My memory might be wrong, but wasn't the Brooklyn Bridge built when steel was still a relatively new thing? Its properties weren't entirely understood, or even well understood, so as a result, it was tremendously over-built.
Now, everything is about how little material you can use, how close to the minimums you can get and still maintain a theoretical factor of safety. The problem is that in doing so, small mistakes have a much bigger impact.
Now, everything is about how little material you can use, how close to the minimums you can get and still maintain a theoretical factor of safety. The problem is that in doing so, small mistakes have a much bigger impact.