Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
July 19, 1932 A bascule (moveable) truss bridge in the city of Grafton in Australia’s state of New South Wales (NSW) was formally opened. Sir Isaac Isaacs (1855-1948), who served as governor-general of Australia from 1931 to 1936, officiated at this dedication ceremony. The Grafton Bridge carries Bent Street (formerly known as Summerland Way) over... Continue Reading →
July 11, 2008 In eastern Poland, a long-awaited bridge in the city of Pulawy was officially opened. This arch bridge, which spans the Vistula (the country’s longest river), carries motor vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians. Construction on the bridge began on March 7, 2006. The European Regional Development Fund helped provide financing for this project. Those... Continue Reading →
June 28, 2015 An apostrophe-shaped, cantilevered swing bridge built for pedestrians and bicyclists only was officially opened in the port city and unitary authority of Kingston upon Hull (also known simply as Hull) in northeastern England. This bridge spans the local harbor, which connects with the River Humber, and serves as a link between Scale... Continue Reading →
June 23, 1964 The Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, which spans the Potomac River and serves as a highway link between Washington, D.C., and Virginia, was officially dedicated. Plans for a new bridge across this section of the Potomac River first took significant shape during the early 1950s. Finally, in 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into... Continue Reading →
June 13, 1888 Construction on a swing-span railroad bridge spanning the body of water known as the Arthur Kill and linking Staten Island, New York, with mainland New Jersey was completed at 3:00 p.m. At the time, the 800-foot (240-meter)-long Arthur Kill Bridge was the world’s largest drawbridge. It was also the only land connection to Staten... Continue Reading →
June 6, 1933 More than two years after construction on it had begun, a bridge spanning a section of the Nile River in Egypt’s capital city of Cairo was officially opened. This bridge was inaugurated by King Fuad I (1868-1936), who served as ruler of Egypt from 1917 until his death in 1936. (He served... Continue Reading →
May 20, 2014 A dedication ceremony was held for a single-span bridge in Dublin, Ireland. This structure -- measuring 157 feet (48 meters) in length and 85 feet (26 meters) in width -- crosses the River Liffey and serves as a link between Marlborough and Hawkins Streets in Ireland’s capital city. The bridge is used... Continue Reading →
May 4, 1870 George Preston Coleman, who would become chairman of the Virginia State Highway Commission (the Old Dominion State’s original highway agency) and the second president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHO), was born in Williamsburg, Virginia. Coleman came from a family of high-profile lawyers, professors, and public officials.... Continue Reading →
April 8, 2013 The first segment of the PHX Sky Train, a small-scale automated transit system transporting people within and also to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona’s capital and largest city, was opened to the public. Construction on this 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) segment of the PHX Sky Train had begun in 2008.... Continue Reading →
April 5, 1899 A bridge near the community of Clifden in the southernmost part of New Zealand’s South Island made its debut. (At the time, New Zealand was a British colony; it became a dominion of the British Empire in 1907 and achieved full autonomy in 1947.) The Clifden Suspension Bridge, which is 365.8 feet... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 