In the late winter of 2005, the city of Seattle faced an urgent problem. The Alaskan Way Viaduct, an inner city elevated highway which carried over one hundred thousand cars and trucks every day, was beginning to show signs of structural failure. The 2001 Nisqually earthquake had put visible cracks into its concrete façade and it had started to sink further into the ground. On March 2, 2006, the Seattle Times ran a troubling editorial: “Shut Down the Viaduct,” read its headline. The article, written by several Seattle area geographers, actively lobbied for the Viaduct’s immediate closure: “The debate on these important decisions is ongoing, justifiably. Seattle's citizens will not be well-served if leaders fast-track the expensive tunnel alternative claiming urgency when all that needs to be done to eliminate the urgency is to close the Viaduct” (Miles, Montgomery, and Beyers 1). Seattle then decided to build a tunnel. Ten years later, the Alaskan …show more content…
In the city of Seattle, it runs along Elliott Bay and the city’s downtown and industrial districts. It was finished and opened to traffic in 1953. The construction of the Viaduct was itself filled with mishaps and delays. By the end of the project, the budget had doubled from its original five million dollar cost. Its opening solved little, too: “The over-budget, ugly Viaduct opened on April 4, 1953, at 1:40 p.m., purportedly to unsnarl traffic. The first traffic jam occurred 18 minutes later, requiring the intervention of police officers” (Holden 1). Business leaders and environmentalists in the Seattle have long lobbied for the Viaduct’s removal as it cuts off businesses and residents from the otherwise beautiful city waterfront. The tunnel seemed like the ideal solution; it would allow the waterfront and downtown to reconnect and allow for
Steven Hermosillo Professor Wallace Fire Tech 105 15 November 2015 Silver Bridge Collapse According to Wikipedia, Forty-six people were killed in the silver-bridge collapse and another nine people were injured. “The Silver Bridge was an eye-bar-chain suspension bridge built in 1928 and named for the color of its aluminum paint. The bridge connected Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio, over the Ohio River” (Wikipedia). This was a highly used bridge serving thousands of cars a day before the collapse.
The Bloor Street Viaduct acts as a catalyst in Michael Ondaatje’s revision of Toronto’s civic history to weave together the stories of those responsible for building the city, rather the “functionaries and their visions” who ordered the city built. (Gamlin 68) “One of the principal objectives-and successes- of the novel is to ‘betray official history’ and reveal, however faintly, the presence of the human element in such Toronto landmarks as the Bloor Street Viaduct.” (Sarris 188)
The Trans Canada Highway had faced many challenges and criticism through the thirteen years it took to construct. The most common criticism it had faced was whether it reinforced the unity and national pride it was sent out to make. There are different viewpoints from political, personal and economical levels that challenge and support the implementation of the highway. Although there were many different challenges, the highway did support a unique unity that was specific to Canada. The Trans Canada Highway helped Canada unite as one and emerge through a symbol that supported Canadian nationalism.
Since the beginning of the United States the American people have been on the move. Public transportation has played a major role in the development of this nation and in bringing its citizens together. In the book “Divided Highways”, author Tom Lewis takes the reader on a journey of the building of the Interstates and the consequences(good and bad) that came from them. Lewis believes that the Interstates are a physical characteristic of America and that it shows “all our glory and our meanness; all our vision and our shortsightedness”(xiv).
Railroads first appeared around the 1830’s, and helped the ideas of Manifest Destiny and Westward expansion; however, these were weak and didn’t connect as far as people needed, thus causing them to be forced to take more dangerous routes. On January 17th, 1848, a proposal was sent to Congress by Asa Whitney to approve and provide federal funding...
Over the next couple of years, a number of designs were proposed for the tunnel. The first proposal was presented by a firm called Jacobs and Davies. This plan called for a bi-level tunnel. The upper level would carry slower vehicles and the lower level would be used for express vehicles. An engineer named George Goethals who would later become the chief engineer of the Port Authority made the second proposal. His plan was a bi-level design in which each level would carry opposing lanes of traffic, two lanes in each direction.2 Both of these designs were not taken to the next step. The proposal of Clifford Milburn Holland (see Figure 1) was adopted as the design of the tunnel. Figure 1. Picture of Clifford Milburn Holland. http://www.panynj.gov/tbt/hthist.HTM
On May 24, 1854, construction began of the Victoria Bridge. This was a difficult task for the workers given the size of the bridge (“almost two miles in length from shore to shore” ) was the largest construction project during this period of time. Moreover, the construction of the bridge did not cease during the winter months. Therefore, many of the workers on the bridge would continue even while the St-Lawrence River froze underneath their
Many mass construction projects in the history of the United States have had a major impact on the economy and culture; however, not many of these have had as large as an impact as the Interstate Highway Act of 1956. The Interstate Highway Act revolutionized the way that we think about highways today. The act created an extremely easy mode of transportation for people across the country. Not only was the Interstate Highway Act extremely helpful in making rural and urban transportation for normal people, but it also helped commercial businesses in increasing sales across the country. These businesses were now able to transport their goods cheaper and faster. The Interstate Highway Act was tremendously beneficial in regards to its economic, social, and cultural significance. The legislation was significant economically in the way that it promoted business and cut travel costs, it was significant socially in the way that it allowed people to see friends and family even if they did not live close, and it was significant culturally in the way that it allowed people to move out to the country for low costs in order to live a happier life.
The San Francisco earthquake that took place in 1906 is fairly well-known because of its damage and intensity that would affect many lives. The online exhibit of The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire shows how much was lost during this natural disaster, and how the city was before. Many would wonder what is the purpose of documenting how it was before, and after the earthquake, but the fact that no one was expecting one so big impacted countless lives. Also, at the time San Francisco was becoming the most popular city, therefore it would appear in the headlines how a well-known place that most people loved would become damaged (The Bancroft Library, 2006). Overall, this virtual field trip shows the cause and effect of the earthquake that would change San Francisco in numerous ways.
The first and most challenging problem associated with building the Mackinac Bridge arrived long before the bridge was even designed. Financing such an enormous project was no easy feat. In 1928, the idea of connecting the upper and lower peninsulas was proposed to Congress for the first time (Brown 4). At the time, the suspected bridge project was very much under government scrutiny and control. In fact, the initial boost in interest in pursuing the construction of a bridge came about due to the depression. The Public Works Administration (PWA) had been created under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal economic plan which would fund certain construction projects with th...
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is perhaps the most notorious failure in the world of engineering. It collapsed on November 7, 1940 just months after its opening on July 1, 1940. It was designed by Leon Moisseiff and at its time it was the third largest suspension bridge in the world with a center span of over half a mile long. The bridge was very narrow and sleek giving it a look of grace, but this design made it very flexible in the wind. Nicknamed the "Galloping Gertie," because of its undulating behavior, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge drew the attention of motorists seeking a cheap thrill. Drivers felt that they were driving on a roller coaster, as they would disappear from sight in the trough of the wave. On the last day of the bridge's existence it gave fair warning that its destruction was eminent. Not only did it oscillate up and down, but twisted side to side in a cork screw motion. After hours of this violent motion with wind speeds reaching forty and fifty miles per hour, the bridge collapsed. With such a catastrophic failure, many people ask why such an apparently well thought out plan could have failed so badly?(This rhetorical question clearly sets up a position of inquiry-which iniates all research.) The reason for the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is still controversial, but three theories reveal the basis of an engineering explanation. (Jason then directly asserts what he found to be a possible answer to his question.)
Throughout its nearly 60 year history, the Interstate Highway System has served the United States of America far beyond its original goals. From its original purposes of uniting the country and aiding defense to the more mundane, (but equally important)such as ferrying goods across the country, the Interstate Highway System has firmly entrenched itself as one of the greatest feats of engineering the world has ever known. Record setting bridges, tunnels, and length of pavement have all been made by the vast expanse of the IHS FACT. As Dwight D. Eisenhower, then president, stated “Together, the united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear -- United States. Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts” (http://todayinsci.com/Events/Transport/HighwayInterstate-Quotations.htm 22 Feb 1955)
"The Great Quake: 1906-2006 / Rising from the Ashes." SFGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
Hargreaves, Steve. "The High Cost of America's Bad Roads and Bridges." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
The Central Artery Tunnel Project, more commonly known as the Big Dig, is said to be the largest, most complex and technologically challenging highway project in American history. It is the culmination of decades of planning and forethought and is hoped to alleviate the traffic congestion that has plagued the Boston area since the invention of the automobile. The project incorporates a major underground highway system, a revolutionary cable-stayed bridge, and a series of impressive tunnel crossings, each a considerable feat on their own, all constructed in the midst of a bustling city.