Administrator Rex Whitton Takes His Leave

By the time Rex Whitton left office at the end of 1966, he had addressed the problems that had faced the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways when he took office. By cooperating with the Blatnik Committee and strengthening BPR oversight, Whitton had helped put to rest the scandals that had given critics of "the highway bungle" their strongest, most visible weapon. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1961 put the program on a sound financial footing that would carry it through the early 1980s.

The most remarkable transformation had come in response to the objections on social and environmental grounds. Initially, Whitton and the road-building community were convinced that these issues could be addressed with public relations initiatives such as National Highway Week. Although Whitton and his successors would continue to stress the positive aspects of the program, he was, in effect, the bridge between those who thought the benefits of the Interstate System trumped other considerations and those who would embrace the growing number of environmental laws and the stewardship they demanded.

In February 1966, moreover, BPR announced that the States had met Whitton's challenge to AASHO by opening more than half of the Interstate System. With the unveiling of 3,486 kilometers (2,166 miles) in 1965, open mileage totaled 34,094 kilometers (21,185 miles), or 52 percent, of the 65,980-kilometer (41,000-mile) system. Construction was underway on another 8,980 kilometers (5,580 miles); only 4,634 kilometers (2,880 miles), or 7 percent, of the system had not yet advanced beyond preliminary status. Approximately $24.7 billion had been put to work on the Interstate program.

In November 1966, Whitton was in Wichita, KS, for his final presentation to AASHO during its annual meeting. Noting that 1966 was the 50th year since creation of the Federal-Aid Highway Program in 1916, he told his colleagues, "The first 50 years are the easiest," and as for the future, he said, "You ain't seen anything yet."

With urban populations increasing, the main thrust of highway efforts "should be directed to easing the plight of cities," he added. Whitton also emphasized the desirability of "making highway transportation compatible with the environment while serving many urban needs." Highways, he said, cannot be isolated from other forms of transportation. "We must plan transportation systems. We cannot afford to do any less." This is why the new USDOT "makes sense-from any viewpoint, but particularly with respect to the close and efficient coordination of government programs for the entire transportation system."

The one negative Whitton discussed involved displacements and relocations. Only 32 States were paying moving costs, "and far too few States are doing an outstanding job in providing the basic assistance required." If more States do not offer assistance voluntarily, it will become mandatory, he said. (Just such a Federal law, the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, would be enacted a few years later.)

Whitton concluded: "I have been around long enough...to have confidence that our highway program is not frozen by tradition, that it has not only resiliency but also the flexibility needed to respond to any new challenge. And I have confidence that its response, that your response, that the response of the highway engineer, will be more than adequate to what our Nation expects and deserves-and that, gentlemen, is a lot."

In December 1966 a retirement ceremony was held in the General Services Administration auditorium "filled to overflowing with the hundreds of associates and employees of Mr. Whitton," according to BPR's newsletter. Secretary-designate Boyd presented the Commerce Department's Gold Medal to Whitton "for exceptional achievements as a leader in highways and highway transportation in the United States, and contributions to these same interests worldwide."