Parella 1
James Parella
Mrs. McGuinness
ILA 8
April 11, 2017
THE VERRAZANO-NARROWS BRIDGE
Just over 58 years ago, one of the world’s most iconic bridges was just being born. After five long years, it grew up and became the world’s longest bridge at the time it opened. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is one of the greatest and largest bridges in the entire world.
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, or more well-known as the Verrazano Bridge, is the longest suspension bridge in the United States and is now the eleventh longest in the world. It is 2 ½ miles, or 13,700 feet, long and 103 feet wide (web.MTA.info). Due to its massive length, the bridge’s roadway follows the curvature of the earth. Nine hundred and sixty thousand square feet of concrete were …show more content…
Each one reaches seventy stories into the sky and weighs 27,000 tons, most of which is angles and plates to form and support it. Three million rivets and 1 ½ million bolts hold together the 26,000 tons of angles and plates. The Brooklyn tower drops 17 stories underground and the Staten Island tower drops 10 stories underground (Young 24).
Parella 2
The most expensive project on the bridge was the $56.9 million cable spinning that holds down the 264,000-ton weight of the entire structure. There are four of these cables that each weigh 39,192 tons and are made up of over 26,000 individual wires. Each of these cables creates a great deal of pull and are 35 ⅞ inches wide and 7,205 feet long. During the spinning process, catwalks were built under the soon-to-be cables to allow the cable spinners to walk back and forth between the towers and to allow the cable spinning machines to travel between the towers as well (Young …show more content…
After sitting behind the Staten Island toll for a week, the first person to cross wore a rented tuxedo and rode in a “pale blue Cadillac convertible with flags flapping from the fenders. On June 28, 1976, the world’s largest American flag at 71,000 square feet was flown on top of the bridge to celebrate our bicentennial; it was shredded in just few hours due to the very high wind speed; as of now, apparently, the world’s largest American flag is flying in North Korea. Every year since 1976, the NYC Marathon is started on the Staten Island side of the bridge where, apparently, people remove so many layers of clothing that organizers have to “literally plow them into piles”
James Parella
Mrs. McGuinness
ILA 8
April 11, 2017
THE VERRAZANO-NARROWS BRIDGE
Just over 58 years ago, one of the world’s most iconic bridges was just being born. After five long years, it grew up and became the world’s longest bridge at the time it opened. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is one of the greatest and largest bridges in the entire world.
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, or more well-known as the Verrazano Bridge, is the longest suspension bridge in the United States and is now the eleventh longest in the world. It is 2 ½ miles, or 13,700 feet, long and 103 feet wide (web.MTA.info). Due to its massive length, the bridge’s roadway follows the curvature of the earth. Nine hundred and sixty thousand square feet of concrete were …show more content…
Each one reaches seventy stories into the sky and weighs 27,000 tons, most of which is angles and plates to form and support it. Three million rivets and 1 ½ million bolts hold together the 26,000 tons of angles and plates. The Brooklyn tower drops 17 stories underground and the Staten Island tower drops 10 stories underground (Young 24).
Parella 2
The most expensive project on the bridge was the $56.9 million cable spinning that holds down the 264,000-ton weight of the entire structure. There are four of these cables that each weigh 39,192 tons and are made up of over 26,000 individual wires. Each of these cables creates a great deal of pull and are 35 ⅞ inches wide and 7,205 feet long. During the spinning process, catwalks were built under the soon-to-be cables to allow the cable spinners to walk back and forth between the towers and to allow the cable spinning machines to travel between the towers as well (Young …show more content…
After sitting behind the Staten Island toll for a week, the first person to cross wore a rented tuxedo and rode in a “pale blue Cadillac convertible with flags flapping from the fenders. On June 28, 1976, the world’s largest American flag at 71,000 square feet was flown on top of the bridge to celebrate our bicentennial; it was shredded in just few hours due to the very high wind speed; as of now, apparently, the world’s largest American flag is flying in North Korea. Every year since 1976, the NYC Marathon is started on the Staten Island side of the bridge where, apparently, people remove so many layers of clothing that organizers have to “literally plow them into piles”