Introduction of Highway Systems

Introduction of Highway Systems:

By legislative acts in the several states, roads and streets have been separated into numerous groups or “systems.” Authority over each of these systems rests with an appropriate legislative or administrative body. It, in turn, makes provision for the planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operation of its particular group of highways.

            In the United States, 85% of the highway mileage, some 8,170,000 mi, lies in rural areas. Its distribution over the country varies with population and development; it ranges, excluding Alaska, from 0.31 mi of road per square mile for Arizona to 4.0 mi per square mile for New Jersey. Before 1890 this vast rural mileage was without system or classification. Responsibility for its establishment and upkeep was in the hands of local government; countries and towns took care of the roads. In general their condition was poor.

            New Jersey, in 1991, initiated state aid for rural roads. In 1893 Massachusetts authorized the construction of state highways. Soon thereafter other northeastern states established state highway departments and state highway systems. By 1910 about half the states had set up state highway departments with varying degrees of authority. Finally, the federal-aid act of 1916, which made partition in federal aid contingent on having a state highway organization, caused the remaining states to establish departments; in a similar manner, the act of 1921 (to be discussed subsequently) brought the concept of highway systems for rural roads to all the states.

            The remaining 15% of the country’s roads (561,000mi) is in urban areas. Here the ratio of mileage to area is large; for example, Washington, D.C has 16 mi of streets per mi. as with rural roads, early responsibility for streets rested solely with local governments. However, in contrast to the situation with rural roads, state support for city streets did not begin in substantial amount until 1924. Not until 1934 were nay city streets included in a highway system.

            The distinctions between highway systems, if merely “on paper” would be unimportant. However, they reach far deeper, particularly in the area of finance. Funds for highways are appropriated from designated sources to specific systems.