The Upper Deck Approach from the Manhattan side.
Spans - Manhattan-Brooklyn, East River
Canal Street, Chinatown to Flatbush Avenue, Downtown Brooklyn.
The Manhattan Bridge was the last of the classic three East River Crossings to be completed. It opened to traffic on New Year's Eve of 1909, and has been plagued by structural issues almost from day one.
When fully utilized, the bridge has the capacity to carry four lanes of traffic on its upper level, three lanes of reversing traffic on its lower level, four subway tracks and two pedestrian pathways, one of which was earmarked as a bicycle only route.
I've never actually seen this, because the bridge has been under continuous renovation since before I can remember.
(cross section taken from the Wikipedia entry for the Manhattan Bridge)
Apparently, the mysterious northern bike path is now open.
Important Notice
New York City Department of Transportation Division of Bridges
Rehabilitation of the Manhattan Bridge
"On Monday, August 6, 2007, the New York City Department of Transportation Division of Bridges will reopen the north bikeway of the Manhattan Bridge. The north bikeway has been closed since October 2006 to complete various construction tasks in association with the rehabilitation of the lower roadway of the bridge as well as to ensure and maintain public safety during the rehabilitation. Once the bikeway reopens the south walkway will revert to pedestrian use only."
This is the South Walkway. (with a bicyclist in the distance)
Type of bridge: Suspension
Opened to traffic: December 31, 1909
Length of main span: 1,470 feet
Length of side spans: 725 feet
Length, anchorage to anchorage: 2,920 feet
Total length of bridge and approaches: 6,855 feet
Number of decks: 2 decks
Number of traffic lanes: 7 lanes (4 upper, 3 lower)
Number of subway tracks: 4 tracks
Height of towers above mean high water: 322 feet
Clearance at center above mean high water: 135 feet
Number of cables:
Diameter of each of four cables:
Length of each of four cables:
Structural material:
Tower material:
Deck material:
Cost of original structure: $31,000,000
Bridge statistics from nyc roads.com
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