[May 24, 2015] In 1883, on May 24th, the Eighth Wonder of the World opened after 14 years of construction. The Brooklyn Bridge may not seem that unusual by today’s standards in large-scale building structures, except at that time it was considered so futuristic that many believed it would never work and would fall into the river. I wrote about the bridge (link here) and used its design and construction to illustrate the concept of persistence in leadership.
The bridge cost the lives of 27 workers and debilitating injuries of many more.1 But it was the dogged persistence, grit, and perseverance of a handful of engineers, and the wife of one, from Germany that ground their way around obstacles that could have halted the project at any time. Now, most people – including most of my beloved New Yorkers – know nothing at all about the bridge under their car tires; the “bridge with no toll.” Their lack of knowledge about the bridge is unsurprising and unfortunate.
Designed by John Roebling, the advanced suspension-bridge technology allowed the construction to be lighter, stronger, and have greater stability in the structure. We take this for granted today but at the time only short bridges had good stability. Building the critically important foundation, called caissons, was one obstacle that resulted in many disabled workers. The pressurized air, used during the construction process, lead to “caissons disease” when the workers were depressurized quickly. Today we call this condition the “bends” and it’s caused by the appearance of nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream from rapid decompression.
John Roebling later died as the result of an accident at the building site. However his son Washington Roebling and Washington’s wife, were the couple most responsible for seeing the project through to completion. Washington Roebling himself also suffered from caissons disease. When completed, the connection of Manhattan and Brooklyn changed the course of New York City forever.
We salute the Roebling family for their leadership and tenacity, the workers for their bravery, and the senior leaders in the state of New York for their insight into the importance of the bridge. All New Yorkers and millions of others have crossed this all important bridge; the Eighth Wonder of the World.
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[1] http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/brooklyn-bridge-opens