Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
On April 8, 1996, a dedication ceremony was held for the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) Employee Memorial near the city of Paxico in the northeastern region of the Sunflower State. This memorial, which is specifically located at the Paxico Safety Rest Area on Interstate 70, commemorates state highway employees who have lost their lives... Continue Reading →
April 3, 1920 A heavily attended truck show in Los Angeles came to a close. This eight-day event took place at Praeger Park in the central part of the city. The Los Angeles Motor Truck Show reflected the nationwide popularity of trucks that had steadily grown throughout most of the previous decade and fully blossomed in the... Continue Reading →
March 6, 1913 A large number of highway officials and supporters from all of the states showed up at the Raleigh Hotel in Washington, D.C., for the Second National Good Roads Federal-Aid Convention. This heavily attended conference was held under the auspices of the American Automobile Association (AAA). Laurens Enos, the president of AAA, opened the... Continue Reading →
In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed Rodney E. Slater as administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This appointment made Slater the first African American to serve in that role. He remained FHWA administrator until 1997, when Clinton appointed him to serve as U.S. secretary of transportation. Slater was only the second African American to... Continue Reading →
During his long engineering career, Archibald Alphonso “Archie” Alexander achieved widespread acclaim for the bridges and other transportation infrastructure that he helped create across the United States. Alexander was born on May 14, 1888, in Ottumwa, Iowa. He was the oldest of the nine children of Price and Mary Alexander, and they were all part... Continue Reading →
January 6, 1922 Construction began on a suspension bridge that would cross the Delaware River and serve as a link between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. As part of the festivities marking the start of work on this structure (originally known as the Delaware River Bridge), a salute of 17 guns was fired from... Continue Reading →
Neal A. McCaleb, whose longtime career in public service has included key leadership roles in transportation, is a member of the Chickasaw Nation (a federally recognized Native American tribe with its headquarters in the city of Ada, Oklahoma). McCaleb was born in 1935 in Oklahoma City. He graduated from Putnam City High School in Warr... Continue Reading →
October 28, 1874 Henry Garnett Shirley, who became the first president of AASHO (officially renamed AASHTO in 1973), was born in Jefferson County, West Virginia. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with a degree in civil engineering in 1896, and went on to serve as commandant and professor of military science at Horner Military... Continue Reading →
September 12, 1889 George T. McCoy, whose legacy includes service as both a state highway engineer of California and the 42nd president of AASHO (now known as AASHTO), was born at a stock ranch in Milton, Oregon. Along with helping to herd cattle and horses on that ranch during his youth, McCoy also found time... Continue Reading →
September 9, 1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law both the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and the Highway Safety Act during a ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House. Approximately 200 people were on hand for the ceremony, which began at around 1:00 p.m. These attendees included Ralph Nader,... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 