The Lancaster Turnpike opens connecting Lancaster and Philadelphia, PA, providing travelers an easier route to the Northwest territory.

The Casson Canal (now known as the Lachine Canal) links Montreal with Lake St. Louis. At the time it was 1.52 m (5 feet) deep and had seven locks.

In Hoboken, NJ, Colonel John Stevens demonstrates the feasibility of steam locomotives on a half-mile circular track on his estate. Five years later, Stevens forms the Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company.

On November 30, the schooner Ann and Jane completes the first transit of the partially completed Welland Canal. In 1833, the Welland Canal Company completes the canal - it is 43.5 km (27 miles) long, with 40 wooden locks.

The original Beauharnois canal links Lake St. Louis with Lake St. Francis on the south side of the St. Lawrence River. The Soulanges Canal replaces it in 1899. The present day Beauharnois opens in 1932 and is enlarged in the 1950s as part of the St. Lawrence Seaway system.

The Civil War becomes the first major conflict in which railroads play a major role, Both sides in the conflict use trains to move troops and supplies.

Samuel Van Syckel opens the nation's first successful commercial pipeline in northwestern PA. The five-mile long iron pipeline connects the town of Pithole to the Oil Creek railroad. A pipeline boom follows.

George Westinghouse invents the compressed-air brake for use on railway trains.

Alfred Beach opens a pneumatic subway under Broadway in New York City.

Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act, which established the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroads and ensure fair prices.

The League of American Wheelman publish the first edition of Good Roads magazine

Congress establishes the Office of Road Inquiry in the Department of Agriculture to monitor road conditions.

The first joint U.S.-Canadian Deep Waterways Commission is formed to study the feasibility of a Seaway. It is followed by an International Joint Commission in 1909.

General E. G. Harrison builds the first Object Lesson Road at the entrance to the New Jersey Agricultural College and Experiment Station in Brunswick, NJ. He constructs the road using the macadamized technique with layers of crushed stone, mixed with tar. He went on to build such roads in nearly every State east of the Rocky Mountains.

The Office of Road Inquiry hosts the international road community at the International Good Roads Congress at Port Huron, MI. Logan Waller Page opens a laboratory designed to test road materials.

On December 17, Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful flight in a self-propelled airplane.

The Hepburn Act gives the Interstate Commerce Commission the authority to regulate oil pipelines.

Henry Ford begins selling his Model T. The automobile is the first to be built using an assembly line.

The Department of Agriculture establishes the Division of Highway Bridges and Culverts (later changed to the Bridge Division).

The American Association of State Highway Officials begins operations

On January 1, the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line becomes the world's first scheduled airline. A one way fare costs $5.00. The airline closes on March 30.

The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 establishes a federal-aid highway program with a 50 percent-50 percent, federal-state matching share.

On April 6, the day the U.S. declared war on Germany, the Coast Guard was transferred to the U.S. Navy by Executive Order. The Coast Guard returned to the Treasury Department on August 28, 1919.

The Bureau of Public Roads establishes an Advisory Board on Highway Research, which becomes the Highway Research Board in 1924, and then the Transportation Research Board in 1974.

The Merchant Marine Act charges the United States Shipping Board with monitoring and responding to foreign laws, regulations, or practices that create conditions unfavorable to shipping in the foreign trade.

The Transportation of Explosives Act of 1921 directed the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate shipments in interstate and foreign commerce. It was a railroad provision at first, but the Commission adopted regulations for transporting explosives by truck in the late 1930's.

On February 2, the Air Mail Act, commonly known as the Kelly Act, becomes law. It provides for transportation of mail on the basis of contracts between the Post Office Department and individual air carriers, a system that helped stimulate America's fledgling airlines.

Congress passes the Railway Labor Act to settle disputes and avoid strikes.

The first federal gas tax goes into effect at 1 percent per gallon.

President Franklin Roosevelt signs into law the Emergency Railroad Transportation Act. In addition to revising the ratemaking powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Act creates the Office of Federal Coordinator of Transportation, a post to which Joseph B. Eastman is appointed. It is a precursor of the wartime Office of Defense Transportation.

On July 1, the name of the Aeronautics Branch changes to the Bureau of Air Commerce. At the same time, the title of the director of aeronautics is changed to director of air commerce. The new name more accurately reflects the duties of the organization, which enjoys the status of a bureau, but had not been so designated.

The Motor Carrier Act requires interstate, for-hire motor carriers to obtain a Federal license to operate ("operating authority"). The license creates a quasi-monopoly; it is limited to specific routes and commodities and it gives the holder the right to object if someone else applies for a license to offer competing service. Under the act, the Interstate Commerce Commission has authority set minimum and maximum rates for trucking services; it is illegal to charge less than the published rate.

On July 6, federal air traffic control begins as the Bureau of Air Commerce takes over operation of the three airway traffic control stations at Newark, Chicago, and Cleveland. When the Bureau assumes control of the centers, it hires fifteen center employees to become the original federal corps of airway controllers.

On June 23, President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 into law. The act transfers federal responsibilities for non-military aviation from the Bureau of Air Commerce to a new, independent agency, the Civil Aeronautics Authority. The new organization includes the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA). The CAB is responsible for issuing and overseeing aircraft and pilot certification and suspension, and the CAA is responsible for air traffic control, safety programs, and airway development.

The Natural Gas Act empowers the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with authority to conduct the review of proposed interstate natural gas pipelines, coordinate environmental and land use permitting with other federal and state agencies, and determine when a proposed pipeline meets the "public convenience and necessity."

On June 27, President Roosevelt signs the Civilian Pilot Training Act of 1939 into law. The act authorizes the CAA to conduct a program for the training of civilian pilots through educational institutions with the objective of providing sufficient training to prepare a student for a private pilot certificate. In what proves to be an important development for African Americans in aviation, the act contains a provision introduced by Representative Everett M. Dirksen (R-IL) stipulating that "none of the benefits of training or programs shall be denied on account of race, creed, or color."

A report to Congress on "Toll Roads and Free Roads" contains the first formal concept of the Interstate Highway System.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Opens

The Civil Aeronautics Administration begins hiring and training women to be air traffic controllers. By late 1942 women comprise approximately 40 percent of the controller trainees.

Legislation signed on November 23, creates the U.S. Coast Guard Women's Auxiliary.

On March 15, CAA announces the selection of Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma City, OK, for the location of its new aeronautical center for training and maintenance. The agency relocates the Standardization Center in Houston, TX, the general aircraft maintenance base for the Midwest, and the Signals Division School, and plans eventually to move all federal airways schools and similar agency activities to this central location.

The Bureau of Public Roads establishes an office in Manila to begin improving war-damaged roads in the Philippine Islands.

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1950 requires states to hold public hearings for projects bypassing cities or towns.

The Bureau of Public Roads publishes the first edition of the Highway Capacity Manual.

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1952 authorizes the first funding specifically for an interstate highway system.

The Bureau of Public Roads endorses the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) Road Test. The test, a $27 million investment, studies the performance of highway pavement structures of known thickness under moving loads. The test studies both portland cement concrete and asphaltic concrete pavements and is completed in 1961.

On June 30, a Trans World Airlines Super Constellation and a United Air Lines DC-7 collide over the Grand Canyon, AZ, killing all 128 occupants of the two airplanes. The collision occurs while the transports are flying under visual flight rules in uncongested airspace. The accident dramatizes the fact that, even though U.S. air traffic had more than doubled since the end of World War II, little had been done to expand the capacity of the air traffic control system or to increase safeguards against midair collisions. The accident leads directly to legislation creating the Federal Aviation Agency.

On August 23, President Eisenhower signs the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 into law, creating the independent Federal Aviation Agency. Retired Air Force General Elwood "Pete" Quesada becomes the first head of the new agency on November 1, and the agency begins operations on December 31.

The St. Lawrence Seaway opens along the Canada and U.S. borders, allowing increased ship traffic between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. On April 25, the icebreaker "D'Iberville" begins the first through transit of the St. Lawrence Seaway, officially opened by Queen Elizabeth and President Eisenhower on June 26. Dedication ceremonies are held June 27 in Massena, New York, and involve the Queen and Vice-President Richard M. Nixon.

President John F. Kennedy, under Reorganization Plan No. 7, establishes the independent Maritime Administration to promote America's merchant marine and oversee an emergency reserve of cargo ships for use in times of conflict. The Maritime Commission has the lead in updating the nation's transportation regulations

On October 15, President Johnson signs the Department of Transportation Act, which creates the new cabinet-level department with five operating elements: the Federal Aviation Administration (previously the independent Federal Aviation Agency); the Federal Highway Administration; the Federal Railroad Administration; the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation; and the U.S. Coast Guard. The DOT Act also created within the new Department a five-member National Transportation Safety Board. The new Department began full operations on April 1, 1967.

Congress creates the Office of Pipeline Safety to oversee and implement pipeline safety regulations. The office originally reports to the Department of Transportation's Research and Special Programs Administration and, in 2004, it reports to the Department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Richard Nixon selects John A. Volpe as Secretary of Transportation. He serves from January 22, 1969 to February 2, 1973

By 1970, multiple forces had put pressure on the continued operation of passenger rail in the United States, including public subsidies for federal highways and outdated regulations on railroads. With numerous railroads facing bankruptcy, President Nixon signs the National Railroad Passenger Service Act. This legislation establishes the National Railroad Passenger Corporation to assume operation of inter-city passenger rail service that had been operated by private railroads. Amtrak begins service on May 1, 1971, serving 43 states with a total of 21 routes.

The Urban Mass Transit Assistance Act provides additional funding and new regulations on local governments for environmental impact analyses, public hearings, etc.

President Nixon signs the Federal-Aid Highway Act, which provided funding for existing interstate and new urban and rural primary and secondary roads in the United States. It also funded a highway safety improvement program and allowed, for the first time, states to use Highway Trust Fund money for mass transit.

On July 16, in public testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, FAA Administrator Alexander P. Butterfield discloses the existence of a White House audio taping system, a revelation that becomes instrumental in implicating President Nixon in the Watergate coverup.

President Nixon signs into law the Shoup-Adams bill, the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973, which establishes a semipublic corporation, the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), maintaining it with subsidies and loan guarantees.

President Gerald Ford selects William T. Coleman, Jr., as Secretary of Transportation. He serves from March 7, 1975 to January 20, 1977.

Legislation signed by President Gerald Ford required that women be admitted to the service academies. The Coast Guard Academy accepted its first women for the class entering in July 1975.

President Jimmy Carter selects Brock Adams as Secretary of Transportation. He serves from January 23, 1977 to July 20, 1979

On October 24, President Carter signs the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 allowing immediate fare reductions of up to 70 percent without CAB approval, and the automatic entry of new airlines into routes not protected by other air carriers.

President Jimmy Carter selects Neil E. Goldschmidt as Secretary of Transportation. He serves from August 15, 1979 to January 20, 1981

President Jimmy Carter signs into law the Motor Carrier Regulatory Reform and Modernization Act, which allows trucking companies greater freedom over rates and other business decisions, while allowing for open entry of new trucking firms.

The Maritime Administration moves from the Department of Commerce into the Department of Transportation.

Among other things, the Bus Regulatory Reform Act sets minimum insurance requirements for carriers transporting passengers in interstate commerce: $ 5 million for vehicles with seating capacity of 16 or more; $1.5 million for vehicles with capacity of 15 or less. The insurance rules do o't apply to school buses, taxicabs, commuter vans (15 passengers or less), and certain federally-funded transit services.

Ronald Reagan selects Elizabeth H. Dole as Secretary of Transportation. She serves from February 7, 1983 to September 30, 1987

The Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 was the first broadly discretionary truck safety bill in nearly half a century. It focused on drivers, owners and operators of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) - vehicles with a GVW or GVWR of 10,001 pounds and up, plus vehicles hauling placardable quantities of hazmat, and vehicles with 16 or more passengers (including driver); but only if they operate in interstate commerce. The act was designed to ensure that (1) CMVs are maintained, equipped, loaded and operated safely; (2) the responsibilities imposed on CMV drivers do not impair their ability to operate vehicles safely; (3) the physical condition of CMV drivers is adequate to enable them to operate CMVs safely; and (4) the driving of CMVs does not have a deleterious effect on the physical condition of the drivers.

Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Hanford Dole announces new safety rules for the railroad industry that l prohibits railroad employees from reporting to work impaired by alcohol or drugs and using or possessing these substances while at work.

On October 30, President Reagan signs Public Law 99-591, including Title VI, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986 authorizing the transfer of control of Washington National and Dulles International Airports to an independent regional authority under a 50-year lease. On June 7, 1987, the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) takes over management of National and Dulles airports from FAA.

President Ronald Reagan selects James H. Burnley, IV, as Secretary of Transportation. He served from December 3, 1987 to January 20, 1989

President George H. W. Bush selects Samuel K. Skinner as Secretary of Transportation. He serves from February 6, 1989 to December 13, 1991

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) imposes new planning and regulatory requirements on states and cities, while increasing the diversion of highway gas tax money to nonhighway uses. The act authorized the creation of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics amd the Office of Intermodalism within the Department of Transportation.

The Department of Transportation created the Intelligent Transportation System Joint Office within the Federal Highway Adminsitration to oversee DOT's multimodal intelligent transportation research systems initiatives.

The Interstate Highway System is completed with the opening of the I-70 near Denver. The system ends up costing three times what was originally estimated, when measured in inflation-adjusted dollars.

President Bill Clinton selects Federico Pena as Secretary of Transportation. He serves from January 21, 1993 to February 14, 1997

Secretary of Transportation Federico Pe�a convenes the first-ever U.S. Rail Summit, which focuses on safety and the prevention of accidents, allowing DOT officials to raise the awareness of the general public on grade-crossing and trespasser safety.

President Bill Clinton signs into law Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997, providing money and dictating changes in Amtrak management practices to make it more competitive by the year 2000.

President Bill Clinton signs the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, which greatly increases highway spending.

On November 19, President George W. Bush signs into law the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (Public Law 107-71), which, among other things, calls for the establishment of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the Department of Transportation, to be responsible for transportation security.

President George W. Bush selects Norman Y. Mineta as Secretary of Transportation. He serves from January 25, 2001 to August 7, 2006.

The Coast Guard formally transfers from the Department of Transportation to the newly-created Department of Homeland Defense.

On January 27, in a luncheon speech to the Aero Club of Washington, Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta announces plans for a new, next generation air transportation system with expanded capacity to relieve congestion, prevent gridlock, and secure America's place as global leader in aviation's second century.

The Norman Y. Mineta Research and Special Improvment Act established the Research and Innovative Technology Adminsitration with the Department of Transportation. The new agency incorporated the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the Office of Research, Development and Technology, the Office of Intermodalism, the John A. Volpe National Transportation System Center, the Transportation Safety Institute, and the Intelligent Systems Joint Program Office.

In the spring 2007, the Department of Transportation moved into its new heaquarters in Southeast Washington, DC

President Barack Obama selects Ray H. LaHood as Secretary of Transportation. He serves from January 23, 2009 to July 2, 2013

On June 7, FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation issues the first experimental permit to allow for rocket-powered testing of a spaceship designed to carry humans.

President Barack Obama selects Anthony R. Foxx as Secretary of Transportation. He begins his tenure on July 2, 2013