Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, the Lovely Mount, Central Depot, and newly developed Radford areas grew as more coal and iron passed through the region and more factories were built. This growth brought the population needed to organize as a city, and the area became the City of Radford in 1892. In September 1891, a traffic bridge opened across the New River to connect Pulaski County and Radford, operating as a toll bridge in line with modern day Walker Street. Its importance increased as the automobile spread, and in the 1920s transportation improvements included the construction of Route 11, which used the span across the New River. Route 11 remained the primary roadway until Interstate 81 surpassed it in importance. Interstate 81, connecting New York to Tennessee, crosses the New River just west of Radford on two bridges originally completed in 1965, near where Ingles Ferry had begun operation 200 years earlier. Another critical development was the establishment of the State and Normal Industrial School for Women at Radford after local citizens lobbied the Virginia General Assembly in the early 1900s to place one of the new educational institutions for women there. That institution later became coeducational and grew into a major university drawing students from across the country and internationally. Today, Radford University is an economic engine for growth and development within the region.