1999 NOVEMBER Contextual Study of New York State’s Pre-1961 Bridges P R E P A R E D F O R New York State Department of Transportation Contextual Study of New York State’s Pre-1961 Bridges Prepared for: New York State Department of Transportation November 1999 Acknowledgments Mead & Hunt, with Allee King Rosen & Fleming, Inc., prepared this study under contract to the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). Mead & Hunt contributors to the contextual study included: Amy Squitieri, Project Director; Christina Slattery, Senior Architectural Historian; and Stacey Pilgrim, Joy Caudill, and Beth Wielde, Historians. Allee King Rosen & Fleming contributors included: Anne Locke, Senior Architectural Historian; and Kerry Ehlinger and Garrick Landsberg, Architectural Historians. The NYSDOT Project Manager is Mary Ivey; the Consultant Manager is Robert Ewing. Many administrators, librarians, preservationists, historians, and engineers contributed directly or indirectly to this effort. The contextual study would not have been possible without their valuable assistance. Table of Contents Page 1. Introduction ..............................................................1 A. Project Overview .....................................................1 B. Definition of Historic Bridge ............................................2 C. Included and Excluded Bridges ..........................................3 D. Objectives for Contextual Study .........................................5 E. Research Methods ....................................................6 F. Subsequent Steps .....................................................7 2. History of Bridge Engineering in the United States ...............................10 A. Introduction ........................................................10 B. Basic Bridge Types ..................................................11 (1) Overview ....................................................11 (2) Arch ........................................................16 (a) Masonry Arch ...........................................16 (b) Steel Arch ..............................................16 (c) Concrete Arch ...........................................17 (3) Truss ........................................................17 (a) King Post ...............................................18 (b) Queen Post ..............................................18 (c) Palmer Arch-truss ........................................18 (d) Burr Arch-truss ..........................................18 (e) Long ...................................................19 (f) Town Lattice ............................................19 (g) Howe ..................................................19 (h) Bowstring Arch-truss ......................................19 (i) Pratt ...................................................20 (j) Warren .................................................20 (k) Fink ...................................................21 (l) Bollman ................................................21 (m) Parker ..................................................21 (n) Pennsylvania ............................................21 (o) Baltimore ...............................................22 (p) Lenticular ...............................................22 (q) Stearns .................................................22 (r) Kellogg ................................................22 (s) Camelback ..............................................23 MEAD & HUNT N133A023\N133-99A\11–99 i (t) Truss Leg Bedstead .......................................23 (u) Wichert ................................................23 (4) Suspension ...................................................23 (5) Movable .....................................................24 (a) Retractile ...............................................24 (b) Swing ..................................................24 (c) Lift ....................................................24 (d) Bascule ................................................24 (e) Pontoon ................................................25 (6) Beam and Girder ..............................................25 (a) Concrete Slab ............................................25 (b) Girder, Stringer, or Multi-beam ..............................26 (c) I-beam .................................................27 (d) Concrete T-beam .........................................27 (e) Rigid Frame .............................................27 (f) Jack Arch ...............................................27 (g) Box Beam or Box Girder ...................................28 C. Construction Materials ................................................28 (1) Wood .......................................................28 (2) Stone .......................................................29 (3) Iron .........................................................29 (4) Cast Iron .....................................................30 (5) Wrought Iron .................................................30 (6) Steel ........................................................30 (7) Concrete .....................................................31 (8) Aluminum ...................................................31 D. Technological Developments in Bridge Engineering ........................31 (1) Development of Truss Bridges ...................................31 (2) Development of Steel Arch Bridges ...............................32 (3) Development of Suspension Bridges ...............................33 (4) Development of Cantilever Bridges ................................36 (5) Development of Movable Bridges .................................37 (6) Developments and Innovations of Concrete .........................37 (7) Aluminum – Introduced as New Building Material ....................39 3. History of Bridge Design and Construction in New York State .....................42 A. Introduction ........................................................42 B. Early Period of Bridge Construction (Pre-1908) ............................43 (1) New York’s First Bridges .......................................43 (2) Bridge Building Increases in Mid-Nineteenth Century .................44 (3) The Proliferation of Bridge-building Firms ..........................46 MEAD & HUNT N133A023\N133-99A\11–99 ii (4) Niagara River Crossings ........................................47 (5) Statewide Bridge Building at the Turn-of-the-Century .................47 (6) New York City’s Bridge-building Program ..........................49 (a) Meeting Early Transportation Needs ..........................49 (b) Department of Bridges Established ...........................50 (c) Commissioner Lindenthal’s Aesthetic Campaign ................51 C. Introduction of Standardization (1908-29) ................................52 (1) New Era of State Involvement Begins in 1908 .......................52 (2) Guidance on Bridges Issued by the State ............................53 (3) Department Reports Increased Construction Activity ..................55 (4) Bridge Work Intensifies Following World War I .....................56 (5) New State Agency Takes the Lead in Bridge Construction ..............58 (6) Bridge Building in New York City ................................61 D. Depression Era Bridge Construction (1930-40) .............................61 (1) Activity of the Department of Public Works .........................61 (2) Tourism Traffic Served .........................................63 (3) New York City Bridges .........................................64 (a) Moses’s Building Campaign ................................65 (b) Port Authority of New York ................................66 (c) New York City Department of Public Works ...................66 (d) New York State Department of Public Works ..................67 E. Modern Bridge Building (1941-60) ......................................67 (1) War Ends Bridge-building Activity ................................67 (2) Post-war Bridge-building Activity .................................69 F. Bridge Designers and Planners .........................................74 (1) Ammann, Othmar Hermann ......................................75 (2) Baird, Howard C. ..............................................75 (3) Boller, Alfred Pancoast .........................................75 (4) Buck, Leffert Lefferts ...........................................76 (5) Burr, Theodore ................................................76 (6) Burr, William Hubert ...........................................77 (7) Cooper, Theodore .............................................77 (8) Ellet, Charles .................................................77 (9) Embury, Aymar II .............................................78 (10) King, Zenas ..................................................78 (11) Lindenthal, Gustav .............................................78 (12) Lupfer, Edward P. .............................................79 (13) MacDonald, Charles ...........................................79 (14) Maillart, Robert ...............................................79 (15) McAlpine, William Jarvis .......................................80 (16) Melan, Josef ..................................................80 MEAD & HUNT N133A023\N133-99A\11–99 iii (17) Modjeski, Ralph ...............................................80 (18) Moisseiff, Leon S. .............................................81 (19) Morison, George Shattuck .......................................81 (20) Moses, Robert ................................................81