America’s Historic Roads
Puzzle 74 · Building and Remembering the Network · Page 104 in print
The Federal Aid Road Act
The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 divided funds among states using three equal factors: land area, population, and the mileage of rural delivery and contract postal routes. Mail service helped shape the road-building formula.
Jump to a word
The words
Counties
Local government units allowed to supply the needed funding share when constitutional limits prevented state participation.
David Houston
Agriculture secretary who issued the first apportionment.
Forest Roads
Roads covered by the bill’s separate Section 8.
John Works
California senator who opposed the 1916 legislation.
Land Area
Geographic measure used in dividing highway aid.
Logan Page
Federal road official instrumental in the 1916 program.
Maintenance
Upkeep required after federally supported construction.
Matching Funds
Nonfederal money supplied alongside federal highway aid.
Population
Resident count used in dividing highway aid.
Post Routes
Road routes associated with carrying the mail.
Rural Mail
Postal service whose route mileage influenced highway funding.
Shackleford
Dorsey W. Shackleford, House road-committee chairman.
Star Routes
Contract postal routes counted in the funding formula.
State Agencies
State highway departments required to administer the federal-aid program.
Woodrow Wilson
President who signed the 1916 road legislation.
Sources
- FHWA highway history document (landmark.pdf)Federal Highway Administration
- Timeline - Contributions and Crossroads: Our National Road System’s Impact on the U.S. Economy and Way of Life (1916- 2016)Federal Highway Administration