Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels Sites

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 between 'Tub Mill' and Big Stone Beach, northeast of Milford. 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 Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) supplied labor for the widening of Merrimon Avenue in Asheville, North Carolina. The cost of the project was $32,351.40, which was mostly borne by the federal government. "In Asheville, Biltmore Street, Merrimon Avenue, and Broadway were widened by taking off fronts of all stores, setting them back, and rebuilding, work requiring expert skill."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided funding toward the paving of previously unpaved roads in Scranton, Pennsylvania. "The costliest job ... was the paving of Birch Street from Pittston Avenue to Crown Avenue, at an estimated cost of $63,469."

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 Birds Corner Road, a.k.a. Cox Neck Rd., west of Delaware City. 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 WPA carried out construction and improvements on Bjerge Gade in Charlotte Amalie. Road construction and improvements carried out by the WPA in the Virgin Islands typically included “clearing the old roadway widening existing curves, blasting rock from the road surface and drains, relocating where necessary, installing culverts, preparing the subgrade and placing the bituminous macadam surface.”

The WPA carried out construction and improvements on Bjerge Gade in Charlotte Amalie. Road construction and improvements carried out by the WPA in the Virgin Islands typically included “clearing the old roadway widening existing curves, blasting rock from the road surface and drains, relocating where necessary, installing culverts, preparing the subgrade and placing the bituminous macadam surface.”

"The Black Canyon of the Gunnison was established as a U.S. National Monument on March 2, 1933. It became a National Park on October 21, 1999. During 1933-35, the Civilian Conservation Corps built the North Rim Road to design by the National Park Service. This includes fives miles of roadway and five overlooks; it is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as a historic district."   (https://www.hipcamp.com) Funding was provided by the PWA and Emergency Conservation Work.

This historic Depression-era bridge was built in 1938-9 and reconstructed in 1968. Bridgemeister: It was a WPA and CCC effort. The CCC Camp discipline and logistics were provided by the US Army, but the construction supervision was provided by the WPA. About 200 Men from the Norrie CCC camp (Ironwood, Michigan) participated in the construction of the bridge and surrounding park. They worked during the cold of winter and rode to and from Camp Norrie in open trucks. Each trip took 1 1/2 hours. The architect of the bridge was 'Oakey' Johnson. The WPA construction foreman was 'Charlie' Johnson. Tom Haapoja provided...

The WPA worked to improve roads throughout Blackfeet Indian Agency , Glacier County, Montana. $7,437 was allocated for such projects in July 1938 alone.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved a segment of Bladensburg Rd. NE, from New York Ave. to Twenty-Fourth Place NE. This project assisted regular District of Columbia municipal workers, and was described as follows: “Prior to the widening of Bladensburg Road, an open stream (storm water) paralleled the roadway on its east side for quite a distance to the north. In order to obtain the required width it was necessary to enclose this stormwater in a five-foot sewer. This work was difficult because the banks on each side of the stream consisted of filled ground. The project was completed by the forces...

A Boston Public Works Department report cited Federal Emergency Relief Administration (F.E.R.A.) labor as conducting the following work: "Major repairs were made to Blakemore Street Bridge, in order to increase the load capacity from 8 to 15 tons."

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 3163-A. Tyler County, Blue Bridge No. 1532 and Approaches. Two 40 ft. and one 50ft. Spans Steel I Beam Bridge on Concrete Substructure and grading, Draining, Macadam base with Road Mix Surface. Certified Check $1,000.00. Raymond V. Nolan, District Manger, W. Va. State Employment Service, Parkersburg, W.Va."

W.P.A. project description: "Blue Hill River Road and Ponkapoag Trail, Milton; early in 1939 work will be begun on additional improvements at the recreational area adjacent to Hoosicwhisick Pond. The project provides for the construction of 3,250 linear feet of roadway 12-ft. wide, two parking spaces of 17,000 square yards, clearing and grubbing of 145,000 square yards of wooded land and incidental work of grading, laying drains, removing trees, etc."

"The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. It runs for 469 miles (755 km), mostly along the famous Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Its southern terminus is on the boundary between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina, from which it travels north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and offers access to the Skyline Drive, the major north/south artery through the Park. The two All-American Byways are separate and distinct. The Blue Ridge...

Stretching from the Shenandoah National Park, VA, to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC, the Blue Ridge Parkway contains 469 miles of continuous scenic road. Not only did the Parkway create tourism revenue for nearby towns and cities, but it protects 88,000 acres of land and all the species living there, and preserves several historical buildings for the public’s education. The project was first envisioned in 1933 with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s visit to Skyline Drive, VA and Virginia Senator Harry Byrd’s idea to connect it to the new Great Smoky Mountain National Park. In November of 1933, Secretary of the...

"Blue Ridge Parkway tunnels consist of a total of 26 vehicle tunnels constructed along the 469 miles (755 km) of the Blue Ridge Parkway. One, the Bluff Mountain Tunnel, is in Virginia and twenty-five are in North Carolina. The design standards specified a minimum impact on the land. The vehicle tunnels were often constructed to reduce excessive landscape scarring that open cuts would have produced. They are used in areas of steep terrain where ridges run perpendicular to the roadway alignment. North Carolina's more rugged terrain required the majority of the tunnels. Most of the work on the tunnel digging was done by...

The bridge carrying Blythe Road over a branch of Washburn Creek, ENE of Dayton Township, northeast of Huntington, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1941.

$70,000 from the New Deal federal government went into the grading, paving and structure of a subway and approaches under the AT&SF Railroad on old route 43 on the south end of Colton.

In 1937-38, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved the road to Bodie CA (now CA 270) south of Bridgeport.  Bodie is a relic of a 19th century gold mining boom that had become a ghost town by the mid 20th century.  It was made a California State Park in 1962.  Highway 270 is closed in winter because Bodie stands at over 8,000 feet. The WPA project card in the National Archives states: "Improve Bridgeport - Bodie Road, near Bridgeport, in Mono County, by clearing and grubbing, excavating and filling, installing culverts, surfacing, grading and sloping, and performing appurtenant work. Not a part...

The Civil Works Administration carried out improvements work on Bog-of-Allen Road, to make the road passable for vehicular traffic.

The CCC created Bogus Basin Road, possibly with the assistance of the WPA, which eventually spurred the development of the recreation area. From the Bogus Basin ski resort website: It all started in 1938 when a 24-month WPA road project started the development of Bogus Basin as a recreation site.  A handful of Forest Service experts were called in, of which Alf Engen, founder of the Alta Ski Area in Utah played major roles in site selection.  Three years later, in September of 1941, the non-profit Bogus Basin Recreational Association (BBRA) was incorporated to raise funds and oversee the maintenance of...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) undertook the following work north of Coulterville: "Improvement of Bone Yard Road; Retaining, widening, sloping, etc." WPA Proj. No. 65-3-2705, November 20, 1935, $3,536

The state acquired the land for Bonham State Park in 1933 from the City of Bonham. The Civilian Conservation Corps developed the 261-acre park, landscaping the rocky, hilly terrain for erosion control and recreational purposes, and constructing an earthen dam to impound a sixty-five-acre lake. CCC Company 894 constructed buildings of local cream-colored limestone and Eastern red cedar, working under the supervision of Bonham architect Joe C. Lair and San Antonio architect William C. Caldwell. The overall design exhibits a WPA rustic style. The CCC built the entrance portal, concession building (currently the park headquarters and storage facility), waterfront storage building...

The bridge carrying Booneville Lake Way over Pigeon Creek in Washburn Township, Arkansas, was constructed by the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) in 1942.

The federal Work Projects Administration undertook a large road repair project starting in 1935 in the borough of Queens. The streets, many of which in New York City were still unpaved, were repaired; particular emphasis was placed on fixing washout-damaged stretches of road. Holes were filled in and the streets were smoothed, surfaced and reconditioned. Roads improved as part of this project (WPA Official Project No. 65-97-9) included stretches of Borden Avenue.

The Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration carried out repair and maintenance work on Borinquen Road in Caguas.

The Bosque River Bridge was constructed under a Works Progress Administration work-relief contract between 1940 and 1941. The bridge was as part of a larger project that created a new alignment of Texas State Highway 22 though Bosque County. The W.E. Worrell Company of Austin constructed the bridge and approaches, with work performed by WPA labor. Work began on the bridge in May of 1940 and finished the following December for the final cost of $98.002.88. This 566 long, steel I-beam bridge crosses the Bosque River west of Meridian, Texas. The bridge consists of a 265’ long four-span continuous span unit...

Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) conducted drastic improvement work at the South Boston Army Base in Boston, Massachusetts. WPA Bulletin: At the Army Base, South Boston, WPA employed more than 1000 men repairing and altering buildings, warehouses, wharves, roads, grounds and water and electric systems. The site of the old army base is now part of Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park. Per the DoD Heritage Assessment cited below: W.P.A. project information: "Boston Army Base" "Improve U.S. Maritime Commission buildings" Official Project Number: 165‐2‐14‐155 Total project cost: $163,750.00 Sponsor: War Department "Improve and rehabilitate buildings and utilities" Official Project Number: 165‐2‐14‐177 Total project cost: $96,755.00 Sponsor: Commanding Officer, Boston Army Base, U.S....

The W.P.A. conducted substantial improvement and development work at the then-Boston Navy Yard, which was located southeast of Chelsea Street in Charlestown. The details—including description, Official Project Numbers, total costs, and sponsors—of more than two dozen W.P.A. projects undertaken at the Navy Yard can be found in the DoD Heritage Assessment cited below. Projects included buildings, the grounds, roads, and utilities at the installation.

Montana's Big Timber Pioneer newspaper reported: Emery C. Jones, WPA foreman, and a crew ranging from eight to thirteen men, have completed work on about four miles of Boulder road, in Natural Bridge hill vicinity. The work was principally cutting out rocky points and straightening curves.

The Bourne Bridge across the Cape Cod canal was built for the US Army Corps of Engineers, with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). It was part of a very large project to improve the canal and add three bridges across it; the PWA allotment was $6,138,000 for the entire project.  (Short & Stanley-Brown 1939) The project began in 1933 and the bridge opened in 1935. The contractor was American Bridge Company of New York, New York and the engineering was done by Fay, Spofford, and Thorndike of Boston, Massachusetts (historicbridges.com) The Bourne Bridge won the American Institute of Steel Construction's Class "A" Award...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was very active in the Coronado National Forest during the 1930s. Coronado National Forest is discontinuous across southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico because the forested areas occur only on isolated mountain ranges called "Sky Islands" – a type of landscape similar to the Basin and Range in Nevada. Box Canyon road is one of those projects.  It traverses the Santa Rita Mountains from roughly Green Valley and Interstate 19 on the west to Greaterville and state highway 83 on the east side of the mountains.  It is a well-maintained dirt road to this day. "The Civilian...

Boylston Street Bridge Over Boston & Albany Railroad. "The city requested a grant from the Government for bridge alterations as follows: Altering and strengthening Boylston Street Bridge; rebuilding Berkeley Street Bridge and rebuilding Albany Street Bridge. The total cost of this work is approximately $265,000 ..." P.W.A. Docket No. Mass. 1584-F.

This lenticular truss bridge was moved to historic Brackenridge Park in 1925. It had been constructed in 1890 on St. Mary's Street over the San Antonio River by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company of East Berlin Connecticut. After a devastating flood in 1921 the city under took a massive rebuilding of the city's downtown infrastructure and the bridge was relocated to the park rather than being demolished. The plaque on the bridge indicates that the National Youth Administration did work in 1937-38, but it is not known if they worked on the bridge or on the adjacent retaining walls.

The Brady Creek Bridge is a 270 foot long, 50 foot wide steel stringer bridge that carries US Highway 377 (also called N Bridge St) across Brady Creek in Brady, Texas. Jensen Construction Co. Inc. built the bridge in 1939 under the supervision of the Texas Highway Department and the Public Roads Administration of the Federal Works Agency.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved a segment of Branch Avenue SE, from Pennsylvania Avenue to Randall Circle. This WPA project was described as follows: “This project requires heavy grading and eventual temporary roadway treatment. At the present time, grading has been completed to the extent of 40 percent. When completed, it will join with the permanently improved portion of Branch Avenue, south of Pennsylvania Avenue and this will form a direct route into southern Maryland. In connection with this project, the construction of a culvert under this roadway was approved. During a severe rainstorm, which occurred this summer, the old...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked to improve many roads in San Francisco, including the 1.6-mile stretch of Brannan St. between The Embarcadero and 10th St.

Text from the state historical marker: The town of Brazoria began in 1828 as a port and trading center in Stephen F. Austin's colony. Partially burned in 1836 during the Texas Revolution, it rebuilt and served as county seat until 1897. To escape floods and to enjoy a better life, the townspeople moved to "New Town" near the St. Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico Railway in 1912. This town became "Old Town." The first traffic bridge, built across the Brazos River in this historic region in 1912, provided a vital link between eastern and western Brazoria County. Falling victim to the elements...

The U.S. Forest Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps built the Briceburg Bridge in Midpines CA. "FOREST SERVICE PLANS BRIDGE AT BULL CREEK Work is being rushed on the new bridge across the Merced River at Briceburg which is being built by the U.S. Forest Service. J. W. Nute, forest service engineer, is here from San Francisco and is in charge of the construction. The bridge is a 160-foot span supported by four one and a fourth inch cables and hangers of iron. Two 25-foot towers support the cables. An interesting feature of this new bridge is the use of steel beams instead of trusses...

A local source states that brick road paving in Dalhart, Texas was undertaken as a WPA project. Additional information about this project is requested.