TOMORROW'S ROADS TODAY - Maryland State Highway ...

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10 In 2003, SHA requested that the URS Corporation prepare an historic context report and evaluate twenty selected bridges for inclusion in the NRHP. That historic context report, Phase II, State Historic Bridge Context & Inventory of Modern Bridges, Survey Report and Assessments of Significance,” Vols. I, II and III (URS Corporation, November 2004) should be read in conjunction with the current report and forms to gain a full understanding of the events, persons, and engineering and architecture achievements that occurred between 1948 and 1965 as the SRC built the new highway system. These historic context reports and determinations of eligibility should assist SHA Architectural Historians and consultants, as well as MHT, county and local review staff in determining the eligibility of post-World War II bridges in Maryland through 2015.
11 Epigraph “Tomorrow’s Roads Today” is the title of the State Roads Commission (SRC) of Maryland’s 1959-1960 Biennial Report. There is no specific explanation in the report about what the title meant, but not all of the SRC’s proposed projects included in the “Twelve Year Program” had been completed by 1959. The report notes that Maryland’s citizens had become impatient with the SRC’s progress, and the SRC sped up road construction in order to bring the completed highway system to a reality by 1965. 5 The biennial reports through 1964 have similar peppy slogans for titles: Building for the Future (1961-1962), Forging Ahead (1962) and Paving the Way (1963-1964) with an anthropomorphic beaver unrolling a new road over an outline of the state’s boundaries. In 1965 however, the report’s title was changed to the matter-of-fact A Highway Report. Although all of the reports contain financial information to show how funds were used during each fiscal year in the reporting period, the format for the 1959-1964 reports changed to legal size and reports by the division chief of each office are one page long with photographs to show the progress being made. Introduction In 1947, as automobile traffic increased on Maryland’s highways, the older, narrow road system, originally designed for horse and carriage became functionally obsolete. Although the SRC built several new highways by 1941, the majority of the state highway system consisted of improved Colonial and nineteenth century roads. 6 After World War II, it became apparent to the SRC as well as to the Maryland Governors and General Assembly that many roads could no longer be improved because of limited right-of-way and the expense of engineering them for automobile traffic. Furthermore, Maryland experienced a population shift during the post-War period as more citizens moved from city to suburb, and roads that were lightly traveled experienced a sudden increase in traffic. As the Cold War started, Maryland’s common border with Washington, DC and the presence of civilian and military Federal agencies in the state also stressed the need for military preparedness, including a reliable road system. The SRC believed that construction of a highway system on new right-of-way would be safer and more inexpensive since new designs would incorporate nationally accepted safety standards. By 1965, Maryland had an improved highway system with 3,452 miles of new roads and 557 bridges that the SRC believed were safe and adequate for most daily traffic volumes. The SRC was also faced with securing funding for the construction of this new highway system. Federal aid through the Bureau of Public Roads was available on a 50-50 match basis, but some projects could be so expensive that one project could cost the SRC’s entire annual construction budget. With multiple needs across the state, it was necessary to direct the money to critical projects. As early as 1941 the SRC had formulated a solution, recommending that the receipts from gas tax, car registration, and highway user fees be dedicated solely to highway construction. While Governor Herbert O’Conor and the General Assembly agreed with the proposal, the start of World War II prevented further action. Once the war ended in 1945, traffic increased at an unanticipated rate due to increase in automobile purchases, owners choosing to drive their cars rather than use public transportation, and suburbanization outside Maryland’s 5 State Roads Commission of Maryland, Tomorrow’s Roads Today, Twenty-Seventh Biennial Report, Baltimore, MD (1961), p. 3. 6 Maryland’s first law requiring highway construction was passed by the Colonial Assembly in 1666.
Page 1 and 2: "TOIORROW'S ROADS TODAY" EXPRESSWAY
Page 3 and 4: 3 SHA identified 286 highway bridge
Page 5 and 6: 5 Table of Figures Figure 1: US 40
Page 7 and 8: 7 Until 1941, Maryland did not have
Page 9: 9 plate metal girder bridges. The n
Page 13 and 14: 13 after 1965. Those developments h
Page 15 and 16: 15 Figure 1: US 40 over the Patapsc
Page 17 and 18: 17 State Struggles The SRC also pro
Page 19 and 20: 19 As the SRC finalized the bridges
Page 21 and 22: 21 This central shore location was
Page 23 and 24: 23 William Preston Lane, Jr. and th
Page 25 and 26: 25 The BPR and National Park Servic
Page 27 and 28: 27 project. The highway bonds sold
Page 29 and 30: 29 highways that connected county s
Page 31 and 32: 31 Figure 10: I-695 at Dulaney Vall
Page 33 and 34: 33 Figure 12: Atomic Energy Commiss
Page 35 and 36: 35 Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956
Page 37 and 38: 37 Maryland continued to apply for
Page 39 and 40: 39 SRC expanded the road to a four-
Page 41 and 42: 41 completion of the two interchang
Page 43 and 44: 43 Figure 17: Governor Elbert N. Ca
Page 45 and 46: 45 Each of these bridges provides u
Page 47 and 48: 47 Bibliography American Associatio
Page 49 and 50: 49 Maryland-National Capital Park a
Page 51 and 52: 51 ____________, Report of the Stat
Page 53 and 54: 53 Appendix A: Results of Field Inv
Page 55 and 56: 55 Steel Deck Truss - similar to St
Page 57 and 58: 57 Concrete Encased Steel Beam, SHA
Page 59 and 60: 59 or Bethlehem Steel types would b
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61 Eligible Bridges The following b
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63 to carry boats. Sometimes carrie
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65 Bridge Condition Ratings - Throu
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67 to the arch below. The first arc
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69 Deck Bridge - A bridge in which
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71 Embankment - Angled grading of t
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73 Girder - A horizontal structure
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75 Headwall - The device placed at
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77 Lag - Crosspieces used to connec
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79 Parapet - A low wall along the o
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81 of multiple members of a truss.
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83 Spandrel - The roughly triangula
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85 Swing Bridge - A movable deck br
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87 Unit Stress - The stress per uni
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Appendix D: SHA Bridges Included in
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91 Eligibility Description Bridge N
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101 Eligibility Description Bridge
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Appendix E: Resume Anne E. Bruder i
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