Officials fired water at the Third Avenue Bridge, which connects the Bronx and Manhattan, to cool it down.

Third Avenue Bridge, which connects New York’s the Bronx to Manhattan, got stuck in an open position due to the high heat on Monday.

FDNY officers arrived in boats and fired water at the structure to try and cool down the metal, which expanded after high temperatures in the city, officials say.

The incident caused major traffic delays during one of the hottest days of the year in New York but reopened on the same day.

  • Zipitydew@sh.itjust.works
    352·
    4 months ago

    It’s a good question. Steel is very good at absorbing and retaining heat. Water on the other hand isn’t. Metals in general have way better thermal conductivity than water.

    Exposed to the sun at the same time, a piece of metal will warm up a few times faster than the water. I believe steels can be somewhere around 8-10 times less energy required than to heat a similar mass of water.

    The water could even start out slightly warmer than the bridge. Evaporative cooling would also work here since there is plenty of ventilation around the bridge. But that can slow down based upon humidity level.