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FHWA By Day

A Look at the History of the Federal Highway Administration
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March 4
1894 General Roy Stone transmits ORI Bulletin No. 4 to Secretary of Agriculture J. Sterling Morton for release: Road Making Materials in Arkansas by State Geologist John C. Branner. The introduction begins: "The quagmires, ruts, and wrecked wagons that mark our common highways, the reckless waste of the old road system, and the social and commercial isolation that such roads impose upon our people-and especially upon our farmers-during a large part of the winter and spring months must sooner or later convince us that bad roads cost more than good ones."
1911 A. L. Westgard (known as "The Pathfinder") of the Touring Club of America begins the first transcontinental trip by truck (a 37- horsepower truck called the "Pioneer Freighter"). Director Logan Page has appointed Westgard an OPR Special Agent (unpaid).
Photo
The "Pioneer Frieghter" bridging a swampy area on the north side of the White Mountains in Arizonia.
1915 The FY 1916 appropriations act for the Agriculture Department combines the Divisions of Drainage and Irrigation (Office of Experiment Stations) and the farm architecture work of the Office of Farm Management Investigations with OPR, which is renamed the Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering. The change is effective July 1, 1915.
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