New York, May 12 (EFE).- The emblematic Brooklyn Bridge in New York turns 140 and the city’s mayor, Eric Adams, announced today what his gift will be to commemorate the opening of this infrastructure that united Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Adams announced that this occasion will be celebrated with the reopening of a public space, after ten years in disuse, which will have areas for sports, games and seats and which will be inaugurated precisely on May 24, which marks the date on which the bridge over the Río del Este, considered one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century.
Adams assured that this reopening marks a “historic moment for our communities, our public spaces and the recovery of our city.”
“These types of public spaces are a critical component of our administration’s strategy for an equitable, inclusive and prosperous economic recovery” and in which 375 million dollars will be invested in public spaces in the five boroughs, he said.
He noted that they are also part of the recommendations made by a group he convened with Gov. Kathy Hochul, which proposed public realm improvements across the city, including under and around the Brooklyn Bridge.
“With the rehabilitation work completed ahead of schedule, we are incredibly excited to reopen this historic space for New Yorkers, just in time to celebrate the anniversary of the bridge and this beautiful spring weather,” said Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez. (DOT), which is in charge of its maintenance and is currently carrying out works on the bridge, built between 1870 and 1883.
The rehabilitation of the bridge has included, for the first time since its construction, an extensive and meticulous cleaning of the granite stones, which turned them from a brown color – the result of more than a century of dust, soot and pollution – to their gray Brilliant original from the 19th century.
While the granite was cleaned, skilled masons replaced the mortar between the individual stones, a process using cement sourced from the same upstate New York quarries used by members of the Roebling family, who designed the bridge, for its initial construction.
The masons are currently completing the recreation of the original designs of the red brick arch by hand, with the project expected to be completed by the end of this year, a statement said.
At the time of its inauguration, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world (it measures 1,825 meters long and 25 meters wide) and was the first suspended by means of steel cables.
On the first day, more than 1,800 vehicles and 150,000 people crossed it. In its construction, 15.1 million dollars were spent and 27 people died.
