Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 14, 1971 In northwestern England’s ceremonial county of Lancashire, a motorway service area (MSA) in the civil parish of Anderton was opened to the public. This MSA is specifically located between the junctions 6 and 8 for the motorway M61. MSAs are facilities in the United Kingdom and Ireland where drivers and their passengers... Continue Reading →
The Boston Bridge in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County was officially inaugurated. This cantilever bridge, which crosses the Youghiogheny River, serves as a link between Elizabeth Township and the borough of Versailles. The structure was named after Elizabeth Township’s Boston neighborhood. (That neighborhood, in turn, had been named after the capital city of Massachusetts.) About 5,000... Continue Reading →
October 3, 1923 A vehicular bridge in southern England’s town of Reading was inaugurated on a Wednesday marked by both rain and strong winds. The next day’s edition of the London-based Daily Telegraph reported on the debut of this structure. This newspaper stated, “With as much civic pomp as the wretched weather would permit the... Continue Reading →
September 24, 2004 In the westernmost region of Slovenia, a vehicular bridge crossing the Osp Valley and located near the village of Črni Kal was first opened to traffic. The Črni Kal Viaduct, which is part of the 152.4-mile (245.3-kilometer)-long A1 motorway (also called Slovenika), was jointly designed by Janez Kožel and Marjan Pipenbaher. Construction... Continue Reading →
September 19, 1981 A bridge spanning the Saint John River in Fredericton, the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick was officially dedicated. This bridge is an extension of Westmorland Street in the central district of Fredericton and it connects that area with New Brunswick Route 105 in the city’s neighborhood of Nashwaaksis.... Continue Reading →
September 17, 1862 An unimposing bridge in Maryland played a pivotal role in one of the most significant battles of the American Civil War. The Battle of Antietam, which was fought near the town of Sharpsburg, was the first major military engagement of that war to take place on Union soil. This battle also encompassed the... Continue Reading →
September 2, 1937 A milestone in American motorcycle history took place at the Individual Speedway World Championship in London. In front of a crowd of approximiately 85,000 spectators in attendance at the original version of Wembley Stadium, 30-year-old California resident Jack Milne won that competition -- widely considered to be one of the premier motorcycle... Continue Reading →
August 29, 1964 In northwestern Oregon, a vertical lift bridge crossing Youngs Bay was opened. This 4,200-foot (1,300-meter)-long structure, which is called the New Youngs Bay Bridge, carries two lanes of U.S. Route 101 (US 101) between the cities of Astoria and Warrenton. Construction on this bridge began in March 1963. The Old Youngs Bay... Continue Reading →
August 22, 1945 A cargo ship named after the capital of Louisiana was launched at Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards in Baltimore. SS Baton Rouge Victory was one of the vessels known as Victory ships. A large number of these ships were built during World War II to help transport cargo for the United States in its global... Continue Reading →
August 21, 1982 A tied-arch bridge crossing a section of the Mississippi River between Iowa and Wisconsin was officially opened. This bridge connects the Iowa city of Dubuque with the Wisconsin town of Jamestown. The Cedar Rapids Gazette noted that “sunny skies greeted the structure’s debut.” More than 6,000 people turned out for the grand... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 