This is Part 4 of a four-part article. To read the earlier parts of this article, follow the links to Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
Changes requested by various entities expanded the network of U.S. numbered highways to 96,626 miles. AASHO had to act, adopting the Joint Board’s proposal (as modified) before additional changes took place. Over the 18-month period of...
In Part 1of this article, a trip by two officials of the American Automobile Association (AAA) led to problems due to the practice of naming major roads during the first 25 years of the 20th century.
In Part 2, FreightWaves Classics detailed actions that were taken to move the country toward numbering its highways in a uniform manner.
In Part 3, actions by state and federal highway officials are highlighted.
A road sign for the Trail of the Padres auto trail. (Photo: eBay.com)
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In Chicago on March 4, 1902, nine individual motor clubs with a total of 1,500 members banded together to found the American Automobile Association (AAA or Triple-A). Their reason for beginning AAA was “the lack of roads and highways suitable for automobiles.” Among the individual motor...
A 2.55-mile section of roadway between the cities of Albany and Richmond in Contra Costa County, California, received a certificate of completion on this date in 1917. In terms of the size and scope of the project it was rather insignificant. However, what made it newsworthy was that it was the first project that was issued a certificate of completion under the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916.
Therefore, January 30, 1917 is a key date in the development of the U.S. highway system. The U.S. Bureau...
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) “is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing highway and transportation departments in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. It represents all transportation modes including air, highways, public transportation, active transportation, rail and water. Its primary goal is to foster the development, operation, and maintenance of an integrated national transportation system.”
AASHTO’s...
FreightWaves Classics has covered the history of the Interstate Highway System in previous articles. In those articles, it was noted that the U.S. Army organized the Motor Transport Corps Convoy to cross the United States. The convoy’s mission was to test the usefulness of existing roads in case of national emergency.
The convoy began its trip on July 7, 1919; 79 Army vehicles left Washington, D.C. to drive to San Francisco along the Lincoln Highway. The Lincoln Highway was one of the...
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation that is focused on highway transportation. The FHWA supports state and local governments in the design, construction and maintenance of the national highway system as well as roads on federally and tribally owned lands.
Oversight of the FHWA is conducted by an administrator appointed by the President by and with the consent of the U.S. Senate. The administrator works under the direction of the...