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.
Six Minute ferries Six Minute Ferry operated an automobile ferry service across Carquinez Strait on the main highway between Sacramento and Oakland, California. Each crossing near the present Interstate 80 bridge took approximately 6 minutes. As automobile travel became increasingly popular, the company ordered some new steel ferries in 1921. The ferry company went out of business while the ferries were under construction after a March 1922 landslide destroyed the Six Minute Ferry north shore terminal on Morrow Cove. Southern Pacific Transportation Company purchased the ferries ordered by Six Minute Ferry and placed them in service between San Francisco and Oakland. The three ferries remained in service on various San Francisco Bay routes until completion of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937.