Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
November 3, 1911 The Chevrolet Motor Car Company was jointly established in Detroit by racecar driver Louis Chevrolet and recently ousted General Motors founder William C. Durant. Their investment partners included William C. Little and Durant’s son-in-law Dr. Edwin R. Campbell. With a total of 2,999 Chevrolet automobiles manufactured in the following year, this motor vehicle... Continue Reading →
November 2, 1863 Civil engineer Theodore Judah, whose vision and technical expertise helped bring about one of the most significant railroad accomplishments in American history, died of yellow fever at the age of 37 in New York City. He most likely contracted the viral disease in Panama while he and his wife Anne were en... Continue Reading →
October 31, 1929 The Louisville Municipal Bridge, spanning a section of the Ohio River between the cities of Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana, was formally opened. Those attending the dedication ceremony for the four-lane cantilevered truss bridge included public officials from both of those states and also what one newspaper account characterized as “hundreds of onlookers.” ... Continue Reading →
October 28, 1874 Henry Garnett Shirley, who became the first president of AASHO (officially renamed AASHTO in 1973), was born in Jefferson County, West Virginia. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with a degree in civil engineering in 1896, and went on to serve as commandant and professor of military science at Horner Military... Continue Reading →
October 27, 1907 A major transportation hub in Washington, D.C., made its debut when the Pittsburgh Express passenger train of the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad pulled into the new facility at 6:56 a.m. The next day’s edition of the Washington Post reported that “4,000 or more prospective passengers and spectators who crowded up... Continue Reading →
October 21, 1981 In southwestern Pennsylvania, the second and current Sewickley Bridge was officially opened at 10:00 a.m. This steel continuous truss bridge, spanning the Ohio River and linking the borough of Sewickley with Moon Township, carries Pennsylvania State Route 4025 and the portion of the Allegheny County Belt System (a group of limited-access county... Continue Reading →
October 17, 1849 Railroad entrepreneur William Mackenzie was born near the settlement of Scott’s Plain (now the city of Peterborough) in what was then the British colony known as the Province of Canada. When Canada achieved its independence as a federal dominion in 1867, the area that had been the Province of Canada was divided... Continue Reading →
October 12, 1996 Work was officially completed on a road coursing through a picturesque region of the southeastern United States. The Cherohala Skyway is a 43-mile (69-kilometer) route between the towns of Tellico Plains in Tennessee and Robbinsville in North Carolina. The name for this skyway is a portmanteau of Cherokee and Natahala, referring to... Continue Reading →
October 10, 1848 The first railroad locomotive to operate in Chicago arrived in the city via schooner. This steam locomotive, aptly named the Pioneer, had been built in 1837 for the Utica and Schenectady Railroad (U&S) in New York. Originally called Alert, this locomotive was used by the U&S for nine years before being sold to the... Continue Reading →
October 3, 1970 In Wyoming, a 77-mile (123.9-kilometer) segment of Interstate 80 between the city of Laramie and community of Walcott Junction was officially opened to traffic. This section remains the longest stretch of the Interstate Highway System to make its debut at one time without any portion of the entire length previously opened. The... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 