Sample Solution

The critical infrastructure of the United States is a vast and complex system essential to keeping the country running. One particular sector leading this charge is the transportation system. The American transportation industry has been in development since colonial times and continues to be an integral part of our nation’s infrastructure today.

The first major step in the development of modern day transportation began with the completion of the Erie Canal, which opened in 1825 (Davies, 2004). This canal dramatically increased commerce between Great Lakes ports and those located along New York’s Hudson River Valley. Over time, more canals were built throughout many regions in America for similar purposes.

In addition to canals, railroads quickly became popular as a mode of transport due to their speed and relatively low cost (Kimmel & Anderson, 2007). Railroad networks spanned across most of North America by mid-19th century allowing passengers and freight alike access to remote locations faster than ever before possible (Fritzell et al., 2006).

As technology advanced over time so did transportation methods; from horsecars and streetcars replacing horse-drawn carriages at city streets during early 20th century to airplanes emerging as a viable option for long distance travel shortly thereafter (Daniels & Heilbroner 2014). The construction of highways followed soon after during 1950s which further widened travel options beyond just plains or trains (Mayer & Schmidlin 2017).

These developments eventually led up to today’s robust network consisting of planes, cars, boats and trains that enable Americans to move around freely while also providing businesses access not only across states but all around the world (Chen & Wilinski 2015). It is clear that without these advances made throughout history our national infrastructure would not be nearly as effective as it is today.