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A rare view from the Brooklyn Bridge tower
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Standing atop the east tower of the Brooklyn Bridge, 27 stories above the cold, deep waters of the East River, can be both terrifying and exhilarating. For Dr. Bojidar Yanev, P.E., it's just another day at the office.
Yanev is the director of inspection and management for the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Division of Bridges--which makes him the eyes, ears and brains of 753 bridges in New York City. From the FDR and BQE to the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges, to the hundreds of canal and pedestrian overpasses throughout the five boroughs, maintaining the health and appearance of bridges is a labor of love for Yanev.
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| The top of the east tower |
"Newton said 'If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants,'" he says. "I get to stand on the towers of great bridges."
Yanev, a native of Bulgaria, earned his doctorate in engineering from Columbia University. He began his tenure with the Division of Bridges in 1989, helping to establish the office of research and development. A year later he assumed his current role, for which he oversees all of the City's bridge inspection, research and development.
An admirer of Philippe Petit, who walked a tightrope between the rooftops of the World Trade Center towers in 1974, Yanev earned the nickname "Spider-Man" for his nimbleness climbing bridge cables. He and his team regularly traverse the bridges to check for structural shifting or potential weaknesses. "I spend half my time in the office, and the rest of the time I'm all over the city working with maintenance crews, meeting with other engineers, and inspecting bridges," he says.
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| Bridge crew members descend the cable |
In one of his more daring moments, Yanev even once scaled the vertical suspenders, or "ropes," of the Brooklyn Bridge to remove a protest sign hung illegally by an animal-rights group. "I wanted it to be taken off the bridge before it fell into traffic."
With his unique perspective on the city's spans, Yanev says the Brooklyn Bridge is his favorite. "In every way it's a work of genius. It's essentially the king of all bridges." He dotes on John Augustus Roebling's masterpiece like a proud parent, pointing out some of its elements that have influenced bridge engineering internationally.
"On most bridges there are either diagonal suspenders radiating from the top of each tower, or vertical ropes that connect the main cable to the bridge pathway. Roebling used both, making the bridge infinitely stable. It was another stroke of genius for him, especially in the 1860s when he began designing, and it's remarkable even now," says Yanev. "I've been up and down these cables countless times, and Roebling's brilliance always astounds me."
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| Yanev takes photos from atop the bridge |
He describes his job as one of the best an engineer could have, and one that is inherently necessary. He explains, "Sometimes people think once the bridge is built, you can just relax. But every generation needs to rediscover it and make changes and improvements."
When he's not on the job, Yanev teaches a bridge engineering graduate course at Columbia, and has lectured as far away as Indonesia, Lithuania and China. "I'm perceived as the spokesperson for these bridges," he explains. "People think of me as prestigious, but I feel my bridges are prestigious. Where would I be without them?"
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