Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels Sites

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a bridge in Russell Springs, Kansas during the 1930s. The location and status of the project are currently unknown to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) played an important role in the construction of highway 1 along the California coast during the 1930s – most famously along the Big Sur coastline. WPA crews also worked on highway 1 in Mendocino County, where they built three new bridges  — Jack Peters Creek bridge, Russian Gulch bridge and Jughandle Creek bridge.  Russian Gulch bridge, completed in 1939, is 527 feet long, with a central span of 240 feet.  It is an open-spandrel concrete arch design. It is similar in design to the more famous Bixby Creek Bridge in Big Sur, but its arch has no...

The bridge carrying Rye Hill Road over Prairie Creek, between Greenwood and Fort Smith, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1941.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work in Sabana Grande in Lajas.

WPA funding in Sacramento "included 220 miles of highway; 46 public buildings; and new runways at local airports." - https://en.wikipedia.org The Del Paso bridge pictured below was built by a New Deal agency.

The historic Saddle Creek grade separation underpass in Omaha, Nebraska, at the crossing of Dodge St. and Saddle Creek Rd., was constructed with the help of the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and completed in 1934. (Construction is sometimes mis-attributed to the WPA.)

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked on a land reclamation and shore beautification project on the south shore of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. As part of the project Water Street was improved and an all-new road, then named Raritan Parkway but now called Sadowski Parkway, was constructed by federal labor. Along the new road 8,800 feet of sidewalks were laid and 9,225 feet of curbing was installed.

The Sagamore Bridge across the Cape Cod Canal was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA).  It was part of a much larger project that included widening the canal and three bridges across it, for which the PWA made a grant of $6,138,000. The project began in 1933 and the bridge opened in June 1935.  The Sagamore Bridge carries four lanes of traffic on U.S. Route 6 across the Cape Cod Canal, connecting Cape Cod with the mainland of Massachusetts. The bridge's main span is 616 feet long, with a 135 foot clearance.    

The city of Tucson is flanked by two halves of the Saguaro National Park, which protects extensive areas of Sonoran Desert landscapes and the biodiverse communities of the Tucson Mountains and Rincon Mountains, two of the many "sky islands" of southern Arizona. The eastern district of Saguaro National Park was set aside as Saguaro National Monument by President Herbert Hoover in early 1933; today, it is known as the Saguaro NP - Rincon Mountain District (RMD).  The western district of the park was originally part of the Tucson Mountain Park, a county park created in 1929; the northern section of the...

The city of Tucson is flanked by two halves of the Saguaro National Park, which protects extensive areas of Sonoran Desert landscapes and the biodiverse communities of the Tucson Mountains and Rincon Mountains – two of the many "sky islands" of southern Arizona. The eastern district of Saguaro National Park was set aside as Saguaro National Monument by President Herbert Hoover in early 1933; today, it is known as the Saguaro NP - Rincon Mountain District (RMD).  The western district of the park was originally part of the Tucson Mountain Park, a county park created in 1929; the northern section of...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) completed a small stone bridge over a stream bed in 1936.

In conjunction with landscaping efforts around the newly completed Medford City Hall, the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) widened Salem Street "which passes Medford City Hall 12 feet for a distance of 200 feet."

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration built a road segment connecting Salinas to Cayey.

The Salmon Bay Bridge was constructed under the New Deal in 1934.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved roads in Plattsburgh, New York in 1936.  The WPA worked in Salmon River Road between what were, at the time, Peru Rd. to Lake Shore Rd. Living New Deal believes that this particular stretch of road is no longer extant.

Camp Stuart, Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) Company #1194, operated between July 8, 1935 and May 31, 1937. It conducted development work at the newly-established Salmon River State Park. Work included construction of one mile of truck trails, "the clearing of miles of cross-country ski trails," and dam construction.

Originally named the Willamette Highway Tunnel, the 905 feet-long Salt Creek Tunnel completed the Oregon Forest Highway Project that ran through remote areas of the Willamette National Forest to link US Highway 99 near Eugene with US 97 on the east side of the Cascades. The Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) designed the tunnel and its masonry rock portals and contracted with the Portland firm Orino-Birkemeier & Saremai to construct the project in December 1937. The length of the tunnel along with the remote location and rugged terrain introduced challenges with its construction. Oregon Department of Transportation historian Robert Hadlow notes...

Record flooding of the Salt Fork Red River occurred on June 15, 1938, damaging the bridge for then State Highway 52 (now State Highway 203). Deemed unsalvageable by Texas Highway Department Engineers, plans were made for a replacement bridge. The funds for the bridge were jointly allocated by the Texas Highway Department and the Federal Works Agency, each of which committed $80,000. The new bridge was built seventy-five yards north of the previous bridge. This new location was chosen for its stable red clay and shale bedrock which would help prevent future flood damage. When letting for the contract was concluded,...

"The Salt River Canyon Bridge spans one of the most dramatic canyons in Arizona. It was funded by the Public Works Administration, designed in 1933 by architect Lee Moor, and completed in June 1934. The bridge is a single-span steel arch. The design of the bridge approach was highly complex because of the multiple curvatures. Its Art Deco superstructure shines in the sunlight and is still one of Arizona's most visibly striking, engineered structures. Today the bridge carries only pedestrian traffic; a newer, wider version that sits adjacent handles automobile and truck traffic on Highway 60."

The Civil Works Administration and the Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out new road construction on Saltillo Road in Adjuntas.

"In 1926, the 63rd coastal artillery regiment moved from Santa Cruz, California, to an area just east of the town of Capitola. Its camp was named for Major Joseph P. McQuaide, who was born in 1867 at graduated from Santa Clara University. He served as Chaplain of the California National Guard in the Spanish American War and World War I, and died March 29, 1924. By 1938, noise from target practice annoyed Capitola residents, so a more remote place was found. 379 acres (1.53 km2) were purchased farther south, on coastal farmland near the town of Watsonville. The Works Progress...

Extended the 'L' car line from Taraval Street to Wawona Street to serve the Fleishhacker Playground.--Healy, p. 70.

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, one of the most famous bridges in the world and the key transportation link in the Bay Area, was built under the New Deal with funding from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). The 8-mile long bridge (43,500 feet) consists of two parts, both anchored to Yerba Buena Island in the middle of San Francisco Bay.  The western half is an elegant suspension bridge (whose beauty has always suffered by comparison with the Golden Gate Bridge, but gained a delightful electronic light show in the 2010s). The longer  eastern half was a classic cantilever bridge, ungainly but...

The bridges over the north and south forks of the San Gabriel River in Georgetown, Texas are identical designs of a cantilevered-suspended span type bridge, where a steel unit is placed between cantilevered arms projecting beyond the main supports of the bridge.The Texas Highway Department designed the bridges, and the state and the United States Bureau of Public Roads provided funding. Contractor Dean Word built the two 367-foot long bridges between 1939 and 1940. The bridges carry four lanes of traffic on North Austin Avenue and are the main north-south route over the rivers into the business section of Georgetown.

$25,000 provided by the New Deal went into the construction of this concrete bridge.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work in San Joaquin in Adjuntas.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out new road construction on San Lorenzo Road in Juncos.

The National Industrial Recovery Act helped construct 2 1/2 miles of road from the Santa Ynez river to Santa Ynez. Two bridges were constructed, one, a 765-foot reinforced concrete bridge across the Santa Ynez river, and a 128-foot reinforced concrete bridge over the Santa Argueda creek. Completion date: Nov. 1934 From Google maps street view, it looks as if further reconstruction has since occurred because the the bridge over the Santa Ynez river is no longer connected to the highway and is abandoned.

2.9 miles of the San Mateo Road, from Skyline Boulevard to Half Moon Bay, were graded and surfaced in 1934 by federal funding under the provisions of the Hayden - Cartwright bill.

Concrete bridge over Arroyo Seco Channel (also a New Deal Project) on San Pascual Avenue in Los Angeles, built by the WPA in 1938.

A 160 foot wire and wood suspension bridge over the San Rafael river at Buckhorn Wash. The bridge was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1937, and dedicated by then Utah Governor Henry H. Blood. The Swinging Bridge was the only bridge over the river until the early 1990′s when a new concrete bridge was built next to it. It is for pedestrian traffic only. The area is noted for dinosaur tracks and 2 - 6000 year old pictographs. Because of the remoteness of the location, it is only possible to visit with 4WD vehicles.

The federal Work Projects Administration worked to improve Sand Street in Port Chester, New York during the 1930s. One project, which cost $5,118 (of which the WPA contributed $2,911) was described by the WPA in its project rolls: "Install drains, manholes, and catch basins, replace pavement and curbs, and perform" other related work.

The WPA worked to improve roads throughout Sanders County, Montana. The agency allocated $73,975 for such projects during July 1938 alone.

Sandtown Road was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939 near Cushman, Arkansas, USA. A WPA marker on Sandtown Road reads "USA 1939 WPA."

The WPA helped with work on the Sandy River Road according to the town reports. An unspecified PWA funding for a road is mentioned. 1936 Sandy River Road, WPA ..........$1,250.00 Refund, Solon Lumber Co. 3rd Class roads, PWA ....$57.33 Refund, Horace Reed, 3rd Class roads, PWA Amount raised at town meeting....$1,250.00 Payroll: Albert Blaisdell, Bowman Hardware, Henry Desmond, W.F. French, Miller and Jones, New England Metal Culvert Co. Proctor and Bowie, Milford Tibbetts ...$1,360.20 1937 Amounts Raised at Annual Town meeting Sandy River Road (WPA) $1,250.00 1939 Fredrick Smith, use of car, time spent in WPA certification, cash paid for out of town expenses, postage, tolls, and assembling payrolls (road)...

The Works Progress Administration built a sanitary sewer in the Simpson Hill section of Pine Grove, Wetzel County.

WPA workers in Santa Cruz engaged in a variety of roadwork in Santa Cruz County: "Construct fire trail and motorway on Coast Road (1935) Improving various roads not in the Federal Aid System (1935) Rocking roads in vicinity of Soquel (1935) Surfacing with crushed rock and fuel oil Front Gulch and Larkin Valley Road near Aptos (1935) Brushing, clearing, widening, drainage structures, and oiling Zayante Road, beginning at Lompico Creek (1935) Improving 7.45 miles of Soquel-San Jose Road (1935) Improve Empire Grade Road (1936) Improve Lockhart Gulch Road (1936) Improve Escalona Drive in the city of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, including clearing, scrubbing widening, grading, oiling, installing culverts...

According to a Dec. 15 1938 report by the Los Angeles Fire Department: "Programs of motorway and trail construction, which for years have been carried on in the Santa Monica Mountain area through various agencies, lately to a much greater degree through W. P. A. under the direction of the City Engineer, have in my opinion eminently proved their value to the Department. Without fire roads on the east and west ridges of Mandeville Canyon, the fire could not have been reached and undoubtedly would not have been brought under control at this point. These roads have made it possible to...

The original Sarah Mildred Long Bridge was constructed as a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project. It was a "lift bridge that carries the US 1 Bypass over the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Kittery, Maine. The bridge a double deck truss bridge, with the U.S. 1 Bypass road deck above and a railroad bed below ... Completed in 1940, the bridge the second to carry motor vehicle traffic between Maine and New Hampshire at Portsmouth, and replaced a river crossing dating from 1822. The bridge was the direct result of the work of the Maine-New...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) build a cross drain on Sardine Road, a Farm-to-Market Road connecting four farming communities—Sardine, Pineview, Wallece, Foshee—in the vicinity of Flomaton in Escambia County.