Every time I pass over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, nostalgic memories pop into my head…heading into Brooklyn to visit grandma, constantly looking up at the towers through the windows of the car in awe at the massive blue towers, looking north during clear skies to see the Statue of Liberty or the skyscrapers of Manhattan, and looking south at the neverending blue of the bay/Atlantic Ocean.
The Brooklyn Bridge is my favorite, but I hold the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge closer to my heart. Too many memories and it’s very much so one of the inspiring reasons that I’m a bridge engineer. I don’t know if I’m just bluffing, but I think I want to climb suspension cables at some point…
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was opened in November 21, 1964 (happy belated 46th birthday!) and carries I-278 over the Narrows, connecting the NYC boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It was designed by engineer Othmar Omman, the same engineer responsible for the George Washington Bridge, and several other NYC/NJ bridges. The bridge is named after Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano. When it opened in 1964, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, surpassing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.
On a slightly random but recent note, the New York City Marathon starts at the Staten Island end of the bridge. I don’t feel like I could ever run that much, but running over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is pretty damn enticing!