Citation

Porter AL, Larson TD. Transp. Res. Rec. 1976; 603: 11-15.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1976, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Since 1959, U.S. state governments have been reorganizing their transportation function. This paper provides a current perspective on the movement to state departments of transportation. Public wishes and federal mandates first shaped the evolving state role in transportation into one centered almost exclusively on highways. By the late 1960s, the monumental scale in highway building, particularly of the Interstate system, appears to have precipitated an erosion of the values placed on highways, especially at the national level. State values and priorities are highly individualistic, however, so the movement to state departments of transportation has been an uneven one, Since some 28 states have now formed transportation departments, this is an opportune time for a comparative analysis of states according to whether they have departments of transportation. Our statistical and quasi-experimental analyses indicate that states with departments of transportation differ significantly from those without, in terms of both socioeconomic development and modal emphases. The future of the movement appears uncertain and may well depend on future federal policies.