Callahan Bridge

The Callahan Bridge is a four-lane suspension bridge connecting southwestern Portland with east-central Staunton Island in Liberty City. Before it was rebuilt, it was one of the three alternatives of connection between Portland and Staunton Island, the other being the Portland Ferry and Liberty City Subway. The toll charge between 1964 and 1996 was fixed at the same price as the ferry had, this eventually pushed most people into using the subway system.

History
The original Callahan Bridge was constructed in 1899 as a steel bascule bridge with two lanes. The traffic on the bridge hit extreme levels during the early 1920's, so a ferry service was established in 1924. Even though the ferry took away a lot of the congestion, the bridge would still be packed with cars. In 1964, there was enacted a toll charge for use of the bridge. The toll money would go towards financing of a new bridge. When the final amounts of funds was gathered in the spring of 1996, the old bridge closed and the building of the new bridge broke ground. During the construction time, there was put several more ferries into service. Callahan Bridge opened in May 1998, and it was now a new four lane bridge connecting Midtown and Portland. The traffic congestion was very heavy before the opening of the Porter Tunnel, but it became more stable as the tunnel opened. The bridge was also bombed in 2001, which closed car connection from Portland from the rest of the city for a few months.