Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
May 16, 1961 Automotive manufacturer Richard J. Corbitt died in Henderson, North Carolina, at the age of 88. Corbitt had first established residence in that community in 1894, and he entered the transportation business five years later with the launch of the Corbitt Buggy Company. For several years, this company built horse-drawn buggies for hauling agricultural... Continue Reading →
May 5, 1998 An opening ceremony was held for Ting Kau Bridge in Hong Kong. This six-lane bridge, which crosses the body of water known as Rambler Channel serves as a major link between Tsing Yi Island; and the portion of Tuen Mun Road (part of Route 9) that runs through the area of Ting... Continue Reading →
April 25, 1928 Florida’s Tamiami Trail, which encompasses the southernmost 275 miles (443 kilometers) of U.S. Route 41, was officially opened. This highway starts at State Road 60 in Tampa on the west coast of the state, courses along what has become the Big Cypress National Preserve, intersects with Naples, cuts through the tropical and swampy... Continue Reading →
April 10, 1969 Harley J. Earl, a pioneer of modern automobile design, died in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 75. He started out life in Hollywood, California. His father’s own transportation career involved building horse-drawn vehicles in the late 19th century and then focusing on custom bodies and accessories for automobiles. Harley eventually worked... Continue Reading →
April 6, 1974 In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), a dedication ceremony was held for a concrete box girder bridge crossing the Myall River and connecting the towns of Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest. The Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest Bridge was officially opened by Leon Punch (1928-1991), who served as NSW’s minister for... 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 29, 2012 A cable-stayed bridge in Dallas, Texas, was formally opened to vehicular traffic, with a group of motorcyclists being among the first to travel across the new structure. This bridge was named after Margaret Hunt Hill (1915-2007), a longtime Dallas resident and renowned philanthropist. The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge spans the Trinity River... Continue Reading →
March 13, 1883 Civil engineer Clifford Milburn Holland was born in the town of Somerset, Massachusetts. His career would encompass construction on several tunnels in and around New York City. His crowning achievement when it came to those tunnels involved the one that now bears his name: the Holland Tunnel, which was built under the Hudson... Continue Reading →
March 2, 2017 A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the construction of a cable-stayed bridge within the main urban center of the Filipino province of Cebu. This part of Cebu is called Metropolitan Cebu, and it ranks second only to Metropolitan Manila (officially named the National Capital Region) as the Philippines’ largest metropolitan area by... Continue Reading →
February 13, 1901 In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), a timber truss bridge crossing Paterson River at the township of Hinton was officially opened. Hinton Bridge was designed by Irish-born Ernest de Burgh (1863-1929), the NSW Public Works Department’s assistant engineer for bridges. This road bridge replaced a steam ferry service in... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 