Template:Main Page/Historic byways/October

• Oct. 1, 1940 – Following almost two years of construction, the first section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (pictured) is opened to traffic between U.S. Route 30 in Irwin and U.S. Route 11 in Carlisle.
• Oct. 1, 1955 – The last section of the Ohio Turnpike is completed and opened to traffic between the Indiana state line and turnpike exit 218.
• Oct. 2, 2004 – The Michigan Department of Transportation holds a promotional open house event called the "Southbelt Shuffle" on an unopened segment of M-6 near Grand Rapids.
• Oct. 3, 1974 – The first section of Interstate H-2 opens to traffic between the Waiawa Interchange at Interstate H-1 and Mililani Cemetery in Pearl City, Hawaii.
• Oct. 4, 2008 – A tanker truck overturns on southbound Interstate 95 in Maryland, spilling acetone among other flammable materials. Four people are taken to the hospital, and the Interstate remains closed for two days.
• Oct. 5, 2019 – A section of Interstate 680 in Iowa between Interstate 29 near Loveland and Interstate 80 near Neola is redesignated to Interstate 880.
• Oct. 6, 1989 – The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials approves a request by the states of Arizona and New Mexico to decommission U.S. Route 80 entirely within both states.
• Oct. 7, 1926 – The state of Pennsylvania and Lancaster County purchase the privately owned Lancaster and Lititz Turnpike as well as the Lititz and Lexington Turnpike at a combined cost of $74,000 USD. Both routes will later become part of Pennsylvania Route 501.
• Oct. 8, 1965 – Under political pressure from President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Highway Beautification Act passes the U.S. House of Representatives at a vote of 245 to 138.
• October 9, 1954 – New Jersey's Garden State Parkway is declared complete south of Irvington (with the exception of a detour over the Beesley's Point Bridge); the previous extension three days earlier had completed this highway north of Rio Grande
• Oct. 9, 1917 – In Michigan, the first traffic tower in the United States is installed at the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Michigan Avenue in Detroit.
• Oct. 10, 1908 – The first section of the Long Island Motor Parkway opens to traffic between Queens and present-day Bethpage in New York.

• Oct. 11, 1968 – The Thousand Islands Bypass, which is the final section of Ontario Highway 401 to be completed, opens to traffic between Gananoque and Butternut Bay.
• Oct. 11, 2006 – The Pennsylvania Route 576 toll road opens between PA 60 (now I-376) near the Pittsburgh International Airport and US 22 in Robinson Township
• Oct. 12, 1979 The final section of the Canada to Mexico freeway Interstate 5 is dedicated near Stockton.
• Oct. 12, 2007 – Two trucks collide inside an Interstate 5 truck bypass tunnel at the Newhall Pass interchange in California. The resulting fire engulfs the entire tunnel and destroys 31 vehicles. Three people are killed and ten others are injured.
• Oct. 13, 1984 – The last section of Interstate 40 to be constructed opens to traffic in Williams, Arizona. The section of U.S. Route 66 through Williams is also the last piece of the highway to be bypassed by an Interstate.
• Oct. 13, 1979 – After the Interstate 296 designation in Grand Rapids was found by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to be "a potential source of confusion for motorists", AASHTO approves a request by MDOT to remove all signage and references to the Interstate.
• Oct. 14, 1950 – In Washington state, the second Tacoma Narrows Bridge carrying Primary State Highway 14 over Puget Sound is completed, nearly ten years after the infamous collapse of the first bridge.
• Oct. 14, 1992 The Interstate Highway System is proclaimed to be complete with the opening of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado.
• Oct. 15, 1932 – The Bixby Creek Bridge is completed on the Big Sur Coast Highway (SR 1) in California. At the time, its the largest arched highway structure in the western United States.
• Oct. 15, 2021 – The Pennsylvania Route 576 toll road opens between US 22 in Robinson Township and I-79 in Cecil Township
• Oct. 16, 1940 – A dedication ceremony is held at the Peace Arch by the province of British Columbia, marking the completion and opening of the King George VI Highway (also known as British Columbia Highway 99), between the American border and Vancouver.
• Oct. 17, 1974 Nebraska becomes the first state to complete all of its mainline Interstate Highways with the dedication of its final piece of I-80
• Oct. 17, 1989 – The magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake causes part of Interstate 880, the Cypress Street Viaduct (pictured), to collapse, killing 42 people.
• Oct. 18, 1928 – The newly completed Seattle–Tacoma Highway in Washington opens to traffic. It later becomes a section of the Pacific Highway and part of U.S. Route 99.
• Oct. 19, 1951 – In Alaska, the Seward Highway is completed between Anchorage and Seward, connecting both municipalities by road for the first time.
• Oct. 20, 1969 – A section of Interstate 70 in Indiana is completed between State Road 46 and State Road 59. This completes all of the Interstate in Indiana outside of the Interstate 465 beltway in Indianapolis.

• Oct. 21, 1963 – Interstate 196 and the associated Business Spur Interstate 196 in Muskegon, Michigan are both redesignated as an extension Interstate 96 and Business Spur Interstate 96, respectively.
• Oct. 22, 1965 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Highway Beautification Act into law, restricting the use of outdoor advertisements on federally funded highways.
• October 22, 1971 – The gap in New York's Quickway between Randolph and Steamburg is closed
• October 22, 1990 – The dual-dual setup of the New Jersey Turnpike is extended south from exit 9 in East Brunswick Township to exit 8A in Monroe Township
• Oct. 23, 2015 – During a ceremony marking the completion of an interchange on U.S. Route 78 with Interstate 269 in Byhalia, Mississippi, Interstate 22 is officially signed and commissioned between Byhalia and Birmingham, Alabama.
• Oct. 23 & Oct. 24, 1973 – Low visibility from poor environmental conditions caused by burning garbage, made worse by late night fog, cause a series of fatal car accidents on the New Jersey Turnpike in Kearny. Nine people are killed with thirty-nine others being injured.
• Oct. 24, 1949 – Construction begins on the western extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike from Irwin to the Ohio state line, following a groundbreaking ceremony attended by Governor James H. Duff.
• Oct. 25, 1967 – Interstate 105 is completed between Interstate 5 and U.S. Route 126 in Eugene, Oregon, after being dedicated by Governor Tom McCall.
• Oct. 26, 1925 – The Joint Board on Interstate Highways submits the first complete proposal of the United States Numbered Highway System to Secretary of Agriculture William M. Jardine.
• Oct. 27, 1978 – The AASHTO approves the Interstate 580 designation along the U.S. Route 395 corridor between Reno and Carson City. The Interstate won't be signed until 2012.
• Oct. 28, 1940 – Construction begins on the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel (pictured) between Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City. World War II delays its completion until 1950.
• Oct. 29, 1982 – The final section of Interstate 82 is opened to traffic during a dedication ceremony between Granger and Grandview in Washington state.
• Oct. 30, 2012 – California State Route 78 is rerouted onto a four-lane bypass around Brawley between State Route 86 and State Route 111, named the "Victor E. Veysey Expressway".
• Oct. 31, 1913 – The Lincoln Highway is officially dedicated by the Lincoln Highway Association, followed by shooting off fireworks and large public celebrations being held in all 13 states served by the auto trail.