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FHWA By Day

A Look at the History of the Federal Highway Administration
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September 12
1910 OPR joins with Cornell University for an additional nine test experiments in Ithaca, NY, to determine the value of different road binders applied by different methods (15 experiments were completed in FY 1910). The experiments, on the university's East and South Avenue, are concluded August 12, 1911.
1975 FHWA releases a report on Citizen Participation and the Role of the Public Hearing, prepared by the Virginia Highway and Transportation Research Council. It discusses techniques and organizational structures used by the Nation's State highway agencies for administering public hearings and otherwise involving the public in the highway development process.
"Transportation officials and citizens have been discussing the pros and cons of citizen participation in transportation planning for a long time. Today, people seldom ask if citizens should be involved. Now they ask how citizens can be involved most effectively."
"Introduction and Guide to the Report"
Effective Citizen Participation in Transportation Planning
September 12, 1975
1991 A $40-million I-90 viaduct bypass of Wallace, ID, officially opens today, diverting interstate traffic from the town, where motorists had for many years been delayed by the widely publicized "last stoplight on I-90" (at Seventh and Bank Streets). The Interstate highway, originally set to go through downtown Wallace, had been delayed by years of controversy before plans for the viaduct on the edge of town were approved. On September 14, the town holds a Last Stoplight Celebration, during which City Councilman Mike Aldredge tells a throng of over 1,000, "Like the whippet and the buttonhook, the iceman and the lamp lighter, the livery stable and the company store, cruel progress has eliminated the need for the services of our old friend."
Photo: Funeral for the last stoplight on I-90 held by citizens of Wallace, ID.
Funeral for the "last stoplight" on I-90 held by citizens of Wallace, ID.
1993 The Lacey V. Murrow Bridge, a 6,500-foot floating bridge over Lake Washington, opens as part of I-90 in Seattle, WA. Emergency relief funds had been used to replace the original bridge, the world's first floating concrete bridge, which had opened in 1940 and been destroyed by flooding on November 25, 1990. The bridge had been closed for reconstruction at the time of the flood. The National Society of Professional Engineers includes the new bridge among the 10 Outstanding Engineering Achievements of 1993.
Photo: Lake Washington Floating Bridge opening ceremony -- west approach plaza -- on July 2, 1940.
Lake Washington Floating Bridge opening ceremony -- west approach plaza -- on July 2, 1940.
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