Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
January 30, 1826 The Menai Suspension Bridge connecting the island of Anglesey with the mainland of Wales was opened to a great deal of fanfare. This structure, which crosses over the Menai Straits, is widely considered to be the world’s first modern suspension bridge. Prior to the bridge’s opening, the only options for traveling between... Continue Reading →
January 2, 1842 In Philadelphia, the first major wire-cable suspension bridge in the United States was opened. The 358-foot (109-meter)-long bridge carried traffic over the Schuylkill River below Fairmount Dam. This bridge was designed and built by civil engineer Charles Ellet Jr. It replaced a bridge famously known as “The Colossus.” The earlier structure, which had... Continue Reading →
December 18, 1962 In Seattle, the Ship Canal Bridge carrying Interstate 5 over Portage Bay between the city’s Capitol Hill and University District communities was opened. The bridge was named after the Lake Washington Ship Canal and serves as one of the crossings for that waterway. At the time of its opening, the giant double-deck steel truss... Continue Reading →
December 3, 1982 The Texas-based Pennybacker Bridge was opened to traffic five days after being officially dedicated. The through arch bridge, which is located in the Lone Star State’s capital city of Austin, carries Texas State Highway Loop 360 – popularly known as the Capital of Texas Highway – across the Colorado River and its water... Continue Reading →
November 21, 1964 In New York City, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge was officially opened to traffic in a dedication ceremony attended by approximately 5,000 people. United Press International reported, “A brilliant sun shone on the 4,200-foot [1,280.7-meter] suspension span and a cold wind blew across the lower bay of the harbor as a pair of polished scissors... Continue Reading →
November 8, 2008 Construction began on a new and record-setting dual carriageway (divided highway) toll bridge in the Malaysian state of Penang. The Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge was formally designated Expressway 28 (E28) and is also known as the Penang Second Bridge. The building of this bridge was originally expected to be done... Continue Reading →
October 11, 1910 In Ohio’s Cuyahoga County, a recently completed bridge was dedicated in the Cleveland region. The new structure, carrying Detroit Road over the Rocky River, was the fifth bridge built at that location to connect the cities of Rocky River and Lakewood. Construction on this version of the Detroit Rocky River Bridge began... Continue Reading →
September 28, 2008 The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge was officially opened to foot and bicycle traffic two months ahead of schedule. The footbridge crosses over the Missouri River and links the cities of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska. The 3,000-foot (914.4-meter) structure, which can be found north of the Interstate 480 girder bridge, is the longest... Continue Reading →
September 10, 1932 The George Westinghouse Memorial Bridge was officially opened in the borough of East Pittsburgh in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County. One newspaper characterized the debuting bridge as “the most recent link in Pennsylvania’s maze of beautiful highways.” The 1,598-foot (487.1-meter)-long bridge, which consists of five spans and carries U.S. Route 30 over the Turtle... Continue Reading →
September 6, 1996 In the Netherlands, a recently completed bridge was officially opened by Queen Beatrix in the city of Rotterdam. This combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge was named after the prominent Dutch Renaissance humanist Desiderius Erasmus, who is also known as Erasmus of Rotterdam. The Erasmus Bridge (“Erasmusbrug” in Dutch), which crosses a distributary... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 