The Ninth Street Bridge Operator

He takes his place in his metal perch. The operator’s room is cantilevered from the southwest tower out over the roadway for optimal sight lines through the congested bracing system of the elevated subway. He knows the terrain well. The span was designed to provide a channel width of 60’ and a vertical clearance of 60’ above mean high water when open. He’s at the helm and he stays in touch, with the MTA and the DOT and with all his brethren at the other bridges that span the canal. He’s above it all, but he’s never aloof. The bridge provides three lanes of traffic and two 7’-6” sidewalks connecting to the area city street grid. Yet who really knows the Ninth Street Bridge Operator?

Source: Modern Steel Construction