The Suspension is Killing Me

Vrancic's vision

Is it really so farfetched, a suspension bridge over the Newtown Creek? A bridge worthy of the George Washington, Verrazano, or Brooklyn bridges. According to the DOT's "Bridge Primer," this long-span bridge type is "not economical" for the short Kosciuszko main span. Well, sure, the current KB's main span is just 300 ft. long but the total length of the bridge is 6021 feet, just a little shy of the Williamsburg's (another suspension bridge) 7308 feet. Instead, we will get something like this "desk-arch" design, one of the four finalists.

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Is it all about the money? Or just another diss of Queens and Brooklyn? After all, why should there be a glorious bridge visible from the east side of Manhattan that doesn't haven't anything to do with Manhattan?

Before we shop for suspension bridges, though, let's take a trip with Peabody and Sherman in the Wayback Machine to travel to the Dalmatian coast of Croatia circa 1600...  That's where the great engineer, astronomer, inventor and linguist Faust Vrancic created the original design (above) for a suspension bridge, that is, one whose roadway would be supported by cables strung from towers, eliminating the need for multiple sets of piers. This allows for largely unobstructed space below for river traffic and an overall sense of lightness and grandeur. It is no coincidence that Philip Petitte's early wire-walking expeditions included ones between the spires of one of the Verrazano Bridge's towers and of the gothic cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

Although Vrancic published his design in 1595, it was not until the late 18th century that one was built. Talk about suspended animation! By the way, Vrancic also designed a wind turbine (left). Maybe the design for the new KB should incorporate some of these babies atop its towers, generating wind even as it enables the burning up of carbon-based power below.