Federal Aid Road Act of 1916
The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, also called the Bankhead-Shackleford Act, created the first continuing federal grant program for state highway construction in the United States.
What it requires
Signed July 11, 1916, the Act authorized $75 million over five years for rural post roads, with federal funds paying up to half of project costs. To qualify, each state needed a highway department able to plan and supervise construction, which led every state to create one. The Office of Public Roads, renamed the Bureau of Public Roads in 1918 and a predecessor of today's Federal Highway Administration, administered the program. The Federal Highway Act of 1921 later focused funding on a connected network of primary roads.
Why it matters
The 1916 Act set the federal and state partnership that still funds and governs the roads trucks use. State departments of transportation, created to receive these grants, now set local truck routes, permits and weight enforcement. For example, a fulfillment operator seeking an oversize permit or a truck route change near a new warehouse deals with the state DOT, an agency whose existence traces to this Act's requirement. Its focus on rural post roads also tied road building to mail delivery, an early link between roads and parcel logistics.
Events
Related laws
Sources
- Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
Not legal advice.