Gribblenation

George C. Platt Bridge is an 8,780-foot-long cantilever through truss span located in the city of Philadelphia.  The George C. Platt Bridge carries Pennsylvania Route 291 via Penrose Avenue over the Schuylkill River east of Interstate 95 towards Interstate 76.  The George C. Platt Bridge opened during 1951 and was a replacement for the earlier Penrose Ferry Bridge.  Part 1; the history of the George C. Platt Bridge Prior to the construction of George C. Platt Bridge traffic over the Schuylkill River was carried by way of the last generation Penrose Ferry Bridge.  The last  Penrose Ferry Bridge initially was completed over the Schuylkill River by 1878 and featured an iron swing span design.  The iron swing span of the Penrose Ferry Bridge can be seen during 1880 in a Philadelphia Department of Records photo (courtesy Philadelphia.blogspot.com). The iron swing span of the Penrose Ferry Bridge was replaced by a steel swing span during 1900.  The steel sw...

US Route 611 was one of the original US Routes in Pennsylvania which were defined when the US Route System was created on November 11, 1926.  The southern terminus of US Route 611 was always located in the city of Philadelphia.  US Route 611 likely from the time it was signed probably always had a southern terminus at Philadelphia City Hall via northern Broad Street.  US Route 611 was deleted by the American Association of State Highway Officials during 1972 and was replaced with Pennsylvania Route 611.  Pictured below as the blog cover is a view southward on Broad Street to what was the southern terminus of US Route 611 at Philadelphia City Hall.  Below US Route 611 can be seen terminating at Philadelphia City Hall via north Broad Street on the 1949 United States Geological Survey map of Philadelphia.  Part 1; the history of the southern terminus of US Route 611 The US Route System was created by the America Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) o...

On September 15, 2022, the Phase 1 of the California State Route 132 West Expressway opened in the city of Modesto from California State Route 99 west to North Dakota Avenue.  Phase 1 of the California State Route 132 West Expressway was built upon a corridor which was tentatively to designated to become the branching point for Interstate 5W in the 1947 concept of the Interstate Highway System.  The present California State Route 132 West Expressway corridor was adopted by the California Highway Commission on June 20, 1956.  Despite almost being rescinded during the 1970s the concept of the California State Route 132 West Expressway corridor lingered on for over half a century and became likely the oldest undeveloped right-of-way owned by California Transportation Commission.  Pictured above is the planned California State Route 132 freeway west of US Route 99 in Modesto as featured in the May/June 1962 California Highways & Public Works.   Part 1; the ...