Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 31, 2011 The Rędziński Bridge, which spans the section of the Oder river in the city of Wrocław in southwestern Poland, was officially opened. This cable-stayed bridge is a part of the A8 motorway, and that 16.7-mile (26.8-kilometer) route was likewise opened to vehicular traffic on the same day. With a total length of... Continue Reading →
August 30, 1996 The first line of the Ankara Metro, the rapid transit system serving Turkey’s capital city of Ankara, was officially opened. This original segment of the Ankara Metro is called Ankaray, which is a portmanteau of “Ankara” and “ray” (the Turkish word for “rail”). The opening-day celebration for Ankaray included a concert given... Continue Reading →
August 27, 1966 The Astoria-Megler Bridge, which had been jointly built by the Oregon State Highway Department (now the Oregon Department of Transportation) and the Washington State Highway Department (the present-day Washington State Department of Transportation) made its official debut. This steel cantilever through-truss bridge spans the Columbia River between the city of Astoria, Oregon, and... Continue Reading →
August 26, 1901 Gentullio “Tullio” Campagnolo, who achieved widespread fame as both a racing cyclist and bicycle manufacturer, was born in the city of Vicenza in northeastern Italy. By the early 1920s, Campagnolo was regularly competing in such prestigious and difficult cycling races as the Giro di Lombardia (Tour of Lombardy) in northwestern Italy; and La... Continue Reading →
August 25, 1930 Approximately 25,000 people were on hand for the grand opening of the Mid-Hudson Bridge in southeastern New York. This bridge, which measures about 3,000 feet (910 meters) in length, carries traffic over the Hudson River between the city of Poughkeepsie and the hamlet of Highland. This structure was the world’s sixth longest suspension... Continue Reading →
August 24, 1912 President William Howard Taft signed into law the Post Office Appropriations Act for 1913. This measure put into place an experimental federal-aid post road program for the United States. The law specifically provided a total of $500,000 to improve roads intended to be used for mail delivery. In one respect, the Post... Continue Reading →
August 23, 1985 The Constituyentes Station on Line 7 of the Mexico City Metro was formally opened. (The Mexico City Metro is a rapid transit system serving the metropolitan area of Mexico’s capital; it ranks second only to the New York City Subway as the largest metro system in all of North America.) The Constituyentes... Continue Reading →
August 20, 1873 A lighthouse built at Yaquina Head on the Oregon coast first went into service. (Yaquina Head is a headland extending into the Pacific Ocean, and it is situated just north of the city of Newport.) Fayette Crosby was this lighthouse’s first head keeper. His previous assignments included serving at the Umpqua River... Continue Reading →
August 19, 1904 Automotive and aeronautical engineer Maurice Wilks was born on Hayling Island, which is off the southern coast of England. Wilks worked for the British automobile manufacturer Hillman Motor Car Company from 1922 to 1926 and then spent two years in the United States at General Motors. He returned to Hillman in 1928 as... Continue Reading →
August 18, 1899 Just off the North Carolina coast, Erasmus “Rasmus” S. Midgett of the U.S. Life-Saving Service (USLSS) single-handedly rescued 10 men from a sinking ship. Midgett, who was born on North Carolina’s Hatteras Island in 1851, had become a surfman for the USLSS during the 1880s. (The USLSS was established in 1878 and remained... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 