When the second deck was completed in 1964, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world at 4,260 feet and carried 12 lanes of traffic. It beat the Golden Gate Bridge by 60 feet. It lost its "worlds longest" title in 1981 to the 7,280' Humber Bridge. A 25-year reconstruction plan was started in 2014. [Wikipedia] It did not have 12 lanes until June 28, 1969, when the lower level opened. The upper level opened on Nov 21, 1964. [BridgeHunter]
Eight photos by Carol Highsmith
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| NY,24-BROK,57--3 from ny1803 3. VIEW OF VERRAZANO-NARROWS BRIDGE LOOKING NORTHWEST WITH MANHATTAN IN BACKGROUND - Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Spanning Narrows between Fort Hamilton (Brooklyn) & Fort Washington (Staten Island), Brooklyn, Kings County, NY |
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| Jessica DeBruler Yarbrough posted, Released into the Public Domain |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Jessica's post Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4... |
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| Spiro Polychronopoulos posted The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, opened on Nov 21, 1964. This iconic crossing is Othmar Ammann's final masterpiece! Spanning New York Harbor and connecting Brooklyn with Staten Island; it has such a long central span that the towers are 1 inch and 5/8 further from the top than the bottom...due to compensation for the earth's curvature! |
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| William Tracy posted One of my favorite places to clear my head is off the Belt Parkway overlooking the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. I took this one sunset in 2022 |
I like this aerial because it allows me to better understand where his bridge is located.
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| New York 365 posted New York City 🇺🇸🗽 |
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Highway Engineering Discoveries posted New York, USA John Murdock: With Brooklyn in the foreground and Staten Island in the background |
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| Gregory D. Felten posted Verrazano Narrows Bridge taken from the Staten Island Ferry. |
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| Highway Engineering Discoveries posted Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Suspension bridge in New York City, New York |
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| Highway Engineering Discoveries posted Dave Frieder: Verrazzano-Narrows. |
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| Highway Engineering Discoveries posted New York Highway Engineering Discoveries posted again |
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| Dave Frieder commented on the above post One of my favorites to climb and photograph! (Self-Portrait) |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Construction on the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge as the RMS Queen Mary passes, March 1, 1962. (Transportation History) |
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| Classic Staten Island posted On December 19, 1962, workers in a skip box attached catwalk rope to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Tower spreader beams. Dave Frieder: The Footbridge Ropes are attached to the Saddles. Use CORRECT Terminology! Bridges Now and Then shared David Cooper: Horrible things...bucket lifts on a winch. You are pulled up higher and higher..your life depends on the winch man. And the wire isn't wrapped neatly along the winch drum, every so often the last loop on the drum drops sideways off the previous loop, and the bucket bounces... Mistakes have been made. With the winch on the ground and only a single wire; if the bucket is not heavy enough the weight of the fall wire can be greater than the weight of the lift. The bucket goes up much of the way...and then accelerates. Several men were killed from this on a chimney construction site near me. Check the empty bucket is safe first.... Bob Art: David Cooper as a Retired Ironworker #378 Oakland my bet is on a Derrick on top of the tower. |
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| Comments on the above share |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted On New York's Verrazzano Bridge, c. 1962. (Viewing NYC) [Both sides are NYC.] Steven Gembara: Great view on the Brooklyn end. Donald Dugas: The bridge opened on November 21, 1964, and a lower deck was opened in June 1969 to alleviate high levels of traffic. James Torgeson shared |
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| Ironworkers building the World posted Dave Frieder: Two of three parts of the Saddles for the Verrazzano-Narrows bridge. James Torgeson shared Ironworkers from Bethlehem Fabricated Steel Construction install a portion of one of the cable saddles on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Bethlehem fabricated and erected the Staten Island tower and all of the cable saddles. |
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| Focal Points posted Brooklyn: Verrazano Bridge Under Construction -View From The Belt Parkway (1964) Bridges Now and Then shared Dig the Volkswagen. |
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| Manhattan posted The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge upper level, New York (1963) [The rest of the description is platitudes.] |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted "A vintage photograph from January 1964 shows the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge under construction, as seen from the Bay Ridge Side near Shore Road and 97th Street." (Perfect Gas) Eddie Gough: A different way of hoisting truss panel sections, no clothes line effect. Most suspension bridge truss erection is where the sections meet at center span |
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| Dave Frieder commented on the above post One of the 400 Ton roadway units being lifted into position and attached to the Suspender ropes. When all Roadway units were installed the "Drape" of the main cables dropped 17 feet [5m]! |
Colin Milne provided two photos on BN&T's post with the comment: "Same bridge from the Queen Mary II, New York to Southampton……"
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| Zane Zack commented on BN&T's post |
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| Dave Frieder commented on BN&T's post BOTH Towers are sitting on Sand and Clay. The Caissons never went to Bedrock. |
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| Dave Frieder commented on BN&T's post Another image I made at Mid Span. |
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| Bill Jeczalik commented on BN&T's post Picture I took during a flight lesson out of Teterboro Airport of the Verrazano-Narrows during construction. June 1964 |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted New York City's Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during construction, 1963. (Staten Island Advance) [Look at all of the spools of wire.] |
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| Dave Frieder commented on post One of the 400 Ton Roadway units being lifted into position and attached to the suspender ropes. |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Verrazzano Narrows Bridge construction, 1963, by the great Bruce Davidson. (Magnum Photos) |
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| Dave Frieder commented on the above post Main Cables are spaced the same as GWB, 9 feet center to center. |
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| John W. Perry Jr. commented on the above post Great book! Tells the whole story! |
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| Classic Staten Island posted Steelworkers, safe from traffic below, perform for hundreds of sidewalk onlookers gather near the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn. Come November, the traffic will be there Circa 1964 (Staten Island Advance Photo) James Torgeson shared Ironworkers from the American Bridge Division of USS erect the deck of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island. |
Building the towers with two columns connected with a big, arched crossmember at the top makes the towers look simple but strong. HistoricBridges observes that these simple towers are a signature of Othmar Ammann, and they make his bridges look more modern than they really are.
Because the lower deck is built within the stiffening truss, we can get a better view of that truss than we can in most other suspension bridges.
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| Street View |
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| Via HistoricBridges |
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| Via HistoricBridges |
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| NYCroads This 2003 photo shows the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from the Bay Ridge shoreline, looking west toward Staten Island. (Photo by Jim K. Georges.) [This web page has an extensive history of the bridge.] |
An unusual view of the bridge:
Mike Brady posted two photos with the comment: "verrazzano-narrows bridge tower top being shop fitted. Each tower weighs 27,000 tons and is held together with three million rivets and one million bolts. love those bridges."
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| Rolly Errol posted Be careful out there! Look what happened on the VARRAZANO BRIDGE. |
Mike Brady posted two photos with the comment: "verrazzano-narrows bridge tower top being shop fitted. Each tower weighs 27,000 tons and is held together with three million rivets and one million bolts. love those bridges."
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| James Torgeson posted Here we see the American Bridge Division of USS erecting the decks for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island in New York City. AB did the decks and cables, Bethlehem Steel built the Staten Island tower, and Harris Structural Steel built the Brooklyn tower (which is the one in the photo). |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Verrazzano Narrows Bridge construction. (Bruce Davidson) |
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| Dave Frieder commented on the above post One of my personal favorites! |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Another photo of the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge from the great Bruce Davidson, 1964. Dave Frieder: 61 Strands at 428 wires each. Total wires in Each Main Cable, 26,108. 75% of the Wires are from American bridge. 25% are Roebling! It is believed that the Suspenders are also Roebling. |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted From Reddit: "My grandfather working on the construction of the Verrazzano Bridge (1960)" Lee Housley: Look at the lanyard on that safety belt. James Torgeson shared Bethlehem Steel Fabricated Steel Construction and Harris Structural Steel have finished building the the two towers and now it’s the USS American Bridge Division’s turn to erect the cables and deck for the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island. Bethlehem erected the Staten island tower, Harris did the Brooklyn tower, and USS American Bridge did the cables and roadway/deck. John M. Mowrey: That is the same way I was taught to tie my lanyard. |
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| A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours posted Workers on the cables of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during its construction in 1962. Staten Island is seen in the distance. The bridge would open ahead of schedule in 1964. The rest of the world would be introduced to it in 1977's "Saturday Night Fever". Bridges Now and Then shared Kip Wylie: They are operating the compactor. It copacts the thousands of indivual strands into a super tight main cable. Ours was made up of 4 ea 100 ton hydraulic jacks on a frame. Eddie Gough: Having 4 main cables , this bridge must handle some serious loads, is this bridge a double decker? NY Troy: Eddie Gough yes and the GWB [George Washington Bridge] has 4 cables as well and has a double deck and could have had 3 decks that’s how strong that bridge is. James Torgeson: American Bridge at work! |
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| Comments on the above post [As a comment observed, today's required safety harness would have probably saved three lives.] |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted An undated view of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during construction. (Staten Island Advance) Steven Gembara: Photograph is from 1963. It looks like it was towards the end of cable spinning process, which was August of that year. The workers appear to be banding the the cable strands together. Robert Richardson: Harris structural of South Plainfield did one section of the bridge. I think Chicago bridge was another contractor ROEBLING WIRE ROPE ANOTHER, And I think American bridge was another I think this is the longest span that there is.. James Torgeson shared Ironworkers from the American Bridge Division of US Steel fabricate the main cables of the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. AB also fabricated the roadway decks. Bethlehem Fabricated Steel Construction fabricated and erected the Staten Island tower and Harris Structural Steel did the Brooklyn tower. |
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| Dave Frieder commented on the above post One of my Thousands of images on Verrazzano-Narrows bridge. |
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| Dave Frieder commented on Steven's comment It is call Compacting. The 61 Strands are squeezed from a Hexagon Configuration to a ROUND configuration using a "Squeezer" with 12 Hydraulic jacks Radially mounted. The Hydraulic Squeezer was invented by Holton Robinson. |
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| Dave Frieder commented on Robert's comment American Bridge constructed the Staten Island Tower. Harris Structural Steel constructed the Brooklyn Tower. They assembled the "Cells" of the Towers differently but they finished the same. Roebling Wire was used for 25% of the wire for the Main Cables as American Steel and wire could not furnish enough wire in time for that contract. It was 10,000 Tons or wire. |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted Verrazzano Bridge seen mid construction, NYC, early 1960s. (Brooklyn Media Group) Dave Frieder: After all the roadway units were installed the "Drape" of the Main Cables dropped 17 feet! [Some comments discuss hang points and rocker links.] James Torgeson shared Bethlehem Fabricated Steel Construction and Harris Structural Steel have built the two towers and now it’s the turn of the American Bridge Division of USS to fabricate the cables and decks of the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. |
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| Dan Reinhardus commented on the above post, cropped |
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| Bob Rees commented on the above share According to my dad, Robert Moses wanted the bridge opened early for the Worlds Fair. |
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| Dave Frieder commented on the above share A favorite of mine to climb and photograph!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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| MTA Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge 1963 Workers hoist cable bands onto the main cables at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. September 25, 1963. Courtesy of MTA Bridges and Tunnels Special Archives |
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| MTA Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge 1963 Workers at the Brooklyn Tower of the Verrazzano-Narrows with cable squeezing apparatus in place. August 27, 1963. Courtesy of MTA Bridges and Tunnels Special Archives |
This Facebook posting of the construction of an anchorage for the bridge is what motivated this blog posting. It is not unusual to see photos of the towers being built, the cables being spun, and the deck being hung; but it is unusual to see photos of the anchorage. Note that the HAER photo collection includes several photos of anchorage details.
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| Scott McDonald shared Verrazano Narrows Bridge 1963 [Manitowoc crane] 3900 Matthew Kevin Foley That anchor makes the 3900 look like a toy Bridges Now and Then posting The Verrazano Narrows Bridge at an anchorage, 1963.(© Magnum Photos, Inc./Bruce Davidson) |
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| Dave Frieder commented on a posting 25% of the wires and all of the suspenders were made by John A.Roebling's Sons Inc. Here is a view I took of the completed Brooklyn Anchorage. |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted "A pile driver is half-submerged in the water off a pier near the Staten Island tower of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The equipment was to drive new pilings for the pier at the tower but sank before work began. Photo from 1963." (Staten Island Advance) Dave Frieder: The Piles were for the Outside Cofferdam only. The Sixty Six 17 foot diameter wells were sunk Hydraulically! Lloyd Anderson: Sorry that pic is not accurate. See that elevator? I rode it everyday until it was shut because the back span and center span were connected at the tower. I never saw that rig. Bridges Now and Then: Lloyd Anderson I'll inform the Staten Island Advance. |
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| Focal Points posted Verrazano Bridge Under Construction from the Belt Parkway. (1964) |
Once again, the approach to a big bridge can be a non-trivial construction in its own right.
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| Highway Engineering Discoveries posted Verrazzano Bridge, Brooklyn. |
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| Dave Frieder commented on the above post My Reverse angle of view. 1996. |
At first I was frustrated because no dock (pier) location was specified. But then I realized that was because they are not at a dock. They are out in the middle of the bay. I think that is the Verrazzano-Narrows bridge in the background of the first photo. Thus I added these photos to these notes.
Lucibello Heavy Equipment photography posted nine photos with the comment: "Carver Companies 3000 series E-Crane Worldwide loading a bulk carrier with scrap metal at a mooring in NYC harbor."
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| 17:02 video @ 9:23 History and construction of the bridge |
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