Okay everyone, as we discussed yesterday afternoon here is Discussion Thread #6. It is a clip from a 1964 MTA documentary observing the 30th anniversary of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. Note when the announcer mentions the idea of Progress. That is not to say you have to write about that concept. I mention it because it came up in class yesterday. Write about the construction workers, the bridge opening, FDR, your own experience with the bridge, or whatever you like. As always, we are interested in what you have to say. Approach the discussion however you wish in the usual 100-300 words due by 11:59 pm on Sunday 25 October.
30 thoughts on “Discussion Thread #6”
While I was watching the 1964 MTA documentary, I felt extremely anxious as a construction worker walked the plank while carrying a bucket across. Even with a simple slip, he would be falling down a great height to his death below in the East River. None of the construction workers wore any protection. The way they use to construct skyscrapers and bridges are extremely dangerous, and people have died on the job. The huge sacrifices they were making for the progression of New York, and their way of making money. Especially during this time, watching a huge amount of people walk in a huge crowd makes me feel uneasy.
The first thing that grabbed my attention was the film’s music choice, the music added to this film made it feel that America was making accomplishments in developing themselves. America felt proud. MTAs entire documentation of the 30th anniversary of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority was also interesting to me because I wonder if the MTA continues to document their creations of public transportation. When the film showed the clip of the cars going through the FDR, I immediately thought to myself “and this is where the pollution begins”. This came to mind because I recently saw a small documentary on climate change, although cars are not the main cause of it, it is still part of the equation. Also, the wardrobe of the construction workers really stuck out to me because they were all well dressed and not in construction gear. On top of that, they were wearing caps as if that will protect their heads in a construction environment.
Pamela, observing the music is very, well, observant. It’s interesting that as late as 1964 they were still emphasizing the notion of progress, seen and heard here in the accompanying music. There are as you point out many unintended consequences of the roads and bridges, not least the pollution. Re the workers and their clothes, I wonder if the audience in 1964 would have thought the same things you and I note today. No hardhats, no safety netting, and little other protection that we assume today are part of any safe construction site.
The first thing that grabbed my attention was the film’s music choice, the music added to this film made it feel that America was making accomplishments in developing themselves. America felt proud. MTAs entire documentation of the 30th anniversary of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority was also interesting to me because I wonder if the MTA continues to document their creations of public transportation. When the film showed the clip of the cars going through the FDR, I immediately thought to myself “and this is where the pollution begins”. This came to mind because I recently saw a small documentary on climate change, although cars are not the main cause of it, it is still part of the equation. Also, the wardrobe of the construction workers really stuck out to me because they were all well dressed and not in construction gear. On top of that, they were wearing caps as if that will protect their heads in a construction environment.
The first thing I took notice of the video is the background music. It is a very positive and celebrating piece, getting a sense of forward and improvement, doing the nation proud kind of feeling, like an army march during celebrations. The music complements with the video bring an overwhelming feeling of joy for the opening of the Triborough Bridge, showcasing how brave and the amount of work people put into creating the bridge. However, once I finish the video once and watch it again suddenly I start to focus on the dangerous condition the worker has during that construction, high in the sky with nothing but their own body, one slip can be the end. I personally am afraid of height so when looking at that image of a worker so high in the sky and a ladder that has no landing, it’s very scary.
Yuli, good points all. You’re the second now to note the stirring music contrasted with the dangerous work environment. We must keep in mind that this was the Depression and people were desperate for jobs, however dangerous, and took what they could get.
The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), is what is known as the MTA Bridges and Tunnels. The other seven bridges make up the MTA Bridges. Since I was younger, I have always wondered how bridges are built underneath the water. It was interesting to learn in history how the slaves used to construct the railroads and bridges. They were put to work and in my opinion, they were the ones that made America what’s America is known for. I had several experiences on the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority since I used to work as an UBER driver. I used to spend on average 4 hours on the NYC Bridges and tunnel. I realized most of the maintenance was normally done in the nighttime when there was less traffic. The parts of the bridges with toll are costly and since less year they started closing the booth to put cameras instead to decrease traffic. I think this led to hundreds of people losing their job.
Michael, thank you for sharing your thoughts and also your experiences with the bridges and tunnels as an Uber driver. Indeed, much of the country’s infrastructure was built by the work of enslaved persons. Adding to what you said, the Irish and other immigrants played a hand in the construction of modern New York City. In the South and West, many Chinese men built the railroads too.
I liked how the documentary music before was very upright and almost like marching band music, very patriotic. There was a transition from each scene showing a perspective eye-level view to a birdeye level view that I thought was really interesting. I think that really captured back then the attention of how the bridges were. I also noticed how face pasted some parts were maybe resembling how NYC is. It is crazy to compare the safety measures from the 1900s to now. I assume there must have been a lot of incline in deaths in construction due to the lack of safety precautions. In comparison to now, people have insurance if something happens or even the material of hardhat and tools have overall evolved.
The first thing I looked at in this video makes me think of my grandfather who was a construction worker. I guess most of the documentary video we see in this class always reminds me of my grandpa story back to 50 yrs ago. I am an acrophobic person and I hate standing at top of a building and looking down. When I saw those steelworkers working at the bridge without any protection on them, I say that’s not going to be a thing I will try out in my entire life. It makes me scared to not think of falling down and I have to be brave enough not to make a mistake that could kill myself. I very much appreciate everyone who worked on the construction of the city, thanks for all your sacrifice.
“I very much appreciate everyone who worked on the construction of the city, thanks for all your sacrifice.” beautiful line, Yuhang. Thank you for incorporating the story of your grandfather. I’m glad you have that memory of him.
First you know that this is a MTA documentary as the construction of the Triborough bridge looks like the same construction of the train tracks. The workers I believe are really brave for them to climb the bridge like they did. At 1:18 it showed one of the workers walking across the beam of the bridge as if it was nothing but light work for him. As for the finished model of the bridge itself, the way the cars moved on the finished Triborough bridge is nothing like the speed the cars move at now. You have people who like to cross in-between cars to get where they have to go and some who are right behind each other giving no space to breathe.
I am watching this video filled with amazement. While building this bridge, the men looked so calm working so high off the ground. We are only seeing 3 minutes of what they do; but their balance and fearlessness while completing this project was like wow. Had it been me, I would’ve quit on the first day (lol). I am not that brave when it comes to heights. I also noticed that no one is wearing real protective gear while on the field. They lived real risky lifestyles. Construction workers now a days, are required to wear hard hats, harnesses, gloves, goggles, etc. while working. I do wonder how many people got sick on the job being that they are inhaling dust and other hazardous particles while working. Overall this is a very interesting short film.
What I notice about this video is how they talk about the construction of the bridge. The announcer talks about how the suspension span of the bridge is conspicuous and I can’t really tell if he says that as a good or bad thing. Regardless he isn’t wrong it’s hard to miss however suspension bridges had been around for at least 50 years prior. The main thing I gather from this video though, is that this video is meant to educate people on what at that time was a pretty new infrastructural thing. I would assume most people at that time didn’t really know much about these giants that now make up our city scape so I would imagine there could be a lot of fear to use something that you don’t know or trust .
The video explaining the completion of the tri-borough bridge was very interesting. The music in the video reminds me of a screen from Captain America, where they showed the propaganda videos that they were filming in the movie. Another thing that interested me was the workers on the bridge. They worked with no protection or security measures to ensure their well-being. Another startling scene of the video was when one of the workers was standing at the edge of a ledge and was trying to align a beam that was probably three times his size. It is a little frightening to think of the number of people who died for the competition of the bridge.
The introduction catches my attention. It was like I was at the movie theaters when the film first began. I loved the music which was a perfect fit that matched the film. The fast pace of the old fashion cars remind me of living in New York City. Folks are always busy coming and going along the city’s path to their designated location. The traffic of the cars could represent the busy life of most New Yorkers. It was fascinating learning about the 3 main bridges and actually getting to see the built of it during that era.
The film mentions that the construction workers did not own steel protective hat gear. Why is that? It stood out to me while watching the film that all of the construction workers were putting themselves at great harm to potentially falling or becoming seriously injured. I felt like the workers were not giving the proper body mechanics to protect the posture and alignment of their whole entire bodies. Most of the guys in the film were handling heavy equipment with their bare hands. Makes it look so simple and easy. I myself definitely couldn’t do that kind of work. The city should have given each of these men the right protective equipment, before they were allowed to work at their assigned construction site. Construction workers deserve far more respect than they are given. Being a construction worker is very risky and your life’s on the line.
Watching this film reminds me of a story I heard a long time ago on the news, about a Mta worker who passed away from getting hurt on the job. Heavy equipment fell on him he got caught and wasn’t able to overcome the extreme painful impact his body endured. It takes a special person with a passion and skill set to work as an construction worker.
The triborough bridge, as we all know very well, is a very iconic structure in NY, as well as the many other bridges locating in NY. The constructionism of this bridge is not only immense, but a beautiful piece of steel artwork on the river. The creation of this beautiful structure in 1936 was developed to allow over 200,000 passengers to cross over the bridge daily at the time.
To consider how this structure was built, it took a great deal of courage, brilliance, and strength. As in those days, the construction workers than weren’t as the were today. These strong willed workers scaled over beams, carried material over beams in a “tight rope like fashion” with no supports strapped on them, and scaled down these constructional elements with their bare hands, and no means of mechanical transportation or secure harnesses. Looking back, these things wouldn’t be as appreciated as it is now. In todays world, there are many regulations that come into play when considering how one enters these kinds of sites.
Therefore, with such a beautiful project as the triborough bridge being completed, it is only right that FDR at the time, would bring about the opening ceremony to the completion of this project to the public.
Albert, you capture a lot here. I think you’re the only one so far to mention the bridge as a work of art. Moses and his teams did what they could to bring an aesthetic appeal to what they did, whether it was the bridges, the swimming pools, or what have one. Sometimes that gets lost on people today.
Having FDR there was a good move and showed how proud the city and state were of their accomplishment.
It’s amazing looking back at how little safety precautions they took. It seems life and limb were more expendable then, probably in part due to it being the Depression and people so desperate for work.
This is a very interesting piece of history that I enjoyed watching thoroughly. Unfortunately, I cannot confidently say that I drove on or walked the Triboro bridge. It might not have been very memorable if I did in the passing. When I have a bit of free time I’ll definitely make a visit as I’m quite intrigued by how all three boroughs are connected through it.
Coming from an accounting background I quickly looked up what $60 million in 1939 dollars would be today; 1.1 billion. Considering that back in 2014 it took 1.4 billion to just repair the Verrazzano bridge, I would say the Triboro Bridge was a steal. I think this is because labor unions were just gaining momentum, and OSHA wasn’t formed until 30 years after the bridge was build. It was nerve wrecking to see the construction workers without any protective head gear nor safety harnesses in the video; I’m glad there are laws which protect them today.
Anna, I really enjoyed this. It is fascinating how the bridges tie the boroughs together. There is an expression one does not hear too much anymore called “bridge and tunnel person.” It was a pejorative and referred to someone who lived outside of trendy Manhattan but rode or drove in via the bridges and tunnels to work, go to a play, or what have one. The term largely went away in the early 2000s as the outer boroughs gentrified and there was less stigma and more cachet (and higher rent) outside Manhattan.
Great bit of quick research on the cost of the bridge. They got so many projects like that done so quickly and on budget. And yes, unions were just coming into their own in this time as well. Very observant post.
The first thing I noticed about the video was the music and how upbeat it was it just shows that these people took a lot of pride in building the Triborough bridge. Another thing I noticed is the way the bridge was built, I can not imagine there being many safety precautions in building this bridge considering the fact that the guy at the 1:38 mark was walking across a beam with a bucket over the east river with no harness or net or anything else. The bridge is a magnificent piece engineering and certainly has helped people including me access the George Washington and other places more quickly the only gripe I have with the bridge is that you have to pay the toll before entering Randall’s island.
The Triborough bridge had connected three out of the five boroughs which had to be done by a specific deadline. Also from the video, there are workers who lack protection in their building of the bridge such as a construction hat. I wonder was it due to it not existing at the time or the lack of ethical working or funds for the equipment?
I love the fact that I was able to view this clip because it demonstrated a few examples of what it took and what it looked like to have a bridge as big as the Triborough to be built. The thing that also really stood out to me was how the construction workers were quite literally climbing to put things in place. A sort of bravery that I don’t quite think I could display myself. Especially because knowing myself, I would accidentally slip and fall from such heights. This proved what sort of dedication construction workers have to be able to withstand such stress and push forward to complete a job that not many could necessarily perform. And speaks to just how much they are genuinely needed in order to help architects and engineers make their visions come true.
The tri-born bridge and tunnel authority opened in 1936 over the Harlem river. This bridge is connected to two main roads that connect Manhattan, Brooklyn,and queens.This was a massive project for its time period due to the great depression the bridge was still continued and finished. Even though the economy was under major pressure. It took 7 years to completely construct this massive project, and it cost the city 64 million dollars to construct. A major interesting but risky thing was that the workers worked in sketchy conditions that put their health and life at risk the conditions they worked in. The men didn’t work with safety gear or protective gear. Which reminded me of the steel workers that did skyscrapers or any high rise buildings. There were people that definitely lost their life completing this project. When the project was completed Franklin Roosevelt wanted to be the first person to approve on the road the day of its grand opening. Both Roosevelt and Robert Moses used their ego to show strength.
While I was watching the 1964 MTA documentary, I felt extremely anxious as a construction worker walked the plank while carrying a bucket across. Even with a simple slip, he would be falling down a great height to his death below in the East River. None of the construction workers wore any protection. The way they use to construct skyscrapers and bridges are extremely dangerous, and people have died on the job. The huge sacrifices they were making for the progression of New York, and their way of making money. Especially during this time, watching a huge amount of people walk in a huge crowd makes me feel uneasy.
Tiffany, great points. So many workers sacrificed so much, often their lives, to build the New York City we take for granted today.
The first thing that grabbed my attention was the film’s music choice, the music added to this film made it feel that America was making accomplishments in developing themselves. America felt proud. MTAs entire documentation of the 30th anniversary of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority was also interesting to me because I wonder if the MTA continues to document their creations of public transportation. When the film showed the clip of the cars going through the FDR, I immediately thought to myself “and this is where the pollution begins”. This came to mind because I recently saw a small documentary on climate change, although cars are not the main cause of it, it is still part of the equation. Also, the wardrobe of the construction workers really stuck out to me because they were all well dressed and not in construction gear. On top of that, they were wearing caps as if that will protect their heads in a construction environment.
Pamela, observing the music is very, well, observant. It’s interesting that as late as 1964 they were still emphasizing the notion of progress, seen and heard here in the accompanying music. There are as you point out many unintended consequences of the roads and bridges, not least the pollution. Re the workers and their clothes, I wonder if the audience in 1964 would have thought the same things you and I note today. No hardhats, no safety netting, and little other protection that we assume today are part of any safe construction site.
The first thing that grabbed my attention was the film’s music choice, the music added to this film made it feel that America was making accomplishments in developing themselves. America felt proud. MTAs entire documentation of the 30th anniversary of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority was also interesting to me because I wonder if the MTA continues to document their creations of public transportation. When the film showed the clip of the cars going through the FDR, I immediately thought to myself “and this is where the pollution begins”. This came to mind because I recently saw a small documentary on climate change, although cars are not the main cause of it, it is still part of the equation. Also, the wardrobe of the construction workers really stuck out to me because they were all well dressed and not in construction gear. On top of that, they were wearing caps as if that will protect their heads in a construction environment.
The first thing I took notice of the video is the background music. It is a very positive and celebrating piece, getting a sense of forward and improvement, doing the nation proud kind of feeling, like an army march during celebrations. The music complements with the video bring an overwhelming feeling of joy for the opening of the Triborough Bridge, showcasing how brave and the amount of work people put into creating the bridge. However, once I finish the video once and watch it again suddenly I start to focus on the dangerous condition the worker has during that construction, high in the sky with nothing but their own body, one slip can be the end. I personally am afraid of height so when looking at that image of a worker so high in the sky and a ladder that has no landing, it’s very scary.
Yuli, good points all. You’re the second now to note the stirring music contrasted with the dangerous work environment. We must keep in mind that this was the Depression and people were desperate for jobs, however dangerous, and took what they could get.
The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), is what is known as the MTA Bridges and Tunnels. The other seven bridges make up the MTA Bridges. Since I was younger, I have always wondered how bridges are built underneath the water. It was interesting to learn in history how the slaves used to construct the railroads and bridges. They were put to work and in my opinion, they were the ones that made America what’s America is known for. I had several experiences on the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority since I used to work as an UBER driver. I used to spend on average 4 hours on the NYC Bridges and tunnel. I realized most of the maintenance was normally done in the nighttime when there was less traffic. The parts of the bridges with toll are costly and since less year they started closing the booth to put cameras instead to decrease traffic. I think this led to hundreds of people losing their job.
Michael, thank you for sharing your thoughts and also your experiences with the bridges and tunnels as an Uber driver. Indeed, much of the country’s infrastructure was built by the work of enslaved persons. Adding to what you said, the Irish and other immigrants played a hand in the construction of modern New York City. In the South and West, many Chinese men built the railroads too.
I liked how the documentary music before was very upright and almost like marching band music, very patriotic. There was a transition from each scene showing a perspective eye-level view to a birdeye level view that I thought was really interesting. I think that really captured back then the attention of how the bridges were. I also noticed how face pasted some parts were maybe resembling how NYC is. It is crazy to compare the safety measures from the 1900s to now. I assume there must have been a lot of incline in deaths in construction due to the lack of safety precautions. In comparison to now, people have insurance if something happens or even the material of hardhat and tools have overall evolved.
The stirring music contrasted with the dangerous construction scenes is quite striking.
The first thing I looked at in this video makes me think of my grandfather who was a construction worker. I guess most of the documentary video we see in this class always reminds me of my grandpa story back to 50 yrs ago. I am an acrophobic person and I hate standing at top of a building and looking down. When I saw those steelworkers working at the bridge without any protection on them, I say that’s not going to be a thing I will try out in my entire life. It makes me scared to not think of falling down and I have to be brave enough not to make a mistake that could kill myself. I very much appreciate everyone who worked on the construction of the city, thanks for all your sacrifice.
“I very much appreciate everyone who worked on the construction of the city, thanks for all your sacrifice.” beautiful line, Yuhang. Thank you for incorporating the story of your grandfather. I’m glad you have that memory of him.
First you know that this is a MTA documentary as the construction of the Triborough bridge looks like the same construction of the train tracks. The workers I believe are really brave for them to climb the bridge like they did. At 1:18 it showed one of the workers walking across the beam of the bridge as if it was nothing but light work for him. As for the finished model of the bridge itself, the way the cars moved on the finished Triborough bridge is nothing like the speed the cars move at now. You have people who like to cross in-between cars to get where they have to go and some who are right behind each other giving no space to breathe.
Manny, good interpretation of the excerpt that we watched.
I am watching this video filled with amazement. While building this bridge, the men looked so calm working so high off the ground. We are only seeing 3 minutes of what they do; but their balance and fearlessness while completing this project was like wow. Had it been me, I would’ve quit on the first day (lol). I am not that brave when it comes to heights. I also noticed that no one is wearing real protective gear while on the field. They lived real risky lifestyles. Construction workers now a days, are required to wear hard hats, harnesses, gloves, goggles, etc. while working. I do wonder how many people got sick on the job being that they are inhaling dust and other hazardous particles while working. Overall this is a very interesting short film.
Ebony, I’m glad you found the snippet of the film we watched enlightening. One wonders how they did it.
What I notice about this video is how they talk about the construction of the bridge. The announcer talks about how the suspension span of the bridge is conspicuous and I can’t really tell if he says that as a good or bad thing. Regardless he isn’t wrong it’s hard to miss however suspension bridges had been around for at least 50 years prior. The main thing I gather from this video though, is that this video is meant to educate people on what at that time was a pretty new infrastructural thing. I would assume most people at that time didn’t really know much about these giants that now make up our city scape so I would imagine there could be a lot of fear to use something that you don’t know or trust .
Gillen, very observant.
The video explaining the completion of the tri-borough bridge was very interesting. The music in the video reminds me of a screen from Captain America, where they showed the propaganda videos that they were filming in the movie. Another thing that interested me was the workers on the bridge. They worked with no protection or security measures to ensure their well-being. Another startling scene of the video was when one of the workers was standing at the edge of a ledge and was trying to align a beam that was probably three times his size. It is a little frightening to think of the number of people who died for the competition of the bridge.
The introduction catches my attention. It was like I was at the movie theaters when the film first began. I loved the music which was a perfect fit that matched the film. The fast pace of the old fashion cars remind me of living in New York City. Folks are always busy coming and going along the city’s path to their designated location. The traffic of the cars could represent the busy life of most New Yorkers. It was fascinating learning about the 3 main bridges and actually getting to see the built of it during that era.
The film mentions that the construction workers did not own steel protective hat gear. Why is that? It stood out to me while watching the film that all of the construction workers were putting themselves at great harm to potentially falling or becoming seriously injured. I felt like the workers were not giving the proper body mechanics to protect the posture and alignment of their whole entire bodies. Most of the guys in the film were handling heavy equipment with their bare hands. Makes it look so simple and easy. I myself definitely couldn’t do that kind of work. The city should have given each of these men the right protective equipment, before they were allowed to work at their assigned construction site. Construction workers deserve far more respect than they are given. Being a construction worker is very risky and your life’s on the line.
Watching this film reminds me of a story I heard a long time ago on the news, about a Mta worker who passed away from getting hurt on the job. Heavy equipment fell on him he got caught and wasn’t able to overcome the extreme painful impact his body endured. It takes a special person with a passion and skill set to work as an construction worker.
Tameeka, well done. We owe so much to the workers, then and now, who build and maintain our city.
The triborough bridge, as we all know very well, is a very iconic structure in NY, as well as the many other bridges locating in NY. The constructionism of this bridge is not only immense, but a beautiful piece of steel artwork on the river. The creation of this beautiful structure in 1936 was developed to allow over 200,000 passengers to cross over the bridge daily at the time.
To consider how this structure was built, it took a great deal of courage, brilliance, and strength. As in those days, the construction workers than weren’t as the were today. These strong willed workers scaled over beams, carried material over beams in a “tight rope like fashion” with no supports strapped on them, and scaled down these constructional elements with their bare hands, and no means of mechanical transportation or secure harnesses. Looking back, these things wouldn’t be as appreciated as it is now. In todays world, there are many regulations that come into play when considering how one enters these kinds of sites.
Therefore, with such a beautiful project as the triborough bridge being completed, it is only right that FDR at the time, would bring about the opening ceremony to the completion of this project to the public.
Albert, you capture a lot here. I think you’re the only one so far to mention the bridge as a work of art. Moses and his teams did what they could to bring an aesthetic appeal to what they did, whether it was the bridges, the swimming pools, or what have one. Sometimes that gets lost on people today.
Having FDR there was a good move and showed how proud the city and state were of their accomplishment.
It’s amazing looking back at how little safety precautions they took. It seems life and limb were more expendable then, probably in part due to it being the Depression and people so desperate for work.
This is a very interesting piece of history that I enjoyed watching thoroughly. Unfortunately, I cannot confidently say that I drove on or walked the Triboro bridge. It might not have been very memorable if I did in the passing. When I have a bit of free time I’ll definitely make a visit as I’m quite intrigued by how all three boroughs are connected through it.
Coming from an accounting background I quickly looked up what $60 million in 1939 dollars would be today; 1.1 billion. Considering that back in 2014 it took 1.4 billion to just repair the Verrazzano bridge, I would say the Triboro Bridge was a steal. I think this is because labor unions were just gaining momentum, and OSHA wasn’t formed until 30 years after the bridge was build. It was nerve wrecking to see the construction workers without any protective head gear nor safety harnesses in the video; I’m glad there are laws which protect them today.
Anna, I really enjoyed this. It is fascinating how the bridges tie the boroughs together. There is an expression one does not hear too much anymore called “bridge and tunnel person.” It was a pejorative and referred to someone who lived outside of trendy Manhattan but rode or drove in via the bridges and tunnels to work, go to a play, or what have one. The term largely went away in the early 2000s as the outer boroughs gentrified and there was less stigma and more cachet (and higher rent) outside Manhattan.
Great bit of quick research on the cost of the bridge. They got so many projects like that done so quickly and on budget. And yes, unions were just coming into their own in this time as well. Very observant post.
The first thing I noticed about the video was the music and how upbeat it was it just shows that these people took a lot of pride in building the Triborough bridge. Another thing I noticed is the way the bridge was built, I can not imagine there being many safety precautions in building this bridge considering the fact that the guy at the 1:38 mark was walking across a beam with a bucket over the east river with no harness or net or anything else. The bridge is a magnificent piece engineering and certainly has helped people including me access the George Washington and other places more quickly the only gripe I have with the bridge is that you have to pay the toll before entering Randall’s island.
The Triborough bridge had connected three out of the five boroughs which had to be done by a specific deadline. Also from the video, there are workers who lack protection in their building of the bridge such as a construction hat. I wonder was it due to it not existing at the time or the lack of ethical working or funds for the equipment?
I love the fact that I was able to view this clip because it demonstrated a few examples of what it took and what it looked like to have a bridge as big as the Triborough to be built. The thing that also really stood out to me was how the construction workers were quite literally climbing to put things in place. A sort of bravery that I don’t quite think I could display myself. Especially because knowing myself, I would accidentally slip and fall from such heights. This proved what sort of dedication construction workers have to be able to withstand such stress and push forward to complete a job that not many could necessarily perform. And speaks to just how much they are genuinely needed in order to help architects and engineers make their visions come true.
The tri-born bridge and tunnel authority opened in 1936 over the Harlem river. This bridge is connected to two main roads that connect Manhattan, Brooklyn,and queens.This was a massive project for its time period due to the great depression the bridge was still continued and finished. Even though the economy was under major pressure. It took 7 years to completely construct this massive project, and it cost the city 64 million dollars to construct. A major interesting but risky thing was that the workers worked in sketchy conditions that put their health and life at risk the conditions they worked in. The men didn’t work with safety gear or protective gear. Which reminded me of the steel workers that did skyscrapers or any high rise buildings. There were people that definitely lost their life completing this project. When the project was completed Franklin Roosevelt wanted to be the first person to approve on the road the day of its grand opening. Both Roosevelt and Robert Moses used their ego to show strength.