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Francis Scott Key Bridge (Baltimore)
The Francis Scott Key Bridge, also known originally as the Outer Harbor Crossing (until renamed for FSK in 1977) or simply as the Key Bridge or Beltway Bridge, is a steel arch-shaped continuous through truss bridge spanning the lower Patapsco River and outer Baltimore Harbor / Port in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The main span of is the third longest span of any continuous truss in the world.Durkee, JacksonWorld's Longest Bridge Spans National Steel Bridge Alliance, May 24, 1999. It is also the longest bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area. The bridge was opened in March 1977 and is named for the author of the American national anthem, the poem originally called ''"The Defence of Fort McHenry"'' written in September 1814 and later set to music and entitled the ''"Star Spangled Banner"'' by Frederick and Georgetown lawyer /amateur poet Francis Scott Key (1779–1843). The bridge is the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore's Harbor (two tunnels and one br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patapsco River
The Patapsco River mainstem is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore. With its South Branch, the Patapsco forms the northern border of Howard County, Maryland. The name "Patapsco" is derived from the Algonquian ''pota-psk-ut'', which translates to "backwater" or "tide covered with froth." History Captain John Smith was the first European to explore the river noting it on his 1612 map as the Bolus River. The "Red river", was named after the clay color, and is considered the "old Bolus", as other branches were also labeled Bolus on maps. As the river was not navigable beyond Elkridge, it was not a major path of commerce with only one ship listed as serving the northern branch, and four others operating around the mouth in 1723. The Patapsco River is referr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
E-ZPass
E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the Eastern United States, Midwestern United States, and Southern United States. The E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG) consists of member agencies in several states, which use the same technology and allow travelers to use the same transponder on toll roads throughout the network. Since its creation in 1987, various independent systems that use the same technology have been folded into the E-ZPass system, including the I-PASS in Illinois and the NC Quick Pass in North Carolina. Negotiations are ongoing for nationwide interoperability in the United States (see ). Functionality Technology E-ZPass tags are active RFID transponders, historically made by Kapsch TrafficCom (formerly Mark IV Industries Corp—IVHS Division) under a competitively bid contract. They communicate with reader equipment built into lane-based or open-road toll collection lanes by transmitting a un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Carroll
Fort Carroll is a artificial island and abandoned hexagonal sea fort in the middle of the Patapsco River, just south of Baltimore, Maryland. It is named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737–1832), a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Design and construction In 1847, the State of Maryland gave permission to the United States War Department to construct a fort in the shallow water of Soller's Point Flats to protect the city of Baltimore. Fort Carroll was important for the defense of Baltimore—before the fort's construction, Fort McHenry just outside the city was the only military defensive structure between Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay. The fort was part of the "Permanent System" or Third System construction program, which aimed to defend America's most important ports. Then Brevet-Colonel Robert E. Lee designed the hexagonal structure and supervised the construction, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commenced in 1848. The fort received its name on 8 O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sparrows Point
Sparrow's Point is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Dundalk. Named after Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known for steelmaking and shipbuilding. In its heyday in the mid-20th century, it was the largest steel mill in the world. The site of the former Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard and steel mill is now renamed Tradepoint Atlantic in a revitalization program to clean up the environment and make it one of the largest ports on the East Coast of the United States. Today Sparrows Point is home to many distribution centers, fulfillment centers, training lots, storage lots, and the like, including those operated by Under Armour, Amazon, Home Depot, Volkswagen, and McCormick & Company. History Sparrow's Point was originally marshland home to Native American tribes until being granted to one Thomas Sparrow Jr. (1620 - 1674) by Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success and productivity, the company was a symbol of American manufacturing leadership in the world, and its decline and ultimate liquidation in the late 20th century is similarly cited as an example of America's diminished manufacturing leadership. From its founding in 1857 through its 2003 dissolution, Bethlehem Steel's headquarters and primary steel mill manufacturing facilities were based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. The company's steel was used in the construction of many of America's largest and most famed structures. Among major buildings, Bethlehem produced steel for 28 Liberty Street, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, Rockefeller Center, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dual-span
Twin bridges are a set of two bridges running parallel to each other. A pair of twin bridges is often referred to collectively as a twin-span or dual-span bridge. Twin bridges are independent structures and each bridge has its own superstructure, substructure, and foundation. Bridges of this type are often created by building a new bridge parallel to an existing one in order to increase the traffic capacity of the crossing. While most twin-span bridges consist of two identical bridges, this is not always the case. For a bridge owner, twin bridges can improve the maintenance and management of the structures. For motorists, twin bridges can limit the risk that both directions of traffic will be disrupted by an accident. Examples * Carquinez Bridge – original cantilever span built in 1927 and later twinned in 1958; a newer suspension span was built in 2003 to replace the original 1927 span, which was later demolished in 2007. *Chesapeake Bay Bridge – twin suspension spans w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually something that is otherwise difficult or impossible to cross. There are many different designs of bridges, each serving a particular purpose and applicable to different situations. Designs of bridges vary depending on factors such as the function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed and anchored, and the material used to make it, and the funds available to build it. The earliest bridges were likely made with fallen trees and stepping stones. The Neolithic people built boardwalk bridges across marshland. The Arkadiko Bridge (dating from the 13th century BC, in the Peloponnese) is one of the oldest arch bridges still in existence and use. Etymology The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' traces the origin of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy from the Chesapeake Bay on September 13–14, 1814. It was first built in 1798 and was used continuously by the U.S. armed forces through World War I and by the Coast Guard in World War II. It was designated a national park in 1925, and in 1939 was redesignated a " National Monument and Historic Shrine". During the War of 1812 an American storm flag, , was flown over Fort McHenry during the bombardment. It was replaced early on the morning of September 14, 1814, with a larger American garrison flag, . The larger flag signaled American victory over the British in the Battle of Baltimore. The sight of the ensign inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem " Defence of Fort M'Henry" that was later set to the tune " To ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interstate 95 (Maryland)
Interstate 95 (I-95) is an Interstate Highway running along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canadian border in Houlton, Maine. In Maryland, the route is a major highway that runs diagonally from southwest to northeast, entering from the District of Columbia and Virginia at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, to Maryland's border with Delaware. It is the longest Interstate Highway within Maryland and is one of the most traveled Interstate Highways in the state, especially between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., despite alternate routes along the corridor, such as the Baltimore–Washington Parkway, U.S. Route 1 (US 1), and US 29. Portions of the highway, including the Fort McHenry Tunnel and the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge, are tolled. From the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to the community of College Park, it follows a portion of the Capital Beltway, completed in 1964 and numbered as I-95 in 1977. Prior to 1977, the route was intended to go on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtis Creek
Curtis Creek is a tidal creek located in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County, Maryland. It is a tributary of the cove Curtis Bay and is adjacent to the west of the South Baltimore community of Curtis Bay. The creek begins at the confluence of Furnace Creek and Marley Creek in northern Anne Arundel County, Maryland and flows north about into Curtis Bay (which now lies in the City of Baltimore) which opens to the east into the main branch and stem of the Patapsco River (serving as the Port of Baltimore) and Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / .... External links *NOAA nautical chart 12278 [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drawbridge
A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable bridges, such as bascule bridges, vertical-lift bridges and swing bridges, but this article concerns the narrower historical definition of the term where the bridge is used in a defensive structure. As used in castles or defensive structures, drawbridges provide access across defensive structures when lowered, but can quickly be raised from within to deny entry to an enemy force. Castle drawbridges Medieval castles were usually defended by a ditch or moat, crossed by a wooden bridge. In early castles the bridge might be designed to be destroyed or removed in the event of an attack, but drawbridges became very common. A typical arrangement would have the drawbridge immediately outside a gatehouse, consisting of a wooden deck wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
