Highway Needs of the National Defense/Federal Highway Legislation of the War Period

by United States Public Roads Administration

Layout 2

Figure 5.—The Strategic Network

FEDERAL HIGHWAY LEGISLATION OF THE WAR PERIOD

There was no action responsive to the recommendations of the report of February 1, 1941, for several months. In the meantime, additional routes were designated by the War Department for inclusion in the strategic network. These, with the larger mileage previously designated by the War and Navy Departments, were indicated on a map, revised to May 15, 1941, which, as approved by the Secretary of War, is herewith presented as figure 5.

Surveys of needed reservation and access roads were continued by military authorities and the Public Roads Administration in cooperation with the State highway departments, and existing authority and means were employed to undertake some of the improvements found necessary. The Work Projects Administration undertook the construction of a considerable mileage of reservation roads. Improvements to eliminate deficiencies of the strategic network were undertaken as Federal-aid projects; and funds available for improvement of the Federal-aid system and for Federal-aid secondary roads were allotted to the improvement of access roads, as existing law and the initiative vested in the State highway departments permitted.

On June 2, 1941, the President sent a message to the Congress requesting provision of funds for the construction of defense highway projects. After extended hearings in both Houses, the Congress on July 21, 1941, passed a bill considerably at variance with the President’s recommendations. The President vetoed this bill.

THE DEFENSE HIGHWAY ACT

Finally, on November 19, the President signed a revised bill, prepared after further extended congressional hearings. In little more than 2 weeks the Nation was at war.

The measure approved on November 19 was the Defense Highway Act of 1941. It authorized the $150,000,000 appropriation for access- road construction and 10 of the 12 million dollars for planning strategic network improvements recommended by the Public Roads Administration 10 months earlier. The funds authorized for access roads were made available for payment of the entire construction cost of such roads.

The States were required to match the planning funds in the usual 50–50 ratio. For strategic network improvements the law authorized an appropriation of $25,000,000 to be apportioned in accordance with the Federal Highway Act formula and $25,000,000 to be allocated by the Federal Works Administrator without regard to the formula. The Federal share of the cost of projects undertaken under both of these authorizations was increased to 75 percent.

To meet the need of tactical road repair forecast in the Public Roads Administration report, the act authorized the Commissioner of Public Roads to reimburse States for the necessary rehabilitation and repair of roads of the States or their subdivisions and to certify the cost to Congress for repayment out of appropriations to be made for the purpose. It also made the provisions recommended for (1) incorporation of main lines of the strategic network in the Federal-aid system, (2) use of available Federal-aid secondary road funds on lines not included in the Federal-aid system, and (3) Federal payment of part of the cost of strategic network right-of-way acquisition.

Finally, the act also included an authorization of $10,000,000 for the construction of flight strips adjacent to public highways to facilitate the landing and take-off of aircraft.

SUBSEQUENT AMENDMENTS

During the course of the war this first of the wartime highway measures was thrice amended to increase financial provisions initially made, and all provisions were finally repealed by a joint resolution, approved July 25, 1947. The totals of funds authorized for each of the purposes originally recommended and the amounts of each au- thorization expended are shown in table 2, where they are compared with the appropriations recommended for each purpose by the report of February 1, 1941, Highways for the National Defense.

Table 2.—Appropriations recommended by the report of Feb. 1, 1941, appropriations subsequently authorized, and amounts of such appropriations allotted to projects

Purpose	Appropriation recommended by report of Feb. 1, 1941	Appropriation authorized		Net amount allotted to projects
Strategic network:
Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	$100,000,000	$50,000,000		$46,761,974
Surveys and plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	[1]12,000,000	10,000,000		9,641,828
Access roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	150,000,000	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	[2]150,000,000	268,977,283
			[3]110,000,000
			[4]25,000,000
			[5]285,000,000
Tactical roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	[1]25,000,000	[6]5,000,000		[7]13,959,835

1. These sums recommended for appropriation; requirements not estimated in detail.
2. Act of Nov. 19, 1941.
3. Act of July 2, 1942.
4. Act of Apr. 4, 1944.
5. Total amount authorized for access roads was $290,000,000. This included authority to use $5,000,000 for road construction in maneuver areas, which has been deducted (see footnote 6).
6. Included in $290,000,000 authorized for access roads.
7. Includes amount allotted to the construction of roads in maneuver areas and approved claims for reimbursement of road-repair costs incurred by local governments.