Part 3, Chapter 20 Summary and Analysis

"Wire Fraud" reveals how Roebling had been correct about Haigh as a supplier - and in building safety margins into his specifications. Political machinations are now rampant, and the Great Bridge could yet be a monument to futility. The workers, however, continue to be shown as heroic. Crews brave 65-mph winds and ice to lash the cable strands together as protection during a gale that punishes the half-finished bridge in January, but come spring, spinning goes faster than every and Murphy predicts work will be finished by 1880. Roebling tells the trustees his father's plans for trains will be followed. Cars will be hauled at 20-40 mph by an endless cable powered by a steam engine, like the San Francisco streetcars. Kinsella has been calling for a system compatible with New York railroads should be substituted. Tweed dies Apr. 12, 1878, still...