NEW YORK (AP)  -- Fireworks, a Navy flyover, a colorful new lighting scheme and a new tribute song are on tap for the Brooklyn Bridge's 125th birthday blowout on Thursday.

Thousands of people are expected to join in the festivities at Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn. Events are scheduled to start at 7:45 p.m.

The 6,000-foot span is one of the nation's oldest suspension bridges and is an enduring symbol of engineering might and imagination. As the bridge opened on May 24, 1883, the national magazine Harper's Weekly said it was ``likely to become our most durable monument.''

The bridge links Brooklyn and Manhattan across the East River. About 126,000 cars and numerous cyclists and pedestrians use it each day.

On the Net:

Brooklyn Bridge birthday: http://nycvisit.com/bb125/