Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
February 4, 1825 The Ohio state legislature voted to approve construction of the Ohio & Erie Canal, a waterway that would ultimately span 308 miles (496 kilometers) and connect Lake Erie at what was originally the village of Cleveland with the Ohio River at Portsmouth in the south-central region of the Buckeye State. The legislature actually... Continue Reading →
February 3, 1978 The first section of the Washington Metro rapid transit system to be completed in Maryland was formally dedicated in Montgomery County just a few days before regular service began on that 5.5-mile (8.9-kilometer)-long extension. Approximately 35,000 people showed up on that cold winter day at the Silver Spring station, the northeastern end... Continue Reading →
January 31, 1901 In the northern part of the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, operations began for the current version of a lighthouse at Brant Point on the south side of the island’s harbor. (Nantucket is approximately 30 miles [48 kilometers] south of the Bay State’s Cape Code peninsula.) The New York Times provided details about... Continue Reading →
January 30, 1989 In northern Texas’s Collin County, a bus-only Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) station in the city of Plano was opened. This station is located at the intersection of West 15th Street and Coit Road, and it was built to improve access to public transportation for those living or working in the western... Continue Reading →
January 28, 1988 A cantilever bridge spanning the Ohio River was officially opened. This bridge connects Washington Township (near the city of Portsmouth) in Ohio with the community of South Portsmouth in Kentucky. It was named after Carl D. Perkins (1912-1984), who served as a U.S. congressman from Kentucky from 1949 until his death. Measuring... Continue Reading →
January 24, 1946 In southern Brazil’s state of Paraná, a major milestone took place for an airport that was completed the previous year. This airport, which had been jointly built by the Brazilian Air Force Ministry and U.S. Army as a military installation during the final months of World War II, was officially dedicated for... Continue Reading →
January 21, 2019 A bridge in the Gambia (officially called the Republic of the Gambia) was opened to the public. This bridge, which connects the country’s northern and southern regions, carries the Trans-Gambia Highway across the Gambia River. Measuring 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers) in length, the structure is one of West Africa’s longest bridges. This... Continue Reading →
January 10, 1998 Operations began for a train station in the municipality of Ferraz de Vasconelos in southeastern Brazil’s state of São Paulo. This station is part of Line 11 (Coral) of the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM) , which is known in English as the São Paulo State Metropolitan Trains Company. The CPTM... Continue Reading →
January 9, 1960 In a Saturday ceremony, a cantilever truss bridge in northern Delaware was officially dedicated. This structure, which was named the Summit Bridge after a community in that vicinity of the state, crosses the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. (This canal connects the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay.) The Summit Bridge replaced a... Continue Reading →
January 7, 1813 A little over eight months after construction on it had begun, a wooden bridge crossing the Schuylkill River in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Fairmount was officially opened. This bridge was built by Lewis Wernwag (1769-1843). This structure had a clear span of 340 feet and three inches (103.7 meters) and it became... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 