OVERVIEW:
The Great Bridge envisions a future that elevates people over automobiles, reclaims land entangled by roads and ramps for civic use in the form of parks, museums, local commerce, recreation and housing, and makes the bridge more accessible to adjacent communities. The upper deck expansion becomes a planted promenade with lanes for tourists and commuters, while the lower deck features six traffic lanes reduced to two for trolleys and emergency vehicles, with the remainder dedicated to public use, including dedicated bike lanes and planters. Collectively, these measures will yield an experience that is more accessible, safe, democratic and enjoyable for all.

HISTORY:
Brooklyn Bridge was conceived as a civic gesture, a connection to Manhattan and opportunity, and joined teeming streets that functioned simultaneously as thoroughfares, markets, promenades and playgrounds before it was largely overtaken by the ascendance of the automobile. This concept will disentangle the infrastructural knots that currently encumber it and will restore the grandeur of its original design and herald the return of the trolley. Removal of the ramps will open land repurposed to provide greater access to and appreciation of the bridge, engagement with the forgotten vaulted spaces beneath it, and development of vital civic spaces around it. These transformations can revive the aspirations of the bridge’s creators by providing opportunity to future generations of New Yorkers.

INSPIRATION:
At its heart, Civil Engineering is the act of arranging the built and natural environments for the citizens of that place. Lost seven decades ago when significant alterations were made to the bridge, was the focus on the health and well-being of the citizens of New York City. The legacy of this balanced restoration and reconception of the treasured Brooklyn Bridge will be a commitment to undoing the automobile-centric purpose of the bridge and to utilizing materials, technologies and strategies that improve accessibility, civility, equality and enrichment.

LANDSCAPING:
Expansion of the bridge’s upper deck and its strategic perforation to provide natural light to the lower deck permit the introduction of linear planters comprised of seasonally expressive sequences of dynamic landscape plants. Planters will be recessed into the deck where possible and can assist with the management of bridge runoff. The plantings will be comprised of colorful matrices of grasses, wildflowers and woody plants drawn from local ecologies like the coastal plain, riparian corridors and upland meadows — rich communities with compelling arrays of flowers, foliage, fruit and form that, when woven creatively, will engage visitors, birds and pollinators alike.

ACCESS & SAFETY:
Providing the appropriate level of safety and security for the public, transportation systems, approaches and infrastructure is critical in the development of major projects. The process begins with a tailored Threat, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (TVRA). It will define and prioritize issues and inform the Security Mitigation program. Our team will assess the threats, vulnerabilities, and risks to the users of the pedestrian paths, bike paths, and light rail.

To mitigate threats and to increase safety and security levels for the public and users, including communications, monitoring and fire protection systems, we will introduce integrated operational, electronic and physical security systems. Overcrowding will be minimized by locating ticketing booths for the light rail in areas with sufficient space and well-defined egress routes. Adequate, strategic lighting and camera coverage will deter crime or mischief and reinforce community safety. The inclusion of hardening measures such as bollards, planters or street architecture and structural strengthening of key elements, will mitigate extreme loading events.

Trolleys, elevators and shallow ramps, between levels, and lanes wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and pedestrians will enhance accessibility and mobility. Bicyclists will have dedicated lanes separated from pedestrians, trolleys and emergency vehicles. Finally, different lanes will be provided for tourists and commuters, so that all can simultaneously utilize the bridge for different purposes without negatively affecting one another.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT & SECURITY:
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the preeminent symbols of New York City. It is an engineering marvel that exemplifies man’s ability to overcome obstacles. It unified Manhattan and Brooklyn at a crucial time in the city’s history. Currently we are facing another critical moment with the existential challenge of climate change and rising sea levels. The bridge can again emerge, 250 years later, as an exemplary embodiment of human ingenuity, integrating the sustainable and resilient technologies and practices necessary to overcome this threat.

We propose phasing out most automobile traffic over the next thirty years, reducing six lanes to two. Another vital improvement is reintroducing an accessible trolley that will connect the BQX to City Hall, adding lanes for essential emergency and maintenance vehicles. In doing so we can remove a majority of the access ramps and provide much needed land for city use, and as a source for potential capital if necessary. Much of the space can become a contiguous series of parks extending from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Other parcels could be used to establish museums that raise awareness about ecologies and our impact upon them. These buildings and the park itself will be carbon negative, utilizing sustainable materials and technologies such as tidal turbines, geothermal wells, and even low-tech solutions like oyster farming.

This band of parks and institutions will emphasize the tenets of biophilic design and the inherent benefits to the health of all those who will engage the space. The bridge’s inherent gravity and sense of wonder will be amplified with this restoration.

FEASIBILITY:
The existing steel on the new outside upper deck walkway will be reinforced and supplemented with additional structural members for increased gravity and lateral capacity. Special loading conditions, such as torsion from unbalanced loading and new wind loads due to added surfaces were considered and appear satisfactory based on current loading conditions.

The new museum structures will employ innovative and characteristic design to compliment the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. Cross-laminated timber will be used for the external lattice structure as a novel and eco-friendly material, and a nod to the bridge’s pine foundations. A central core will be supplemented by vertical and sloping columns to provide lateral and vertical stability.

Several of the existing bridge access ramps and traffic lanes would be closed and vehicular traffic redirected in phases over a period of thirty years, consistent with City initiatives such as the Climate Mobilization Act. Select ramps and traffic lanes would be maintained for emergency/ maintenance vehicle access. On the Manhattan side, FDR Drive ramps would be consolidated on the north side of the bridge at a reconfigured Robert F. Wagner Place to allow for revitalization of the streetscape on the south side of the bridge. On the Brooklyn side, future transportation system changes such as Congestion Pricing and autonomous vehicles are expected to facilitate the diversion of BQE traffic to other East River crossings.