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Take a virtual walk across the Mid-Hudson Bridge!! Discover various facts about the bridge. Find out about attractions in the area of the Mid-Hudson Bridge. Learn about how the bridge was conceived, designed, and built.

A newspaper, the Lansing Republican, dated February 5, 1884, reprinted a story from the Grand Traverse Herald pointing out that the experiment to provide all-year service across the Straits by boat had failed, and that if a great east-west route were ever to be established through Michigan a bridge or tunnel would be required. The editor considered both as practicable; the only question in his mind was that of cost.

A self-made man and one of America’s greatest engineers, James Buchanan Eads led a life inextricably intertwined with the nation’s most important waterway, the Mississippi River. He explored the river bottom in a diving bell of his own design; made a fortune salvaging wrecks; in the 1870s built the world's first steel bridge over the Mississippi at St. Louis; then deepened the river at its mouth, turning New Orleans into the second largest port in the nation. By the time of his death in 1887, Eads was widely acknowledged to be one of the most influential men of his day.

This an historic occasion. Today we are gathered here to dedicate a famous pioneer structure -- the oldest cable suspension highway bridge in the world -- as a national monument. Because this span has played a dramatic and significant role in the development of bridge engineering, and because its outstanding record of more than a century of distinguished service is interwoven with the unfolding panorama of American history, it is altogether fitting and proper that the shrine to thrill and inspire future generations.

When this great structure -- the first bridge over the Ohio River -- was completed in 1849, it was truly notable achievement. Its span of 1,010 feet was by far the longest in the world, the first time human courage and resourcefulness had achieved a span exceeding one-thousand feet.

There are three basic types of movable bridges; the bascule, the vertical lift and the swing bridge. Multnomah County operates four movable bridges; one vertical lift and three bascule. The purpose of the following pages is to provide information on how Multnomah County operates these bridges and the distinguishing features of each type.

...Bascule bridges have sections that rotate upward and away from the centerline of the river, providing clear passage for river traffic. Side-by-side on the Willamette River in downtown Portland, the Morrison (left) and Burnside (right) bridges are two examples of bascule bridges. These two bascule type bridges have a very clean, uncluttered look to them because the counterweights and operating machinery are located out of sight in the piers supporting the bridge. The Morrison Bridge is a Chicago-type bascule bridge and the Burnside Bridge is a Strauss-type bascule bridge. Please refer to our pages titled Operation of a Chicago type Bascule Bridge and Operation of a Strauss type Bascule Bridge for a discussion on the workings of these types of bridges.

Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is the home of the oldest existing wire suspension bridge in the United States — the Delaware Aqueduct, or Roebling Bridge as it is now known. Begun in 1847 as one of four suspension aqueducts on the Delaware and Hudson Canal, it was designed by and built under the supervision of John A. Roebling, future engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Portions of the D & H Canal, including the Delaware Aqueduct, were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968. The Delaware Aqueduct is also designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark.

...A German immigrant, and graduate of the Royal Polytechnic School of Berlin, Roebling came to the United States in 1831. It was not until 1845 that he built his first suspension structure. From 1845 until his death in 1869, he designed five major suspension bridges. Two — the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge — are still standing.

This rare cast-and wrought iron bridge was built in 1872. The bridge was located in Coshocton County, Ohio, crossing Wills Creek on Linton Township Road 144.

It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a rare example of early engineering design by one of the most famous engineers of his time, Squire Whipple. This bridge was designed and patented by him in 1841. He had designed other bridges but this was the most popular. The State of New York accepted this as their official design and it was used extensively on the Erie Canal. his design was illegally copied by many other bridge builders, depriving him of much deserved royalties. In 1847 Squire Whipple wrote his book on the design of bridges using scientific methods. This is the first time a book of this type had been written. It has been revised several times and copies can still be found in some libraries. His methods and formulas are still useful. He was considered one of the top engineers of the 19th Century and was the first honorary member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The Columbia STS-107 mission lifted off on January 16, 2003, for a 17-day science mission featuring numerous microgravity experiments. Upon reentering the atmosphere on February 1, 2003, the Columbia orbiter suffered a catastrophic failure due to a breach that occurred during launch when falling foam from the External Tank struck the Reinforced Carbon Carbon panels on the underside of the left wing. The orbiter and its seven crewmembers (Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, David Brown, Laurel Blair Salton Clark, Michael P. Anderson, Ilan Ramon, and Kalpana Chawla) were lost approximately 15 minutes before Columbia was scheduled to touch down at Kennedy Space Center. This site presents information about the STS-107 flight, as well as information related to the accident and subsequent investigation by the formal Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

Welcome to the National Academies' Intellectual Property website. From Internet content protection to human gene patenting, Intellectual Property (IP) in many forms have emerged from legal obscurity to public debate. This website serves as a guide to the Academies' extensive work on Intellectual Property and a forum to discuss ongoing work

Bridging rivers, gorges, narrows, straits, and valleys always has played an important role in the history of human settlement. Since ancient times, bridges have been the most visible testimony of the noble craft of engineers. A bridge can be defined in many ways, but Andrea Palladio, the great 16th century Italian architect and engineer, hit on the essence of bridge building when he said "...bridges should befit the spirit of the community by exhibiting commodiousness, firmness, and delight." In more practical terms, he went on to explain that the way to avoid having the bridge carried away by the violence of water was to make the bridge without fixing any posts in the water. Since the beginning of time, the goal of bridge builders has been to create as wide a span as possible which is commodious, firm, and occasionally delightful. Spanning greater distances is a distinct measure of engineering prowess.