Infrastructure and Utilities Sites

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved a segment of Twenty-fourth Street, from Wagner Place to Good Hope Road. WPA workers graded this road, and also “placed old broken concrete and Macadam, for a depth of approximately seven inches, as a base source. This material was then rolled and covered with a bituminous material by maintenance forces…The completion of formed a necessary adjunct to the large private development in this vicinity”

"This bridge is in the north section of Baltimore. It connects the vehicular traffic on the eastern and western sides of the Jones Fall valley and crosses the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is approximately 1,375 feet long. The roadway is 40 feet wide with two 7-foot-10-inch sidewalks. There are two main arch spans, each 230 feet long, and three 30-foot arches near each end. It is faced with granite, constructed in the same manner as the Hilton Parkway bridges... The project was completed in January 1938 at a construction cost of $601,414 and a project cost of $603,322."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) carried out pavement repair and other, unspecified improvements to Twenty-Second Street NW, from Constitution Avenue to E Street, in 1935-36. The work was part of the $949,496 WPA allotment for DC roadwork for fiscal year 1936. This WPA roadwork is undoubtedly no longer visible, in part because the War Department building (now the State Department) was built over 22d Street in the early 1940s.

The WPA worked on Twin Peaks Blvd. between Clayton St. and Palo Alto Ave.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted heavy renovation and repair work at San Francisco's Twin Peaks Reservoir during the Great Depression. Repaired reservoir leaks and water proofed. Cut new expansion joints, painted and thoroughly renovated old reservoir.--Healy, p. 65.

According to the West Virginia Department of Commerce: “Construction of Tygart Dam started in 1935 and was completed in 1938. It was one of the first Public Works Administration (PWA) projects initiated to reduce unemployment through the construction of massive, labor intensive projects. Veterans, as well as men from Taylor, Barbour, Preston and other surrounding counties, were given employment preference. At its peak in May of 1936, 1,701 men were employed. The pay was set at 45 cents per hour for non-skilled labor and $1.10 for skilled at a maximum of 30 hours a week. Tygart Dam is currently operated by...

Tyler State Park was developed by CCC Company 2888 from 1935-1941: "Set into the Piney Woods of East Texas, Tyler State Park reflects two major park development efforts. The first, directed by landscape architect Ben K. Chambers, involved extensive forest reclamation and land rehabilitation that included tree planting, development of a road system, and construction of a dam and lake. Architect Joe C. Lair oversaw the other effort, which focused on the development of essential park buildings. Particularly noteworthy, the architect’s designs represent a clear break from the National Park Service rustic style so often used at CCC parks, including many...

"The Tyronza Water Tower is a historic elevated steel water tower located in Tyronza, Arkansas. It was built in 1935 by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company in conjunction with the Public Works Administration as part of a project to improve the local water supply. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, as part of a multiple-property listing that included numerous other New Deal-era projects throughout Arkansas. The Tyronza Water Tower is considered an excellent representation of 1930s-era waterworks construction. In 2003, a new, 200,000-gallon steel water tower was built next to the 1935 tower, in...

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 845 built facilities at Tyrrell Park. The CCC camp at Tyrrell Park began operations on November 24, 1935. CCC personnel worked on building drainage ditches, roads, nature trails, picnic tables, a horse stable, recreational buildings, entrance portal and a public golf course. The park is still in use, but most of the CCC structures have been neglected then torn down one-by-one. Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike damaged the CCC-built clubhouse, and the damage has not been repaired.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to "Improve US 11 on First Avenue from 85th Street to Cozy Corner" in Birmingham, Alabama.

Delaware utilized substantial federal resources in developing and improving its road network during the Great Depression. Among the dozens of projects undertaken by the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) during 1934 was construction along a dual carriageway that is now U.S. 13, through Smyrna, down to Bishops Corner, a place name for a community that lay just northeast of Cheswold, and through to Dover. The CWA also developed a road from Smyrna to White House, Delaware, and the construction continued north from Smyrna; the exact location and name of the road in question is unknown to Living New Deal. An average...

The federal Civil Works Administration constructed is now U.S. 17 in the vicinity of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. "Near Murrell's Inlet, Route #49, C.W.A. Project #97, Georgetown County, South Carolina". The Civil Works Administration operated from November 1933-March 1934 and helped to employ nearly four million men during the Great Depression. The men worked to build and improve bridges, roads and public oriented buildings. SC Route 49 became a part of US 17 in 1935." (Georgetown County Digital Library) A photo of the work is available at the source links below.

The former toll bridge connecting Alburg, Vermont and Rouses Point, New York, which carried U.S. 2 across Lake Champlain, was constructed between 1936 and 1937 with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The bridge was replaced with a no-toll bridge 50 years later. The PWA provided a $343,131 grant toward the $768,555 total cost of the project. 1011.]

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed U.S. 20 in LaPorte County near Michigan City, Indiana, a $46,576 project. WPA Project No. 65‐1‐52‐2366

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed U.S. 31 from "Jackson Scott Co line north to Jct US 50 & SR 9" in Indiana, a $57,628 project. The ~14-mile stretch of road encompasses U.S. 31 through Crothersville.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed U.S. 31 from Sellersburg to Henryville, Indiana, a $122,480 project.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to "Grade, drain, and improve US 31 from North Birmingham to Lewisburg, 1936."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to develop U.S. 4—improving, widening, and straightening the road—in Rutland County, in Mendon and "Sherburne" (Sherburne Pass, Killington), Vermont. WPA Project No. 165-1-12-76

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed U.S. 40 in Wayne County, Indiana from "Richmond to Ohio‐Ind. State line," an $25,837 project.

Delaware utilized substantial federal resources in developing and improving its road network during the Great Depression. Among the dozens of projects undertaken by the federal Civil Works Administration (C.W.A.) during 1934 was construction on (including the grading and paving of) what is now U.S. 40, between the Maryland border and Glasgow, Delaware, and east to Bear. The highway was then a state route. An average of 1,410 were put to work each week during 1934 as a result of the CWA’s road, sidewalk, bridge, and other related infrastructure efforts in Delaware.  

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed U.S. 41 in Lake County, Indiana from "Jct. SR 2 to Cook," an $84,582 project. WPA Project No. 65‐1‐52‐2366

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided the labor for the construction of U.S. 701 north of Georgetown, South Carolina. "Jeff Lewis is a natural-born storyteller who vividly recalls life in rural Georgetown County when wagons were the mode of transportation and cardboard extended the life of your shoes. During the Great Depression, the WPA hired local men and boys to help build Highway 701 and clear the swamps, and Lewis was one of the eager workers." (Georgetown County Digital Library)

The WPA conducted beautification and improvement work on the "Tallahassee-to-Monticello highway," likely meaning U.S. 90. The project employed "45 common laborers at 30 cents per hour for an average of $39 per month."

U.S. Highway 129 was extended to Knoxville during the mid-1930s as part of a New Deal project associated with the construction of McGhee Tyson Airport. The 1935 topographic map, shown here, identifies the road as State Highway 33A. The road was expanded since the time of the original construction. No New Deal-era bridges were located in the partial survey of the road in December 2017.

In 1934, 3.1 miles of old California Route 23 (now US 395) from Point Ranch to the Bodie Road, south of Bridgeport, were graded and surfaced at a cost of $45,000.  Funds came from the federal government Bureau of Public Roads.

New Deal funds contributed the the development of the road system in Morris County, New Jersey. State.NJ.us: In the 1930s New Deal public works funding increased the pace of bridge construction with projects that included Route 10 from 1931 to 1935; Route 23 in 1934; and the dualization of Route 6 (present US 46) from 1937 to 1941.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to develop and improve U.S. Highway 60 near Globe, Arizona during the 1930s.

The W.P.A. worked to improve the former U.S. Naval Direction Finder Station, by Schoodic Point, south of Winter Harbor, Maine. W.P.A. project information: “Construct garage, tennis courts, and roadways” Official Project Number: 109‐3‐11‐24 Total project cost: $17,673.00 Sponsor: Commandant, 1st Naval District, U.S. Navy

Montana's Big Timber Pioneer newspaper reported in 1937: "Emery C. Jones, foreman, Arne Hoem, timekeeper, left Monday morning with an additional camp outfit for Wheeler creek, where a crew of 14 PWA men will do improvement work on the highway leading to Melville. A camp has been established at the old Finstead ranch, this side of the Wheeler creek bridge beyond Ten Mile creek." Tenmile Creek and Wheeler Creek cross U.S. 191 11 and 14 miles north of Big Timber, respectively.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) or Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), possibly both, completed the dam and Lake Kunkal in 1939. The 25 acre lake is impounded by an earthen dam. There are also concrete steps on dam's south face.

The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) assisted in the financing of two bridges over Monument Creek in Colorado Springs's Monument Valley Park. "The two other major construction projects in the park during the 1930s were the replacement of the Uintah Street and Mesa Road bridges which had been washed out by the Memorial Day flood. The city received a Public Works Administration (PWA) loan and grant totaling $99,133 to cover the cost of the bridges. Each Art Deco style bridge was a 242-foot, three span, concrete and steel structure with concrete abutments and two concrete piers in the streambed.  Given the widening...

With Public Works Administration (PWA) funding, the Oregon Highway Department constructed Umatilla Bridge #2117, also known as the Ballpark Bridge, in 1935. Part of Highway #30 in Pendleton when constructed, Oregon's state bridge designer Conde B. McCullough drew art deco and classical design features together for the small structure. More recently, the bridge has been bypassed by the highway system. Now it provides pedestrian access to park and athletic facilities. As described by Sarah Munro, members of the public continue to view the "art deco inspired-pylons, ornate bridge railings, cantilevered sidewalks, and architectural treatment of the substructure."

The bridge at the mouth of the Umpqua River at Reedsport OR was constructed with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1934-36.  It was one of five PWA-funded bridges across major rivers that completed the Oregon Coast Highway, four of which still stand. The coast highway had been developed since 1914 by the state and coastal counties, but money ran out in the Great Depression, until the PWA offered $1.4 million and a loan of $4.2 million (replaced by a state bond issue). (HAER 1992, p 2-4). The Umpqua River bridge is over 2,200 feet long and includes a...

The federal Work Projects Administration put many men to work starting in 1935 with a Bronx street repair and maintenance project along roads throughout the borough. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were surfaced with penetrated macadam. Roads improved included stretches of Underhill Avenue: (a) from Patterson Ave. to Randall Ave.; and (b) from 177th St. to Havemeyer Ave—a project which might seem rather odd, given as these two cross-street intersections with Underhill Avenue do not presently exist.

Underhill State Park is one of nearly two dozen state parks in Vermont that was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression era. "Between December 1933 and August 1940, the Underhill State Park was the base of operations for Camp-S-60 of the Civilian Conservation Corps, Companies 1291 and 1135. The primary focus of Camp S-60 within the Underhill State Park was the upgrading of existing and additional construction to the Mountain Road on the west side of Mount Mansfield. Other accomplishments included the development of skiing and hiking trails and the establishment of the lower, public camping...

The overpass carrying Union Avenue over what was then a freight and passenger railway (the North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway) was constructed during the mid-1930s, in conjunction with the lowering of the railroad right-of-way, as one link in a massive grade crossing removal project. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided a $1.46 million grant for the $6 million grade crossing elimination project, which included work elsewhere in Staten Island and even in Manhattan. PWA Docket No. NY 4926.

Sayville's Suffolk County News reported in September 1934: "The extension of Union street from Fifth avenue, Bay Shore, to John street, Babylon, will be opened to traffic by October 1st... The extension is 3.14 miles in length and it is expected that it will divert considerable traffic from the Merrick road. The project, which is being carried out with PWA aid, will cost $120,300."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve and otherwise restore Lebanon, Pennsylvania's Union Canal Tunnel. AmericanCanals.org: "The south portal is in almost "as new" condition thanks to restoration work performed in the 1930s under the WPA."

From the Morristown Daily Record: "TRENTON—Construction work of the Civilian Conservation Corps has been so successfully demonstrated by Camp No. 3, near Springfield, one of 22 such camps in New Jersey, that Union County Park Commission, under whose jurisdiction the work is being carried on, is receiving many unsolicited letters of commendation of the work, especially that of flood control, according to State Forester Charles P. Wilber….Channel clearing and flood control on Rahway River is but one project….The workers are making rapid progress in the improvement of the 3,000-acre section of Union County Park System, which includes Watchung Reservation, Briant...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved roads in Black Brook, New York in 1936, including "Union Falls road running along the north side of Silver Lake."