How did the Brooklyn Bridge caissons work?
Men Labored Below the East River In Horrid Conditions The towers of the Brooklyn Bridge were built atop caissons, which were large wooden boxes with no bottoms. Compressed air was then pumped into the chambers to keep water from rushing in, and men inside dug away at the mud and bedrock at the bottom of the river.
What were the Brooklyn Bridge caissons made of?
wooden
The caissons used for the Brooklyn Bridge were large wooden bottomless boxes that were sunk to the bottom of the East River. The working chambers were filled with compressed air to prevent surrounding ground water from seeping in.
How was the Brooklyn Bridge Foundation built?
Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge began on January 2, 1870. The first work entailed the construction of two caissons, upon which the suspension towers would be built. Compressed air was pumped into the caisson, and workers entered the space to dig the sediment until it sank to the bedrock.
What is a bridge caisson?
In geotechnical engineering, a caisson (/ˈkeɪsən/ or /ˈkeɪsɒn/; borrowed from French caisson, from Italian cassone, meaning large box, an augmentative of cassa) is a watertight retaining structure used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the repair …
How deep are the footings for the Brooklyn Bridge?
44 feet
When they reached a sufficient depth—44 feet on the Brooklyn side and 78 feet on the Manhattan side—they began backfilling the caisson with poured concrete and brick piers, working their way back up to the surface.
How deep are the Brooklyn Bridge caissons?
78.5 feet
The Brooklyn bridge project employed 600 workers in 1873. The caissons were to a depth of 78.5 feet/23.8 m. These caissons were steam heated because it was thought that decompression sickness was due to extreme cold.
Was the Brooklyn Bridge built by a woman?
Emily Warren Roebling, the Woman Behind the Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge. She was not an engineer. But she was instrumental to the construction of the great engineering feat.
What was Emily Roebling’s role in the project?
Emily Warren Roebling, (born September 23, 1843, Cold Spring, New York, U.S.—died February 28, 1903, Trenton, New Jersey), American socialite, builder, and businesswoman who was largely responsible for guiding construction of the Brooklyn Bridge (1869–83) throughout the debilitating illness of its chief engineer, her …