FEDERAL AID ROAD ACT OF 1916: BUILDING THE FOUNDATION

Building the foundation for good roads in the United States (U.S.) through federal aid and involvement began late in the 19th century. Initially, members of Congress were hesitant to involve the government in a road program, assuming they had no constitutional authority to enact such a program. Several factors altered Congress' thinking: 1) farmers became involved in the good roads movement; 2) the rise of the automobile; 3) a Supreme Court decision that settled the constitutional question; 4) the founding of the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO); and 5) the appointment of Logan Waller Page as director of the Office of Public Roads, who had a scientific view of the nation's road problems. This article chronicles the work of the Congress that led to passage of the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 and the important men that were proponents of the bill, including Logan Waller Page, Senator John Hollis Bankhead, and President Woodrow Wilson. Sidebars on these men are included.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/96summer/p96su2.cfm
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1586080
• Corporate Authors:

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Weingroff, R F
• Publication Date: 1996

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References;
• Pagination: p. 2-6
• Serial:
  • Public Roads
  • Volume: 60
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Federal Highway Administration
  • ISSN: 0033-3735
  • Serial URL: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/
• Publication flags:

  Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobile travel; Constitutional law; Federal government; History; Laws and legislation; Postal service; Road construction; State highway departments
• Identifier Terms: American Association of State Highway Officials; Federal Aid Road Act of 1916
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Finance; Highways; History; Law; Planning and Forecasting; I10: Economics and Administration; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00730802
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 3 1997 12:00AM