Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
March 13, 1883 Civil engineer Clifford Milburn Holland was born in the town of Somerset, Massachusetts. His career would encompass construction on several tunnels in and around New York City. His crowning achievement when it came to those tunnels involved the one that now bears his name: the Holland Tunnel, which was built under the Hudson... Continue Reading →
March 2, 2017 A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the construction of a cable-stayed bridge within the main urban center of the Filipino province of Cebu. This part of Cebu is called Metropolitan Cebu, and it ranks second only to Metropolitan Manila (officially named the National Capital Region) as the Philippines’ largest metropolitan area by... Continue Reading →
February 13, 1901 In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), a timber truss bridge crossing Paterson River at the township of Hinton was officially opened. Hinton Bridge was designed by Irish-born Ernest de Burgh (1863-1929), the NSW Public Works Department’s assistant engineer for bridges. This road bridge replaced a steam ferry service in... Continue Reading →
January 26, 1962 The George Mason Memorial Bridge in Washington, D.C., made its debut in the midst of rainy weather. Washington Post reporter Paul Schuette noted that this newest structure to cross the Potomac River and connect the nation’s capital with Arlington, Virginia, “was dedicated under umbrellas” on that Friday afternoon. Schuette also stated, “More... Continue Reading →
January 6, 1922 Construction began on a suspension bridge that would cross the Delaware River and serve as a link between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. As part of the festivities marking the start of work on this structure (originally known as the Delaware River Bridge), a salute of 17 guns was fired from... Continue Reading →
December 30, 2019 The Ryfylke Tunnel in western Norway’s Rogaland county was officially opened to traffic. This tunnel -- encompassing one tube for each direction and two vehicular lanes in each of those tubes -- carries Norwegian National Road 13 under a body of water called Horgefjord (part of the vast fjord known as Boknafjord).... Continue Reading →
December 21, 1926 The Ross Island Bridge in Portland, Oregon, was opened in what the Associated Press (AP) called “a fitting dedicatory ceremony.” This cantilever truss bridge, which carries U.S. Route 26 (Mount Hood Highway) across a section of the Willamette River between the southwest and southeast parts of Portland, is approximately 800 feet... Continue Reading →
December 14, 2006 A bridge in Amman, the capital and largest city of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, made its formal debut. This 1,368-foot (417-meter)-long structure, which is the only cable-stayed bridge in Jordan, crosses Wadi Aboun -- a stream bed with a small artery road running through it -- and serves as a link... Continue Reading →
December 13, 1969 In northeastern Argentina, an underwater road tunnel was officially opened between the provinces of Entre RĂos and Santa Fe. This tunnel, measuring 7,864 feet (2,397 meters) in length, carries National Route 168 across the Paraná River. The tunnel serves as a link between Entre RĂos province’s capital city of Paraná and an... Continue Reading →
December 9, 2018 In the northern part of Norway, the HĂĄlogaland Bridge in Narvik Municipality made its formal debut. This suspension bridge crosses the mouth of the fjord known as the Rombaken. The HĂĄlogaland Bridge carries European Route E6, a major north-south thoroughfare for Norway as well as the western coast of Sweden, across that... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 