Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
February 12, 1938 A truss bridge built in the Montopolis neighborhood of Austin, Texas, in Travis County was dedicated during a Saturday ceremony. The next day’s edition of the Austin American reported, “The huge span of smooth concrete and shiny steel was constructed to replace [an] old iron bridge washed out by the flood of... Continue Reading →
February 10, 2023 In northern Taiwan, the Ankeng light rail transit line in New Taipei City’s Xindian District was formally opened. This event was marked by celebrations that involved everything from music to commemorative bottles of beer. Hou Yu-ih (born in 1957), who has been mayor of New Taipei City since 2018, was among those... Continue Reading →
February 6, 1989 In the municipality of Tavros in Greece, operations began for a station built as a link in the rapid transit system serving the city of Athens and other parts of the country’s region of Attica. This station, which is on Line 1 of the Athens Metro, was named after both the municipality... Continue Reading →
January 28, 1978 Operations began for St. Clair West station on the Yonge-University-Spadina Line (now called Line 1 Yonge-University) of the Toronto subway system. This station, which spans the block north of St. Clair Avenue West, was built as part of the 6.2-mile (9.9-kilometer) line extension between St. George and Wilson stations. St. Clair West... Continue Reading →
January 26, 1830 On Scotland’s northeastern coast, a lighthouse on the Tarbat Ness headland first went into service. (Tarbat is derived from “tairbeart,” a Gaelic word for “isthmus”; “ness” is an Old Norse term for “headland.”) This structure was designed by the renowned civil engineer Robert Stevenson for the Northern Lighthouse Board (the general lighthouse... Continue Reading →
January 23, 1855 A suspension bridge across the Mississippi River was officially opened in what was then the U.S. Territory of Minnesota. (This portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Minnesota in 1858; the territory’s western region was eventually reorganized as part of the Territory of Dakota.) The bridge, which... Continue Reading →
January 20, 1995 A cable-stayed road bridge in northwestern France’s Normandy region first went into service. The Pont de Normandie (Normandy Bridge) spans the river Seine and connects the commune of Honfleur with the major port city of Le Havre. This bridge has the distinction of being the last bridge to cross the Seine before... Continue Reading →
January 16, 1902 A newly completed bridge in Bangkok, the capital of the Southeast Asian country known at the time as Siam, was formally opened. (Siam was the official name of present-day Thailand until 1939 and then between 1946 and 1948.) Construction of the bridge was commissioned in 1901 by Valaya Alongkorn (1884-1938), a princess... Continue Reading →
January 15, 1961 Italy’s Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport, located about 19 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of Rome in the town of Fiumicino, was officially opened. This international airport, which replaced Rome Ciampino Airport as the region’s main airport, was named in honor of someone regarded by many as the ultimate Renaissance man. Italian polymath... Continue Reading →
January 12, 2015 A dedication ceremony was held for the second line of Mexibús, a bus rapid transit system in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City. This area is located within the State of Mexico, one of Mexico’s 32 federal entities. The Mexibús Line II, as it is officially known, was the second Mexibús line... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 