Skip to contentU.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration
Home > About FHWA > Highway History > FHWA By Day

FHWA By Day

A Look at the History of the Federal Highway Administration
Table of Contents - Previous Day - Next Day
August 8
1916 All applications, accompanied by a medical certificate, must be in today for "United States Civil Service Examination, Senior Highway Engineer (Male)," paying $2,200-$4,000 a year. Candidates will be rated on the basis of education and preliminary training (20 percent), responsible experience in engineering and fitness (30), and responsible experience in highway engineering (50). Minimum age is 30.
1973 Secretary of Transportation Claude Brinegar administers the oath of office to Lester P. Lamm, who succeeds Martin F. "Pat" Maloney as Executive Director. Lamm, a native of Hull, MA, began his career with BPR in 1955. On September 17, 1982, he would become Deputy Administrator, the first to rise from career ranks within FHWA. "We, as a family, can truly look back with pride at our accomplishments. We should also look ahead with confidence at the challenges we now have, because together we can do anything. But only as a family," said Lamm.
1980 Secretary of Transportation Neil Goldschmidt administers the oath of office to Ms. Alinda C. Burke, the first woman to become Deputy Federal Highway Administrator. A native of Flint, MI, Ms. Burke grew up in Fremont, CA, receiving her Bachelor's Degree in political science from Stanford University in 1968. After receiving a Master's Degree from the University of Washington's Graduate School of Public Affairs, she held several government positions in Seattle, before joining Public Technology, Inc., a nonprofit urban research firm in Washington, DC (1975-1979). She served as a Special Assistant to Secretary Goldschmidt before her appointment as Deputy Administrator. "I'm proud to have been chosen for this position but . . . I am extremely respectful of those of you who have made a life's work of giving this nation the finest highway system in the world."
Photo: Alinda Burke
Alinda Burke
Deputy Federal Highway Administrator
previous next

Return to FHWA By Day