The Virginia Department of Transportation has put three large collections online of archival photographs detailing life and work on Virginia's roadways. We picked out the nine best photos to give you a sense of the years the state spent adjusting to mass motorization.
These two ladies are on the James River Bridge, probably not long after it opened in 1928.
See this picture in high res here.
This is one of the Virginia Highway Commissions's Mack Model AC trucks, fitted with an asphalt distributor.
See this picture in high res here.
Here's one of those Mack trucks in action. You can't see the massive chain putting power to the rear wheels, but you can see how much things have changed for the people who work on our roads.
If you're curious, Mack built these Model AC trucks from 1917 to 1922.
See this picture in high res here.
Here you can see an African-American work crew getting watched by the pickup in the background. Picture is dated some time in the 1920s.
See this picture in high res here.
This is a line painting truck.
See this picture in high res here.
When the James River Bridge opened in 1928, it was the longest bridge over water in the world. The bridge was rebuilt from 1975-82, and they took out the two toll houses.
See this picture in high res here.
One of the later images from the archives, this is a ferry crossing the James River in 1949 with a contemporary Chevy on board.
See this picture in high res here
This picture comes from 1954, and shows one of the Virginia Department of Transportation's Residency Shops.
See this picture in high res here.
The last picture shows some charming looking characters with a very early stone chipper. The date is unknown.
Check out all of the Virginia DOT's archival photographs on their flickr page, and see this picture in high res here.