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

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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.