How Long Did It Take To Build The Brooklyn Bridge?

Her Majesty and I live on other side, the south side of Memorial Drive, across the street from Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. If you leave our condo, turn left toward Memorial Drive,  walk about 30 feet then turn right and walk a hundred yards and you'll arrive at a sort of bridge which is 80 feet long with rail guards on each side. The street is over a walk path, 26 miles of which meander through Muirfield.

Did you know it took primarily Irish and Chinese workers four years to build the Transcontinental Railroad and this occurred between 1865-1869 immediately after the War Between. These guys had a tougher job than postmen. The wages for the builders of the Union Pacific was $1.25 a day and a pint of whisky.  There was no time off during the change of seasons and out West they, mostly Chinese laborers, were fighting off Indian attacks and blasting through mountains while suffering treacherous snowstorms. Think long and hard about this great feat. It's awesome.

The Empire State Building began construction on March 17 of 1930. The task was completed May 1, 1931; a total time of 410 days. The workers meandered around girders hundreds of feet above ground without safety ropes. Amazing!

Back to Dublin. I've heard the workers, all six of them, not counting  the guy who runs the ditch digger are doing what I don't know to attack the infamous Memorial Avenue bridge. The word on the street is the guys are shoring up the dirt down below to keep it from blocking a small stream running alongside the walking path.

I needed more info on this project so I drove to the offices of the Dublin City Engineers office. The head honcho explained to me the rigors of shoring up limestone. In my mind I wasn't buying it, but hey, he's an engineer and I'm a P.E. Major so what could I do.

This is a very good job. Most days, when one lane of the street is closed one fella stands at one end holding a sign reading 'Stop'. His buddy, at the other end, is holding another sign reading 'Slow'. The other guys watch the ditch digger. Cool!

Here's the deal and I want you to think about the Empire State Building and the Transcontinental Railroad. Our Dublin work force began this job in September of 2018. The crew is going to knock off January 1 then complete the job starting March 1 and the ribbon cutting ceremony is expected to take place April 30. My tax dollars at work and I use the word work loosely.

I couldn't make this up if I wanted to.