The Brooklyn Bridge carries six lanes of traffic between the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan, across the East River. It was the first great suspension bridge in the United States that had cables formed from parallel steel wires spun into place. That method continues in use today. John Roebling designed the bridge, which was completed by his son Washington. The bridge is 1,595 feet (486 m) long. Foundations were built in timber caissons sunk to 44 feet (13.5 m) on the Brooklyn side and 78 feet (24 m) on the Manhattan side. At the time, little was known of the risks of working under such conditions. More than 100 workers suffered serious cases of the bends during construction.