Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels Sites

A WPA press release from Dec. 1937 reported: "At Aberdeen the "E" Street approach to the Wishkah Street Bridge will be improved through WPA funds totalling $1,277 and an appropriation from the City ef $1,112.50. A WPA crew begins immediately on the removing of the old trestle, and construction of a new trestle, including concrete floor slabs. The job will require three months to complete."

Woodhaven Boulevard was widened and improved during the late 1930s; much of the work was undertaken by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Work included the filling in of spaces where trolley tracks had been removed.

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 road construction from what was then known as Five Points, north of Laurel, northwest to Woodland. Living New Deal believes this to be Woodland Road. (Five Points is the location at which N. Central, Seaford, Woodland, and Georgetown Roads, and N Poplar St. all meet, north of Laurel.) An average of 1,410 were put to work each week during 1934 as a result of the CWA’s road, sidewalk,...

Woodrow Ave. in Boston, Mass. underwent reconstruction as part of a Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) project.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved Woods Falls Road near the village of Mooers Forks, New York in 1936.

In 1940 the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) constructed the bridge carrying Woods Road, ENE of Hackett, Arkansas, across Hackett Creek.

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve South Woods Road (then Wood Road) in Brushton, New York, the primary thoroughfare between the town and what was then the main 'turnpike' in the area.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a "seventy-five-acre parking field ... for the city north of the World's Fair grounds." 1,950 men worked on the parking lot project, which occupied land north of Roosevelt Ave. The site was on what is now the parking lot for Citi Field.

WPA bridge in rural Oklahoma. "This bridge represents hundreds of similar bridges throughout Oklahoma, spanning the many creeks that meander throughout the countryside. This bridge is 5 miles south of Garber in Garfield County. It is just north of County Road 450 (Southgate Road), one mile east of Highway 74. The road is unpaved. The bridge is of concrete construction, built in 1936-1937."   (https://www.waymarking.com)

"This is one of the non-descript WPA-constructed bridges throughout Oklahoma that are a surprise to find. Driving north on Broadway from Edmond, you cross Waterloo Road which is the boundary between Oklahoma and Logan Counties... On the southeast side of the bridge, a vertical, three foot high concrete slab is marked "WPA / 1939". It stands on a stone wall which is part of the retainment structure of the bridge. A sign shows that the bridge capacity is 16 tons. There is no sign of deterioration and this is an example of the incredible work done by relatively unskilled workers under the...

The Works Progress Administration was a Federal program during the Great Depression designed to provide jobs and make public improvements. A concrete bridge south of Ashbury St between the Middlesboro Intermediate School and 17th Street has the inscription “W.P.A. 1938.”

The Work Projects Administration constructed a bridge over Long Creek outside Alpena, Arkansas, on what is known as WPA Road, in 1942.

The WPA allocated $6,105 toward street improvements for the town of Dutton, Montana in August 1938.

The WPA allocated $10,807 for the improvement of "roads and alleys" in Miles City, MT in July 1938.

The WPA allocated $8,891 for the improvement of "roads and alleys" in Red Lodge, MT in July 1938.

The WPA allocated $3,830 for the improvement of "streets, alleys, and sidewalks" in Valier, MT during July 1938.

The WPA built the sidewalks and gutters along 41st Street between Broadway and Telegraph in North Oakland.

The WPA built the sidewalk in front of the Children's Hospital of Oakland in North Oakland.

This WPA stamp in Broadmoor, a small region within Daly City, shows that the WPA worked on sidewalks in the area in 1940.

The WPA worked extensively on curbs, gutters and sidewalks in Davis. "SERA also denied (for being a piecemeal approach that wouldnt improve drainage) the citys application for installing widely-scattered curbs & gutters, although the WPA in 1937 approved $26,000 for the more-comprehensive version of the paving project. That concrete, it was assured, was to use local gravel from Putah Creek." - https://www.yolo.net/ychs/publications/newDeal.html Many sidewalks in Davis still bear WPA stamps: "Davis still bears the stamp of these WPA projectsliterally. Perhaps you've seen the "WPA" initials imprinted in a sidewalk while strolling through old North Davis. These sidewalks were laid in the late 1930's...

"The still-vivid Works Progress Administration concrete stamps on the sidewalks around Fresno's second City Hall pay homage to the breadth of New Deal-era projects in Fresno, and the contribution the WPA made to improving city infrastructure."

The 1940 WPA stamp is located on the Northeast corner of the intersection.

This marker shows that the WPA paved sidewalks in Redlands in 1940. The exact location of this stamp is not known.

This WPA stamp shows that the WPA paved sidewalks in the city.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built sidewalks on Genoa Street in North Oakland in 1940. WPA concrete stamps are located at the intersection of Genoa and 53d, 56th and 58th Streets.

"Besides the wonderful old WPA-constructed buildings throughout the country, WPA labor was used to construct parks, walls, bridges. parks and numerous other items. During our travels, we often come across sidewalks, even in residential parts of town, that are stamped with the WPA shield. In downtown Purcell, with our eyes focused on the Statue of Liberty sculpture in front of an old bank, we looked down in order to walk up the four concrete steps leading from the street level to the sidewalk...and lo and behold, we found that they were constructed in 1940 by the WPA."   (https://www.waymarking.com)

Twelve miles long, County Road S-3 connects Highway 78 and County Road S-22 at Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs. According to the curator at the Julian Historical Society, this was a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) project.

The bridge at the mouth of the Yaquina River at Newport OR was constructed with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1934-36.  It was one of five PWA-funded bridges over the Alsea River, Coos Bay, Siuslaw River, Umpqua River, and Yaquina River that completed the Oregon Coast Highway. All but the Alsea River bridge still stand. The coast highway was developed after 1914 by the state and county highway departments, but money ran out in the Great Depression before the job could be finished.  With the advent of the New Deal, the PWA offered $1.4 million and a loan...

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out new road construction on Yaurel Road in Arroyo.

Big Timber's Pioneer newspaper reported in 1936 that the "completion of Yellowstone Trail through town" was one among several projects in the community that was attributable to the New Deal. The road, which today remains paved only in parts, is now known as Yellowstone Avenue.

"The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a New Deal relief agency for young men, played a major role" in the development of Yellowstone National Park "between the years 1933–42 in developing Yellowstone facilities. CCC projects included reforestation, campground development of many of the park's trails and campgrounds, trail construction, fire hazard reduction, and fire-fighting work. The CCC built the majority of the early visitor centers, campgrounds and the current system of park roads."

The Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) built Yelping Hill Road.

"Joann Larkey and Shipley Walters, in their 1987 Yolo County: Land of Changing Patterns noted (p. 84) that the WPA had been active, spending $65,000 in 1936-1937 alone in the county (for roads, sidewalks/curb/gutter, public buildings, and landscaping)... Road improvements dominated the funding, getting $33,000 (half of the $65,000 total) for excavation, draining, grading, graveling (much near Winters, Woodland, Knights Landing, and Broderick). Work worth $15,900 was expended on non-road projects including improving Woodland HS, building a Boy Scout Cabin at KL, landscaping in Davis, and upgrading other schools grounds. Tree and shrubbery planting at Dunnigan and the...

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Youngs Creek Bridge No. 1541 in Nallen WV. Excerpt from Legal Advertisement, Notice to Contractors, The Charleston (WV) Gazette, March 18, 1939, p. 11.: "Public Works Administration Projects Docket 1197-F -- PWA 3372-E & PWA 3388-B. Nicholas & Fayette Counties. Nallen Bridge No. 1527 -- two 68 ft. and tow 82 ft. Spans Steel I Beam Bridge on Concrete Substructure. Youngs Creek Bridge No. 1541 -- one 40 ft. Span Steel I Beam on Concrete Substructure. All to be let in one Contract. Certified Check $3,200.00. Jack S. Donnachie, Branch Manager,...

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) laborers worked on Youngs Road Bridge by Baker Pond in Lunenburg, Mass. A WPA Bulletin tells a heroic tale of the men working on this project: LUNENBURG— While excited sympathizers searched vainly for a rope and firemen were speeding from Fitchburg, two miles away, WPA Foreman F. W. Cleveland and his crew working on Young's Road Bridge, saved two police dogs from drowning in Baker's pond, March 4. The Massachusetts Humane Society and the Fitchburg Humane Education Society have been told how the WPA workers by nailing planks end to end formed a path to the dogs who...

The WPA built walks, curbs and gutters in Zamora. Cement sidewalks were laid from Union School north to US 99 and east around the block of homes.

Zilker Metropolitan Park is located at the confluence of Barton Creek and the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. The 351 acre park is administered by the Austin Parks and Recreation Department and is considered "Austin's most-loved park." Starting in 1917, local businessman Andew Jackson Zilker began donating land to the Austin School Board with the stipulation that the City of Austin purchase the land from the school board for use as a park. The money would then be used to create the Zilker Permanent Fund, an endowment fund for industrial education and home economics training in the schools. Architect Charles H....

"In Billings, WPA work crews substantially re-engineered Zimmerman Trail, which was originally hacked into the Rimrocks in 1890 by brothers Joseph and Frank Zimmerman. The WPA crew of 100 to 150 laborers started the project in 1939 with the intention of finishing in four months. The work took at least seven months."

The bridge abutments at the Emerald Pools and Angel's Landing trailheads along the Virgin River display rock work that was clearly done by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  The abutments and foundations have survived even though the original bridges have been washed-out several times by the river and replaced.

The higher elevation portions of the East Rim Trail at Zion National Park were originally completed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  They were intended as a government road and truck trail.  Vehicular use quickly diminished and it became a foot trail. Although the CCC did not built any other roads and trails in the park, CCC men did significant work on slope stabilization and retaining walls along all of the trails and roads.  Typical CCC stonework can be seen in several places shoring-up trails and roads.