The uneven weight of subway trains crossing the Manhattan Bridge caused it to tilt to one side, necessitating an extensive reconstruction between 1982 and 2004.

[14][15]: 548  These plans called for a suspension bridge with carbon steel wire cables and a suspended stiffening truss, supported by a pair of towers with eight braced legs.

[24] Another set of plans was unveiled that month by New York City Bridge Commissioner Gustav Lindenthal, in conjunction with Henry Hornbostel.

[47] In November, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the contract with Pennsylvania Steel was illegal, as the bidding process had been designed to shut out other bidders.

[62] Land acquisition for an extension of Flatbush Avenue to the bridge began in March,[63] and the first steel girders of the towers were lifted in place the next month.

[95] Around 60 million pounds (27,000 long tons; 27,000 t) of red steel girders and floor panels for the bridge's deck had been delivered to a yard in Bayonne, New Jersey.

[102] The bridge commissioner received $1 million from the Board of Estimate and Apportionment for the completion of the roadway, subway tracks, and other design details.

[109] The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that there was widespread discontent over the fact that streetcar and subway service would not be ready for the bridge's opening.

[110] Stevenson announced at the end of November 1909 that the bridge's roadways would likely open by December 24, although the transit lines and pedestrian walkways were not complete.

[172] As part of a Works Progress Administration project, a ramp at the Brooklyn end of the bridge was widened in 1941, replacing a dangerous reverse curve.

[203] The city had still not decided whether to move the subway tracks to a double-deck structure in the middle of the bridge, even though that plan would have reduced strain on the cables.

[210][211] The eastern upper roadway was closed for repairs in September 1960; the project also included fixing the lower deck and building ramps from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

[211] In conjunction with the upgrades to the upper roadways, in June 1961, New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses proposed demolishing the plazas on both sides and connecting the bridge to new expressways.

[260] Although the NYCDOT had planned to halt work for 16 months,[259] the western roadway was closed for emergency repairs in February 1989 after two corroded beams sagged.

[261] Newsday reported that the western roadway had urgently required repair for almost three years but had remained open to avoid shutting down all four of the bridge's subway tracks at once.

[262] The cables, trusses, and subway frame on the eastern half of the bridge had to be repaired, and the lower roadway needed complete replacement.

[265][266] Service on the south tracks resumed in December 1990, despite warnings the structure was unsafe;[267] they had to be closed again after the discovery of corroded support beams and missing steel plates.

[277] City Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman originally denied the contract to the company because of concerns about corruption,[278] but she was overridden by Mayor David Dinkins, who wanted to complete repairs quickly.

[282] As part of an experiment, researchers from Mount Sinai Hospital monitored lead levels in Manhattan Bridge workers' blood while the reconstruction took place.

[298] A plan for congestion pricing in New York City was approved in mid-2023,[299] allowing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to toll drivers who enter Manhattan south of 60th Street.

[300] Congestion pricing was implemented in January 2025;[301] all Manhattan-bound drivers pay a toll after using the bridge, which varies based on the time of day.

[65][66] A publication from 1904 wrote that the central parts of each tower were designed like a "great open arch", making it possible to rebuild either the western or eastern halves of the bridge without affecting the structural integrity of the other half.

[129][303] The Manhattan plaza connects directly with Canal Street and the Bowery, while the Brooklyn end of the bridge continues as Flatbush Avenue (which in turn intersects several other roads at Prospect Park).

[336] The city paid Carl Augustus Heber, Charles Cary Rumsey, and Daniel Chester French a combined $41,000 (equivalent to $1,148,000 in 2023) to design sculptures around the approach plazas.

[339][132][135][340] The design of the arch and colonnade reference the fact that the Manhattan Bridge continues into Brooklyn as Flatbush Avenue, which runs south to the Atlantic Ocean.

The southern side of the arch, facing Brooklyn, is less ornately decorated but has rusticated stone blocks indicative of a Parisian or Florentine bank.

[337] The arch and colonnade were described as a "complete, dignified and monumental ensemble, worthy of one of the principal gateways of a great modern city" in a New York Times article.

[132] The Brooklyn Daily Eagle wrote: "The Manhattan Bridge will be not only something to get across the East River upon, but the sight of it will be a joy even to those who have no occasion to cross it.

"[343][345] According to The Christian Science Monitor, the plaza's presence "has turned a section of the East Side, in one of its most squalid parts, into a veritable park where children can find on summer evenings a clean open place amid surroundings that will be in many ways the equal of any in New York".

[400] One local civic group predicted that large numbers of Jewish residents would move from Manhattan's Lower East Side to Brooklyn as a result of the bridge's opening.