Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
January 22, 1960 A steel girder bridge in Pennsylvania’s capital city of Harrisburg was officially opened. The multi-lane John Harris Bridge carries Interstate 83 and that region’s Capital Beltway across the Susquehanna River. This bridge was specifically named after John Harris Sr. (1673-1748), a prominent trader and ferry operator in that area. Harrisburg was likewise... Continue Reading →
January 19, 1964 Professional cyclist Firmin Lambot died in the municipality of Borgerhout in northern Belgium at the age of 77. (Borgerhout became a district of the city of Antwerp in 1983.) Lambot had been born on March 14, 1886, in the municipality of Florennes in southwestern Belgium. He began working as a saddler, someone... Continue Reading →
January 18, 2015 In the Australian state of Queensland, a ferry wharf on the northern side of the Brisbane River was inaugurated. This wharf is specifically located near the intersection of Park Road and Coronation Drive in Milton, an inner suburb of Queensland’s capital city of Brisbane. Graham Quirk, who was lord mayor of Brisbane... Continue Reading →
January 17, 2004 In Australia, the first freight train to travel on the Adelaide-Darwin railway line in its entirety reached the end of its long journey. This long-anticipated line serves as a major transportation link between the cities of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia; and Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern... Continue Reading →
January 16, 1932 The Arlington Memorial Bridge, crossing the Potomac River and linking Virginia with Washington, D.C., was opened. A caravan of 12 automobiles became the first vehicles to travel over this stone, steel, and neoclassical masonry arch bridge. The first of these automobiles transported President Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) and First Lady Lou Henry Hoover (1874-1944). While... Continue Reading →
January 12, 2010 An inaugural ceremony was held for an addition to the rapid transit system serving Chile’s capital city of Santiago. This extension of Line 5 of the Santiago Metro covered 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) between Quinta Normal metro station (opened in 2004) at Catedral Street and Matucana Avenue; and Pudahuel metro station at... Continue Reading →
January 11, 1938 The first aircraft landing at eastern Canada's recently completed Newfoundland Airport (present-day Gander International Airport) took place when pilot Douglas C. Fraser (1903-1990) flew a single-engine Fox Moth VO-ADE biplane owned by Imperial Airways down onto a runway there. “I can remember it quite well,” Fraser later recalled about that clear winter day. He... Continue Reading →
January 10, 1975 In West Germany (now part of the Federal Republic of Germany), a vehicular tunnel crossing under the Elbe River in the city of Hamburg was officially opened. Construction on the New Elbe Tunnel -- also called Elbtunnel -- had begun in 1968. Helmut Schmidt (1918-2015), who served as chancellor of West Germany... Continue Reading →
January 9, 1843 Industrial engineer and coal-mining official William Hedley died at the age of 63 near the English village of Lanchester. He was instrumental in harnessing the untapped potential and practical applications of railways. Hedley’s greatest contribution in this regard took place when, as a manager at a coal-mining facility near the city of Newcastle... Continue Reading →
January 8, 1908 New York City’s University Heights Bridge was officially opened to traffic. This bridge, which crosses the Harlem River, links West 207th Street in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood with West Fordham Road in the University Heights section of the Bronx. Construction on this steel-truss revolving swing bridge began in 1903. The fixed and swing spans of... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 