The idea for Manhattan Bridge was first conceived by Gustav Lindenthal, the commissioner of the Department of Bridges, who also had a hand in the Queensboro Bridge. This happened after the completion of the Williamsburg and Brooklyn Bridges. In 1901 he proposed his first plan for the Manhattan Bridge. His vision for the Manhattan Bridge was to combine the aesthetics of Williamsburg and Brooklyn Bridges. The proposed bridge would have massive steel towers, similar to the Williamsburg Bridge, and enormous trusses to fortify the structure. Just like the Brooklyn Bridge, the plan would incorporate both vertical suspender ropes and diagonal cable stays, characteristic of suspension bridges. The proposed design by Lindenthal was swiftly rejected by the Municipal Arts Commission for aesthetic reasons. Soon after, Lindenthal drafted up a second, more controversial plan for the bridge. His second plan replaced the traditional steel wire cables with chains made of eye-bars (the design of the eye-bar chain is similar to bicycle chains). Only four of these cables would support the suspended bridge. The cables would be held up by thin-profile steel towers at each end of the East River. In 1904, the new mayor of New York City hired a different commissioner for the Department of Bridges, he decided to employ Leon Moiseeiff as the chief designer of the Manhattan Bridge. Leon Moiseeiff adapted Lindenthal original idea of using thin-profile steel towers, but chose to install the traditional steel wires, rather than the eye-bars Lindenthal proposed. His design philosophy was largely based on a new engineering principle called deflection theory, which relied on the idea that suspension bridges were inherently stronger than originally supposed. Unfortunately, since the study of deflection theory was just beginning to gain ground, it was not fully perfected. Upon completion the Manhattan Bridge was under-built and encountered numerous issues owing to its inability to support train and automobile traffic. In 1982, a reconstruction project aimed to correct the inherent flaws of the bridge began and lasted for twenty seven years. The cost of the original structure reached $31 million dollars by December 31st, 1909. Originally the Manhattan Bridge was meant to be used exclusively by trains. Today it is a two deck suspension bridge used for pedestrian, automobile and subway traffic, connecting the neighborhoods of Downtown Brooklyn with Chinatown, Manhattan. The Holland Tunnel, which connects lower Manhattan and New Jersey, is directly across the island from the Manhattan Bridge this Leads to a great deal of truck and automobile traffic. Vehicles going from Brooklyn to New Jersey, drive across Manhattan on Canal Street contributing to the congestions and pollution, creating a serious urban problem.