What was the length of the original span of the bridge which made ocean beaches on the Eastern Shore of Maryland more accessible to visitors from Washington, D.C.?
Chesapeake Bay Bridge The Chesapeake Bay Bridge (commonly known as the "Bay Bridge") is a major dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the state's rural Eastern Shore region with the urban Western Shore. The original span, opened in 1952 and with a length of 4.3 mi , was the world's longest continuous over-water steel structure; the parallel span was added in 1973. The bridge is officially named the "Gov. William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge" after William Preston Lane Jr. who, as the 52nd Governor of Maryland, initiated its construction in the late 1940s finally after decades of political indecision and public controversy.
Longfellow Bridge The Longfellow Bridge (also known to locals as the "Salt-and-Pepper Bridge" due to the shape of its central towers) carries the Route 3 roadway, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Red Line trains, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic. The structure spans the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood with the Kendall Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The structure was originally known as the Cambridge Bridge, and a predecessor structure was known as the West Boston Bridge; Boston also continued to use "West Boston Bridge" officially for the new bridge.