Wednesday, May 28, 2014

They Don't Build Bridges Like They Used To

Or spell 'em, either.

"Contractors take Longfellow Bridge to the past; Bridge restorers faithful to bygone ways" by Martine Powers | Globe Staff   May 21, 2014

It turns out that they just don’t make bridges the way they used to.

One year after the launch of the sweeping Longfellow Bridge reconstruction project, contractors are getting an education on the construction practices of yore, poring over century-old bridge building manuals, reviving obsolete metalworking techniques, and scouring the region for building materials that have long disappeared from the market.

Rockport granite, with its inimitable grain? That stuff stopped being excavated during the Great Depression.

And the art of riveting metal? Its heyday — which calls to mind black-and-white photos of fighter planes and posters of a bandanna-wearing woman named “Rosie” — has long faded into the past....

So, apparently, have my purchases of the Boston Globe because it is another NoPP day. Didn't want to waste the gas.

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My interest in that item faded before the turn-in. Sorry.