Infrastructure & Transportation

Canals, railroads, highways, and engineering projects that connected and transformed the American continent.

Erie Canal

The 363-mile engineering marvel that connected the Atlantic to the Great Lakes and made New York supreme

Pacific Railway Act

The 1862 legislation that authorized the transcontinental railroad and opened the continent

Panama Canal

The 51-mile waterway that united two oceans and announced American power to the world

Promontory Summit

The Utah meeting point where two railroads joined and a continent was crossed

Route 66

The "Main Street of America" that carried a nation west

The Interstate Highway System

The largest public works project in American history

Transcontinental Railroad

The 1869 rail line that stitched the continent together — and transformed everything it touched