Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
July 31, 1962 A steel beam bridge in Washington, D.C., was officially opened. This bridge was built to carry the 12th Street Expressway over the Washington Channel, a body of water that parallels the Potomac River. Originally known as the Washington Channel Bridge, this structure was inaugurated with considerable fanfare. These festivities, which included a... Continue Reading →
July 14, 2012 A bridge for pedestrians and cyclists in Portland, Oregon, made its public debut. This structure is officially named the US Congresswoman Darlene Hooley Pedestrian Bridge at Gibbs Street. Hooley, who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon from 1997 to 2009, had staunchly championed the construction of... Continue Reading →
July 2, 1971 In west-central Scotland, the Erskine Bridge was formally opened. This cable-stayed box girder bridge, which crosses the River Clyde, serves as a link between the local government council areas of West Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire. (The bridge is located in the vicinity of the Renfrewshire town of Erskine.) The Erskine Bridge was designed... Continue Reading →
June 16, 2001 A bridge for pedestrians and cyclists in Austin, Texas, was officially opened. This 812-foot (247-meter)-long bridge, which crosses Lady Bird Lake (a reservoir on the Colorado River), serves as a link between the north and south sides of the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail. The bridge was named after James D.... Continue Reading →
May 16, 2009 In northern England’s borough of Stockton-on-Tees, a bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists was opened to the general public. This 787-foot (240-meter)-long structure, which crosses the River Tees, was both named and modeled after the ∞ symbol representing infinity. The Infinity Bridge was built in such a way that the combination of this... Continue Reading →
March 18, 2017 An inaugural ceremony was held for a cable-stayed highway bridge built between the Federative Republic of Brazil; and French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France. This structure spans the Oyapock River and links the Brazilian municipality of Oiapoque in the state of Amapá with the French Guianese commune of Saint-Georges-de-l’Oyapock... Continue Reading →
January 3, 2008 A bridge crossing Keppel Bay in the southernmost section of the Central Region of Singapore made its public debut. This bridge carries both motor vehicles and pedestrians between Keppel Island and the mainland. It also carries lines for water, electricity, and other essential services to Keppel Island. Measuring 820 feet (250 meters)... Continue Reading →
December 10, 2009 A cable-stayed swing bridge in Dublin, the capital city of the Republic of Ireland, was formally opened to pedestrians. Emer Costello (born in 1962), the lord mayor of Dublin, officiated at these inaugural festivities. The bridge was first opened to motor vehicle traffic the next morning. This 403.5-foot (123-meter)-long structure crosses the... Continue Reading →
November 20, 1854 One of the first bridges to be built in the Italian city of Venice was opened to the public. This steel bridge for pedestrians spanned the Grand Canal, which is the main canal crossing Venice’s historic center. While there had been discussions about constructing a bridge in this vicinity as far... Continue Reading →
November 6, 2015 The Lafitte Greenway, a trail for bicycles and pedestrians, was dedicated in New Orleans. This 2.6-mile (4.2-kilometer) trail courses through the Big Easy’s neighborhoods of Tremé, Lafitte, and Mid-City. The grand opening of the Lafitte Greenway took place on a Friday morning. Susan Guidry, a city councilwoman, used her remarks to acknowledge... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 