July 30, 1962: The Trans-Canada Highway Opens

July 30, 1962: The Trans-Canada Highway opens. It spans the world's 2nd-largest country by area from east to west, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It runs 4,645 miles, or 7,476 kilometers.

The system was approved by the Trans-Canada Highway Act of 1949, with construction commencing in 1950. The highway was officially opened by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker on July 30, 1962, with the completion of the Rogers Pass section of highway between Golden and Revelstoke in British Columbia. This section of highway bypassed the original Big Bend Highway, the last remaining section of gravel highway on the route. Upon its original completion, the Trans-Canada Highway was the longest uninterrupted highway in the world.

Construction on other legs continued until 1971 when the last gap on Highway 16 was completed in the Upper Fraser Valley east of Prince George, British Columbia, at which point the highway network was considered complete.

Although there does not appear to be any nationally sanctioned "starting point" for the entire Trans-Canada Highway system, it has a "MILE '0'" sign in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. In the East, St. John's, the capital and largest city of the Providence of Newfoundland and Labrador, the easternmost city in the Western Hemisphere, has adopted this designation for the section of highway running in the city. And the sports arena in the city was named the Mile One Centre from its 2001 opening until 2021, when it was renamed the Mary Brown's Centre for the Newfoundland-based chain of fried chicken restaurants.

The foot of East White Hills Road in St. John's, near Logy Bay Road, would be a more precise starting point of the highway, where the road meets and transfers into the start of the Trans-Canada Highway. The terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway in Victoria, located at the foot of Douglas Street and Dallas Road at Beacon Hill Park, is also marked by a "mile zero" monument.

The usage of miles instead of "kilometres" (as the word is "spelt" in Canada) at both designations dates back to when the Trans-Canada Highway was completed in 1962, prior to Canada's 1975 conversion to the metric system.

The route includes the Confederation Bridge, connecting Prince Edward Island with New Brunswick; and a statue of Terry Fox, marking the spot where the runner and anti-cancer activist was forced by the recurrence of his illness to stop his intended cross-country "Marathon of Hope" run near Thunder Bay, Ontario in 1980. From Thunder Bay to Nipigon, 52 miles, it's known as the Terry Fox Courage Highway.

*

July 30, 1962 was a Monday. Football, basketball and hockey were out of season. And in what would later be called Major League Baseball, only 1 game was played that day: The 2nd All-Star Game of the season. This was the 5th straight, and the last, season in which 2 All-Star Games were played.

The game was played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and the American League beat the National League, 9-4. The starting pitchers were Dave Stenhouse, a rookie with the Washington Senators; and Johnny Podres of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ray Herbert of the Chicago White Sox, who would go on to go 20-9 that season, was the winning pitcher; Art Mahaffey of the Philadelphia Phillies was the losing pitcher.

Home runs: AL, Pete Runnels of the Boston Red Sox, Leon Wagner of the Los Angeles Angels, and Rocky Colavito of the Detroit Tigers; NL, John Roseboro of the Dodgers.

Representing the New York teams: Richie Ashburn of the Mets got a hit as a pinch-hitter; Roger Maris went 1-for-4 with an RBI, Tom Tresh went 1-for-2 with an RBI, Elston Howard went 0-for-2, Yogi Berra pinch-hit without reaching base, Bobby Richardson was a pinch-runner and then took over at 2nd base, and Mickey Mantle, though selected as the starting center field, did not play due to injury.