Infrastructure

Canals

Natural waterways provided initial transportation routes, but the construction of canals to augment them started early in recorded history. The table below gives a selection of important dates in canal construction. The data is taken from a more extensive set by: David Minor, "Eagles Byte," (1996)

The peak of canal transportation in the US occurred at the time that the railroad was being developed. The greater speed and flexibility of the railroad system has largely replaced the canal as an inland transportation mode except where it provides access to areas by ocean-going ships. The increased flexibility of road transport is now undermining the railroad system.