Appraising the Brooklyn Bridge

New York City's Department of Transportation is in the process of evaluating and, if necessary, rehabilitating its many important bridges to meet seismic guidelines. As part of a comprehensive 2-part evaluation of the Brooklyn Bridge that used the latest modeling techniques, this article describes the basis for engineers' determination that the bridge's foundations have the ability to withstand a 2,500-year event without any sliding or separation at their bases, obviating the need for retrofits that might alter the architectural form of this unique crossing.