters as ' (1998), (1998), (1999), and ' (2001)."
"The Brooklyn Bridge, like that of , is carried on four main cables. The supports are two huge towers, rising 272 feet above high water. At the river level they measure 140 feet broad by 50 deep, which dimensions decrease to 120×40 feet at the summit. ... The most interesting feature of the bridge is the cable work. Each of the four cables, anchored at either end to massive 13-ton plates, embedded in huge masses of masonry, each representing more than 44,000 tons, contains 5296 galvanised steel wires, which were carried separately from tower to tower, and bound up together in a parallel formation into a cylinder 15¾ inches in diameter."
"For those who do not care to prowl about for the scattered bits of interest or who prefer what would call "a magnificent panorama," there are plenty of good points of vantage from which to see whole sections at once, such as the or the tops of high buildings, or, obviously, Brooklyn Bridge, which is so very obvious that many Manhattanese would never make use of this opportunity were it not for an occasional out-of-town visitor on their hands. No one ought to be allowed to live in —he ought to be made to live in —who does not go out there and look back at his town once a year. He could look at it every day and get new effects of light and color. Even in sky-line he could find something new almost every week or two."
"The opening of the "Eighth Wonder of the World, on May 24, 1883, was the biggest celebration New York had seen since the opening of the nearly sixty years before. Some of the Irish were unhappy because the day chosen for the ceremony happened also to be 's birthday, but almost everybody else had a splendid time."
"For nearly fifty years after it was completed the Brooklyn Bridge reigned supreme as the most magnificent, if not technically the largest, on earth. In its initial days as a public thoroughfare it was commonly referred to as "The Eighth Wonder of the World" as it was even greater sensation than anyone had expected. On its first full day, May 25, 1883, a total of 150,300 people crossed on foot and 1,800 vehicles went over carrying an unknown number of others."
"In May of 1884, , "in the interest of the dear public," took a herd of twenty-one elephants, including the famous "," over the bridge to Brooklyn and thereupon declared that he, too, was now perfectly satisfied as to the solidity of the masterpiece."