Parsons Brinckerhoff - History

History

Founded in 1885 in New York City by William Barclay Parsons, among Parsons Brinckerhoff’s earliest projects was the original IRT line of the New York City subway, designed by Parsons and opened in 1904. Parsons also designed the Cape Cod Canal, which opened in 1914 and charted the course of a railway in China from Hankow (Wuhan) to Canton (Guangzhou), a line that is also still in use today. In 1906, Henry M. Brinckerhoff, a highway engineer, brought his expertise in electric railways to the firm. He is known for his co-invention of the third rail.

The firm has worked on some of the most notable infrastructure projects of the 20th century, including: the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel (1930); the Scheldt Tunnel in Antwerp, Belgium (1933); The Buzzards Bay Railwood Bridge on Cape Cod, Massachusetts (1935); The 1939 World's Fair in New York City; The Garden State Parkway in New Jersey (1957); The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia (1957); The Pell Bridge in Newport, Rhode Island (1969); The I-95/Fort McHenry Tunnel (1980); The H-3 Highway in Oahu . Hawaii (1997); and The Sabiya Power Station in Kuwait (2000) and the rapid transit systems of San Francisco (1972); Atlanta (1979); Singapore (1987); Taipei (1996); and Caracas(1983.

Currently, the firm is involved in several major expansions of the public transportation system in the New York metropolitan area, including the extension of the 7 Subway Extension, the new Second Avenue Subway, and an extension of the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal, (East Side Access) Other current and recent projects include: the Taiwan High Speed Rail Project; the Bosphorus rail tunnel in Istanbul; The Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Washington, D.C.; an extension of the East London Line of the London Overground; and the Medupi Power Station in South Africa.