Leffert Lefferts Buck—Bridge Maker

Abstract

In these days of bridge design by large national and international teams, it is easy to forget those days in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when one man undertook the design and construction of a major bridge. This paper covers Leffert Lefferts Buck's career from 1868 to 1909. In 1872, when he built the famous Verrugas Viaduct in Peru, up to the construction of the Williamsburg Bridge over the East River in New York, he was one of the premier bridge builders of all time. Yet in spite of his acknowledged leadership, very few current bridge engineers are aware of his work.