Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
July 29, 1959 A pioneering public bus line in Nepal was inaugurated. This line was part of the operations of Nepal Transport Service. This company had started out only four months earlier as a trucking company that, via the Tribhuvan Highway, hauled cargo for a distance of 118.1 miles (190 kilometers) in each direction between... Continue Reading →
July 25, 1916 The North and South State Highway Association of Idaho was founded to help promote a 500-mile (804.7-kilometer) route more directly linking the northern and southern regions of the state. The launch of that association took place during a decade heavily characterized by an ever-increasing interest and involvement in building and maintaining roads... Continue Reading →
April 7, 1973 In the Philippines, construction began on the Roman Superhighway in the province of Bataan on the island of Luzon. This highway was named after Pablo Roman, Sr., who had served as one of that region's members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The Roman Superhighway was completed and opened in... Continue Reading →
February 11, 1987 Construction started on a tunnels system in the Shing Mun area within the section of Hong Kong known as the New Territories. This project was completed about three years later. The Shing Mun Tunnels were formally opened on April 19, 1990, by David Wilson, who served as the representative of the British... Continue Reading →
January 25, 2009 The pioneering Northern Gateway Toll Road in the Auckland Region of New Zealand’s North Island was opened to traffic. The route, which encompasses 4.4 miles (seven kilometers) between the town of Orewa and the settlement of Puhoi, is a segment of the Auckland Northern Motorway. This motorway, now measuring 24 miles (38... Continue Reading →
December 22, 1937 The Lincoln Tunnel, which serves as a link between Weehawken, New Jersey, and New York City’s Midtown Manhattan, was officially opened to traffic with the debut of its first tube. “Engineering Marvel Dedicated,” proclaimed a headline in the Pennsylvania-based Indiana Evening Gazette. This structure and the Holland Tunnel (in operation since 1927)... Continue Reading →
December 20, 1967 The Laviolette Bridge was officially opened in the Canadian province of Quebec. This arch bridge, which spans the Saint Lawrence River, carries two lanes of vehicular traffic in each direction via the major highway Autoroute 55. The Laviolette Bridge links the city of Trois-Rivières on the north shore of the river with... Continue Reading →
December 14, 2004 The Millau Viaduct in southern France was officially opened three years after construction on it had begun. This cable-stayed bridge is located near the commune of Millau. The 8,070-foot (2,460-meter)-long Millau Viaduct carries four lanes of the A75 autoroute (motorway) across the gorge valley of a section of the river Tarn. One... Continue Reading →
December 3, 2012 Starting at 2:00 p.m., a newly completed parkway in southeastern Pennsylvania was formally dedicated. The George A. Penglase Memorial Parkway was created as part of a realignment of U.S. Route 202 (US 202), a highway that encompasses 59 miles (95 kilometers) altogether and courses through the western and northern suburbs of Philadelphia.... Continue Reading →
August 17, 1964 In the Washington, D.C., area, the final segment of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) made its official debut in a big ceremony near the New Hampshire Avenue exchanges on the Maryland side of the recently completed route. Thousands of people were on hand for this event. “There is a danger of using... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 