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FHWA By Day

A Look at the History of the Federal Highway Administration
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March 31
1953 "The Chief," Thomas H. MacDonald, retires after heading BPR for 34 years (1919-1953). He had stayed beyond the mandatory retirement age of 70 with approval of the President. During testimony in April before the House Roads Subcommittee, Secretary of Commerce Sinclair Weeks says, "There is nothing intended or implied, so far as I know . . . that in any way, shape or manner tends toward any watering down, so to speak, of the Bureau of Public Roads." During the hearings, Undersecretary Robert Murray, Jr., denies rumors that BPR is going to be dissolved.
Photos: Thomas H. MacDonald
Thomas H. MacDonald
"The Chief" from 1919 to 1953
1976 At 4 p.m., Transportation Secretary William Coleman, Jr., and Administrator Norbert Tiemann open the "Highways of History" exhibit in the lobby of the Old Pension Building in Washington, DC. The exhibit features 109 paintings by BPR's Carl Rakeman, pronounced Rock-a-mon. (See October 17, 1979.)
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