Beginning of Essay
In the winter of 1852, John Roebling and his 15 year-old son, Washington were riding a ferry boat across the East River from New York to Brooklyn. John Roebling was an engineer. His specialty was building bridges. As he looked across the East River, he could pi ....

Middle of Essay
.... called a suspension bridge. Every suspension bridge is different, but they all work in the same way. The roadway doesn’t rest on supports. Instead it hangs in the air, suspended from thick cables. Only two towers are needed to hold up the cables, and they can be placed far apart to keep the river open for boat traffic. Finally in 1867 The New York Bridge Company made John A. Roebling engineer. In just three months he produced all drawings, cross sections, location plans, preliminary surveys, estimated cost, took sounding, and wrote his proposal. In June of 1869 John finished the design for the bridge. He and Washington climbed out onto the ....