Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
April 9, 1906 In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), a dedication ceremony was held for the McFarlane Bridge in the town of Maclean. The bridge, which was designed by civil engineer Ernest de Burgh (1863-1929), carries Lawerence Road across the south arm of the Clarence River. This structure provides a key transportation... Continue Reading →
April 6, 1956 An arch bridge in what was then known as the Federation of Malaya was officially opened. At the time, this country in Southeast Asia was a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom. The steadily gathering momentum for a fully independent Federation of Malaya was reflected in the name of the new bridge.... Continue Reading →
March 30, 2003 An arch bridge in northern Portugal’s Porto metropolitan area was inaugurated. This 1,217-foot (371-meter)-long bridge spans the river Douro and carries both vehicular and pedestrian traffic between the city of Porto and the city and municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia. The bridge was named after Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460), the... Continue Reading →
March 24, 2011 The Arganzuela Footbridge in the central area of Madrid, Spain, was opened to the public. This bridge, which took about 14 months to build, serves as a link between the Arganzuela and Carabanchel districts of Spain’s capital and most populous city. French architect and urban planner Dominique Perrault (born in 1953)... Continue Reading →
March 12, 1985 A prestressed concrete bridge in southeastern Australia was officially opened to traffic. This 1,086-foot (331-meter)-long structure, which carries the Sturt Highway across the Murray River, serves as a link between the town of Buronga in the state of New South Wales (NSW) and the city of Mildura in the state of Victoria.... Continue Reading →
February 17, 2012 The first cable-stayed bridge in Rio de Janeiro was officially opened. This 780-meter (2,559.1-foot)-long structure, which was named Ponte do Saber (Portuguese for “Bridge of Knowledge”), carries vehicular traffic across the Canal do Fundão (an artificial estuary created in 1951). The bridge serves as a connection between the Ilha do Fundão campus... Continue Reading →
February 12, 1938 A truss bridge built in the Montopolis neighborhood of Austin, Texas, in Travis County was dedicated during a Saturday ceremony. The next day’s edition of the Austin American reported, “The huge span of smooth concrete and shiny steel was constructed to replace [an] old iron bridge washed out by the flood of... Continue Reading →
January 20, 1995 A cable-stayed road bridge in northwestern France’s Normandy region first went into service. The Pont de Normandie (Normandy Bridge) spans the river Seine and connects the commune of Honfleur with the major port city of Le Havre. This bridge has the distinction of being the last bridge to cross the Seine before... Continue Reading →
January 16, 1902 A newly completed bridge in Bangkok, the capital of the Southeast Asian country known at the time as Siam, was formally opened. (Siam was the official name of present-day Thailand until 1939 and then between 1946 and 1948.) Construction of the bridge was commissioned in 1901 by Valaya Alongkorn (1884-1938), a princess... Continue Reading →
In Toronto, a dedication ceremony was held for a set of highway bridges crossing the Don River Valley’s West Branch in the city’s neighborhood of Hoggs Hollow. These bridges, now collectively known as Hogg’s Hollow Bridge, were formally opened to traffic at three o’clock that Saturday afternoon. More than 1,000 people attended this event and... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 