Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
April 9, 1906 In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), a dedication ceremony was held for the McFarlane Bridge in the town of Maclean. The bridge, which was designed by civil engineer Ernest de Burgh (1863-1929), carries Lawerence Road across the south arm of the Clarence River. This structure provides a key transportation... Continue Reading →
April 6, 1956 An arch bridge in what was then known as the Federation of Malaya was officially opened. At the time, this country in Southeast Asia was a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom. The steadily gathering momentum for a fully independent Federation of Malaya was reflected in the name of the new bridge.... Continue Reading →
April 2, 1966 In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), a dedication ceremony was held for a prestressed concrete box girder bridge carrying Warringah Road (now part of the route known as A38) across Middle Harbour. This six-lane, high-level structure is called the Roseville Bridge. Measuring 1,237 feet (377 meters) in length, it... Continue Reading →
March 30, 2003 An arch bridge in northern Portugal’s Porto metropolitan area was inaugurated. This 1,217-foot (371-meter)-long bridge spans the river Douro and carries both vehicular and pedestrian traffic between the city of Porto and the city and municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia. The bridge was named after Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460), the... Continue Reading →
March 24, 2011 The Arganzuela Footbridge in the central area of Madrid, Spain, was opened to the public. This bridge, which took about 14 months to build, serves as a link between the Arganzuela and Carabanchel districts of Spain’s capital and most populous city. French architect and urban planner Dominique Perrault (born in 1953)... Continue Reading →
February 23. 1984 On the Australian island state of Tasmania, the Bowen Bridge in the city of Hobart was dedicated. This 3,202-foot (976-meter)-long segmental cantilever bridge carries Goodwood Road (Route B35) across the River Derwent. The Bowen Bridge serves a key link for motor vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists traveling between the eastern and western areas... Continue Reading →
February 18, 2019 An infrastructure milestone took place for City Railway Station in the city of Bengaluru (also called Bangalore), which is the capital of the state of Karnataka in southern India. This underground station on the East-West corridor of Namma Metro rapid transit system’s Purple Line had been opened on April 30, 2016. Nearly... Continue Reading →
February 12, 1938 A truss bridge built in the Montopolis neighborhood of Austin, Texas, in Travis County was dedicated during a Saturday ceremony. The next day’s edition of the Austin American reported, “The huge span of smooth concrete and shiny steel was constructed to replace [an] old iron bridge washed out by the flood of... Continue Reading →
January 20, 1995 A cable-stayed road bridge in northwestern France’s Normandy region first went into service. The Pont de Normandie (Normandy Bridge) spans the river Seine and connects the commune of Honfleur with the major port city of Le Havre. This bridge has the distinction of being the last bridge to cross the Seine before... Continue Reading →
January 16, 1902 A newly completed bridge in Bangkok, the capital of the Southeast Asian country known at the time as Siam, was formally opened. (Siam was the official name of present-day Thailand until 1939 and then between 1946 and 1948.) Construction of the bridge was commissioned in 1901 by Valaya Alongkorn (1884-1938), a princess... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 