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FHWA By Day

A Look at the History of the Federal Highway Administration
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May 25
1911 Former Director Martin Dodge is in Birmingham, AL, to address the 4th National Good Roads Congress on "Advancement of the Road Movement in the United States." He advocates dividing the cost of building and maintaining public highways among local, State, and Federal governments. "I am perfectly sure that the idea of state aid which has worked so well in many of the states, carried to its logical conclusion through National aid will surely and finally solve the problem."
1919 In his first memorandum to all engineers, Chief Thomas MacDonald notes that, "Our success will depend largely upon the attitude of mind and confidence we establish on the part of the State officials."
1939 The Export-Import Bank of Washington asks Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace to arrange for the assignment of BPR engineers to assist with extension of credits for public road construction in Latin America. The first request for assistance was for assignment of an engineer to Paraguay.
Photo
Henry A. Wallace
Secretary of Agriculture
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