Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
June 20, 1954 A new bridge was opened between Romania and Bulgaria at a time when both countries were still part of the Soviet Union’s bloc of satellite states in Eastern Europe. Spanning the river Danube, the steel truss bridge connects the Romanian city of Giurgiu with the Bulgarian city of Ruse. The 7,295-foot (2,223.52-meter)-long... Continue Reading →
June 5, 2010 In the western region of New Zealand’s North Island, a bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists made its debut at the city of New Plymouth. Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, which measures 229.7 feet (70 meters) in length and crosses the Waiwhakaiho River, was officially opened by Peter Tennent, mayor of New Plymouth; and... Continue Reading →
May 24, 1843 In the British colony (and present-day state) of Western Australia, the first of a series of bridges known as the Causeway was opened to serve as a crossing over the Swan River and connect the town (now city) of Perth with the port of Fremantle. For more than a decade, many settlers... Continue Reading →
The Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts, made history during the first day of battle in the American War of Independence. This structure, immortalized by Ralph Waldo Emerson as “the rude bridge that arched the flood,” marked the location where colonial minutemen and others serving alongside them fought British light infantry companies that had come... Continue Reading →
Albert Gallatin, secretary of the Treasury under President Thomas Jefferson, submitted to the U.S. Senate a far-reaching report on the young nation’s critical transportation needs. Over a year earlier, the Senate passed a resolution calling upon the U.S. Treasury Department to prepare and submit “a plan for the application of such means are within the... Continue Reading →
The Angus L. Macdonald Bridge was opened in the Canadian maritime province of Nova Scotia. The suspension bridge, measuring nearly one mile (1.6 kilometers) in length, crosses Halifax Harbour and serves as a link between the Halifax Peninsula and the city of Dartmouth. At the time of its debut, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge played... Continue Reading →
In southeastern Australia, a truss bridge crossing the Murrumbidgee River was officially opened to connect the village of Tharwa with the city (and Australia’s present-day capital) of Canberra. The bridge reported the Queanbeyan Observer at the time, “is a stupendous but withal a light and very graceful structure.” As a truss bridge, Tharwa Bridge was... Continue Reading →
A pedestrian and cycle bridge in the British city and unitary authority area of Derby was first opened to the public. This opening of the Cathedral Green Footbridge, which spans the River Derwent, took place 13 days before the official dedication ceremony for the new structure. The footbridge was built in a section of Derby... Continue Reading →
A large-scale celebration was held for the opening of the new Sellwood Bridge spanning the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. The deck arch bridge, connecting Portland's Sellwood and Westmoreland neighborhoods on the east side of the river with Oregon Route 43/Macadam Avenue on the west side, replaced a bridge with the same name that had been... Continue Reading →
Sir William Arrol, one of the most renowned civil engineers of the Victoria Era, died at his home in the Scottish town of Ayr at the age of 74. “A GREAT BRIDGE BUILDER,” proclaimed the headline in the next day’s edition of the London Standard for the article announcing his death. The article stated, “Sheer... Continue Reading →
