Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
The Tetsuo Harano Tunnels on Hawaii’s island of O’ahu were formally opened during dedication ceremonies on November 23, 1994. The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) had begun construction on both tunnels in 1990. The Tetsuo Harano Tunnels, which HDOT spokesperson Marilyn Kali described as “the absolute state of the art” at the time of their... Continue Reading →
October 5, 1997 The Lincoln Alexander Parkway, which is also known as The Linc, was formally opened in the city of Hamilton in the Canadian province of Ontario. Measuring 7.8 miles (12.5 kilometers) in length, this municipal expressway connects King’s Highway 403 with the Red Hill Valley Parkway in Hamilton. Plans for the Lincoln Alexander... Continue Reading →
September 25, 1967 In Southern California, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at El Cajon Boulevard and Boundary Street in San Diego for Interstate 805 (I-805). Planning for that route dated back to 1956, the same year in which the Interstate Highway System itself first came into existence. After the groundbreaking ceremony, I-805 was constructed in phases. It... Continue Reading →
As a young engineer, Victor M. Mendez wasted little time deciding what to focus on in his career. “Thinking back, I migrated to transportation very early,” he said in an interview with the Washington Post in 2012. “I remember how satisfying it was to be able to say I helped design and construct a road... Continue Reading →
Michael J. Hoffmann of Minnesota served as president of the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) in 1946, in an era when both that association and the United States were moving further away from the World War II years and grappling with the major peacetime challenges facing the nation’s highways. In two key benchmarks... Continue Reading →
On November 5, 1935, the last segment of east-west U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) to be paved was officially opened in Nebraska. The inauguration of that 34-mile (54.7-kilometer) stretch of US 30 between the city of North Platte and the village of Sutherland in the Cornhusker State made that route the nation’s first fully hard-surfaced... Continue Reading →
Bertram Dalley Tallamy, who served as a leading figure in the development of the U.S. highways network, was born on December. 1, 1901, in Plainfield, New Jersey. Tallamy received a degree in civil engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1925, and subsequently acquired substantial engineering experience in waterworks, dams, sewage treatment plants, roads, and... Continue Reading →
August 28, 2018 In England’s North East region, the recently completed Northern Spire Bridge within the city and metropolitan borough of Sunderland was opened to pedestrians. This two-span cable-stayed bridge carries the highway A1231 over the River Wear and serves as a link between the Sunderland suburbs of Pallion and Castletown. The 1,102-foot (336-meter)-long structure... Continue Reading →
Leno H. Menghini, whose career in transportation spanned four decades, was born on January 25, 1925, in the town of Superior, Wyoming. He attended the University of Wyoming until his studies were interrupted by World War II. Menghini was drafted into the U.S. Army and ended up serving in Greenland from 1943 to 1946. After... Continue Reading →
August 20, 1914 Starting at their home base in the Los Angeles region, the members of the Automobile Club of Southern California formally launched a project that would take them well beyond the Golden State. The inauguration of that project, while easily overshadowed by other news such as the recent outbreak of World War I... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 