Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
June 9, 1900 The steamboat Natoma was officially launched on Harvey’s Lake in northeastern Pennsylvania. The lake, which is one of the largest in Pennsylvania, had developed into a highly popular summer resort by the early 1890s. Steamboats were a major source of the appeal for those vacationing at the resort and the Natoma – a... Continue Reading →
June 8, 1985 The first segments of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway were opened in Japan. The first of these sections serves as a connection between the cities of Awaji and Sumoto on Awaji Island in Hyōgo Prefecture. The other section was built between the town of Seidan (part of the city of Minamiawaji since 2005), likewise... Continue Reading →
June 5, 2003 Cardinal Greenways in east-central Indiana was designated a National Recreation Trail by U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton. This network of asphalt-paved trails encompasses 62 miles (100 kilometers) of an abandoned CSX railroad corridor between the cities of Marion and Richmond in the Hoosier State. Cardinal Greenways is Indiana’s longest span of trails for... Continue Reading →
June 4, 1929 A new tunnel was officially opened for trams (streetcars) traveling through Northland, a suburb of New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington. (Northland is specifically located between two other Wellington suburbs, Karori and Kelburn.) That day’s edition of the Wellington-based Evening Post highlighted the new Northland Tunnel and what it meant for local... Continue Reading →
June 3, 1958 After a delay of nearly six months, a critically needed delivery of structural steel finally arrived in north-central Montana for use in completing a bridge in that region of the state. This steel-girder bridge was being built across the section of the Missouri River located between the city of Malta in Phillips... Continue Reading →
June 2, 1910 Charles Stewart Rolls, who had already distinguished himself in the automotive world when he cofounded the Rolls-Royce car manufacturing firm more than five years earlier, achieved another notable transportation milestone when he made the first non-stop double-crossing of the English Channel via plane. The 32-year-old Rolls piloted a Wright Flyer biplane over... Continue Reading →
June 1, 1854 The original Alcatraz Island Lighthouse in California’s San Francisco Bay began operations when it was first lit at sunset by head keeper Michael Cassin. The lighthouse was the first active one on the Pacific coast, and it resulted from the urgent need to safely guide the ever-growing number of vessels sailing through the... Continue Reading →
May 28, 1893 A year after the Belgium-based cycling race known as Liège-Bastogne-Liège made its debut, the second edition of that one-day competition took place. The 1893 race covered a total of 155.3 miles (250 kilometers), with the course running from the city of Liège to the municipality of Bastogne and then back to Liège... Continue Reading →
May 27, 2016 The final and easternmost section of the Goldsboro Bypass, a bypass route of U.S. Route 70 (US 70) in North Carolina, was officially dedicated. In its entirety, this bypass route covers a total of 21.7 miles (34.9 kilometers). The westernmost part of the route starts just west of North Carolina Highway 581... Continue Reading →
May 26, 2017 The Dhola-Sadiya Bridge was opened in the state of Assam in northeastern India, This beam bridge, crossing the Lohit River (a major tributary of the Brahmaputra River), connects the village of Dhola in the south with the town of Sadiya to the north. The Dhola-Sadiya Bridge was formally inaugurated by Narendra Modi,... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 