One of the great, early infrastructure achievements in New York City was the street design for Manhattan known as the grid. The grid, originated in 1811, is characterized by 12 north-south avenues and 155 east-west streets. The avenues are 100 feet wide, the standard cross streets are 60 feet wide and the major cross streets are 100 feet. The 15 major cross streets are at irregular intervals (14, 23, 34, 42, 57, 72,79) and then change to 10 street intervals (86, 96, 106, 116, 125, 135, 145, 155). This plan, promulgated while most of the city was concentrated below Canal Street, was a major forward looking concept that heavily influenced the development of Manhattan. Real estate values soared and plunged depending upon location in relation to the grid and its development. There was major opposition against developmental interests, and no end of bribery, profiteering and political and economic maneuvering. The grid's early foresight imagined a city of rapid growth and development, and provided a physical framework for that growth.