Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
Rex Marion Whitton, who became a leading U.S. highway official, was born in 1898, in Jackson County, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1920 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Whitton then began what became his 40-year career with the Missouri State Highway Department. (In 1980, the Missouri State Highway Department was... Continue Reading →
July 29, 1913 Paul D. Sargent became the first chief engineer of the newly formed Maine State Highway Commission (MSHC) when his appointment was officially confirmed by Governor William T. Haines and the Executive Council. (The Executive Council was a government body that had been established when Maine became a state in 1820; this council... Continue Reading →
July 20, 1934 In California, construction began on a new bridge that would cross the Sacramento River and connect the state capital of Sacramento in Sacramento County with the city of West Sacramento in Yolo County. This vertical lift bridge was built to replace the M Street Bridge, which was owned by the Sacramento Northern Railway.... Continue Reading →
July 16, 1927 Defense Highway -- coursing through Maryland from the Washington, D.C., area in Prince George’s County to the state capital of Annapolis in Anne Arundel County -- was formally opened to great fanfare. This route was built between Bladensburg and Annapolis, and followed the trajectory of a narrow, unpaved road that had been in... Continue Reading →
July 15, 1975 In Virginia, the first segment of Interstate 195 (I-195) in the state capital of Richmond was opened. I-195 has also become known as the Beltline Expressway. This 3.5-mile (5.6-kilometer) highway is a spur route of Interstate 95. Within the Interstate Highway System, a spur route is a short highway serving as a... Continue Reading →
July 1, 1962 A highway that had been built around a large part of Baltimore to help reduce traffic volumes in and near Maryland’s largest city was opened. This route has become most popularly known throughout the decades as the Baltimore Beltway. The planning and construction of the original version of this highway was coordinated... Continue Reading →
June 25, 2015 A highway tunnel named Legacy Way made its official debut in the city of Brisbane in the Australian state of Queensland. In keeping with an announcement that had been made by Lord Mayor Graham Quirk of Brisbane, the 2.9-mile (4.6-kilometer) tunnel was not actually opened to traffic until late that night. Legacy... Continue Reading →
June 17, 1970 A major milestone for the Kansas State Highway Commission took place when the final section of Interstate 70 in the Sunflower State was formally opened. (The Kansas State Highway Commission remained in existence until 1975, when it was replaced by the present-day Kansas Department of Transportation.) The last part of I-70 to... Continue Reading →
June 10, 1912 Just over five months after New Mexico left behind its longtime U.S. territorial status to become the 47th state, a broad range of bills recently passed by the state legislature still awaited approval or rejection by the governor. That day’s edition of the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper noted, “The first session... 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 →
Transportation History 