In a nutshell, beginning in the 1800s, the "macadamized" technique of road construction-building the road with layers of crushed stone, mixed with tar that would create a smooth and water resistant roadway-was used as well as other similar techniques. In the latter part of the century, the U.S. Office of Public Road Inquiries (OPRI) hoped the local public would want to adopt techniques to build a better quality road that would be considerably more stable in all seasons and require less maintenance. In addition, a road built by the government attracted more interest and attention than one built by the local authorities.
Working from 1897 until his death in 1901, General E.G. Harrison built the first
By the first Survey of American Roads in 1904, two million miles of rural public roads existed, and 154,000 miles were surfaced with gravel, stones, or other paving materials. The Object Lesson Roads were setting the examples.
In 1905, the U.S. Office of Public Road Inquiries was renamed the Office of Public Roads (OPR) under the new director, 35-year old Logan Waller Page. Page, born in 1870 in
In 1916, Page developed the Federal-Aid Road Act (with a 50/50 Federal and State matching share) sponsored by his friend and colleague John Hollis Bank head (see sidebar), a Civil War veteran from Alabama. Bank head was an advocate of the Good Roads Movement (1880-1916). The movement was initially led by bicyclists, but with the invention of the automobile, it became a political movement.
There were still miles to go in the building of our Nation’s roadways. In some communities, the Object Lesson Roads resulted in a slow but steady improvement of common roads; and, in other communities, the establishment of an organized system in road building took place. These roads also demonstrated the use of local and regional materials in road building, such as the use of clay in southern States. In nearly every community where an
Decades later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway Program would create 41,000 miles of freeway, using enough concrete he said, ". . . to build six sidewalks to the moon."
When he died in 1920 at age 77, John Hollis Bank head was the oldest man in the Senate. He was survived by his wife Tallulah and two sons. Both sons were in politics. One of his sons, U.S. House of Representative William Bank head, was the father of American actress Tallulah Bank head of the 1930 to 1960 era.
No comments:
Post a Comment