The noted British civil engineer Thomas Telford was asked in 1824 by the Royal Court how he would improve mail service between London and Wales. His answer was: build a bridge! The closest crossing at the time was at the port of Sharpness, in Gloucestershire, 20 miles away — a significant distance for the horse-and-carriage age. Still, nothing came of his suggestion for more than a century, until after WW II, under a national plan to build out roadways all over the UK.

On this day, September 8, in 1966, the Severn Bridge opened with a ceremony led by Queen Elizabeth II herself. The Severn bridge was conceived around the same time as the Forth Road bridge, but the latter took priority.

Careful observation of the Severn Bridge might lead you to discover it is not exactly straight. Instead, each section is slightly misaligned with the previous, lending an overall curvature to the bridge that was intentionally put in to reduce vibration.