Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
U.S. Route 199 (US 199) became one of the original routes of the U.S. Numbered Highway System to be officially announced by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads in 1927. As the northern spur of U.S. Route 99 (US 99), US 199 was designated to cover 84 miles (135.2 kilometers) between an area near Crescent... Continue Reading →
August 3, 1987 The sail training ship (STS) Young Endeavour began her maiden voyage at the coastal town and civil parish of Lowestoft in England. (Lowestoft holds the record as the most easterly settlement in the entire United Kingdom.) Sail training ships are vessels used for teaching people how to operate wind-powered vessels. This training... Continue Reading →
July 29, 2017 In southwestern Switzerland, a newly built pedestrian suspension bridge near the municipality of Randa first went into service. This bridge was named after Charles Kuonen, a psychologist and one of the owners of a Swiss winery. As the primary private sponsor of the construction project for the bridge, he made a significant... Continue Reading →
July 28, 1874 In northern Scotland, a railway station in the town and royal burgh of Wick in the Scottish Highlands was opened. This station was designed by the prolific engineer and architect Murdoch Paterson (1826-1898) and constructed by the Sutherland and Caithness Railway, which operated in that region of Scotland from 1874 to 1884.... Continue Reading →
July 15, 2013 The final section of the Trakia motorway in the Republic of Bulgaria was opened to traffic. Trakia (pronounced TRAH-kee-yah) is the Bulgarian version of “Thrace,” a historical region in southeastern Europe that encompassed part of what is now Bulgaria. The Trakia motorway, which is officially designated A1, has a total length of... Continue Reading →
July 13, 2005 The Millennium Bridge in Podgorica, the capital and largest city of southeastern Europe’s country of Montenegro, was officially opened to traffic. The inauguration of this cable-stayed bridge, which crosses the Morača river, took place on Montenegro’s National Day. It was on that date in 1878 that representatives on behalf of the major... Continue Reading →
July 10, 1854 A newly completed railway station was opened in the village (now suburban town) of Dalkey, which is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of central Dublin. At that time, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; this sovereign state remained in existence until... Continue Reading →
July 6, 2012 The ship HNLMS Holland (P840) was commissioned into the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN). This ship was the first one of RNLN’s Holland-class offshore patrol vessels to go into service. HNLMS Holland in fact carried out her first official mission about three-and-months before being commissioned. This unique mission involved a mirror that the... Continue Reading →
June 25, 2011 A dedication ceremony was held for the Peace Bridge in the city of Derry in Northern Ireland. This 771-foot (225-meter)-long bridge, which crosses the River Foyle, was built for pedestrians and cyclists. The bridge serves as a link between Ebrington Square, a public space, on the east bank of the river; and... Continue Reading →
June 24, 2024 Operations formally began for a Paris Metro station built at Orly Airport, which is located approximately 8.1 miles (13 kilometers) south of the central area of France’s capital city. This airport is based in Paris’s southern suburbs of Orly and Villeneuve-le-Roi. It is one of two international airports serving Paris. (The other... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 