TOMORROW'S ROADS TODAY - Maryland State Highway ...
TOMORROW'S ROADS TODAY - Maryland State Highway ...
TOMORROW'S ROADS TODAY - Maryland State Highway ...
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23<br />
William Preston Lane, Jr. and the Five Year Plan, 1947-1952<br />
William Preston Lane, Jr., a lawyer and businessman from Hagerstown, was elected<br />
governor in 1946 and began his term in January 1947. During the 1946 campaign, he frequently<br />
highlighted the need for improved highways throughout the state. 31 In his January 1947<br />
inauguration speech, Lane talked about the necessity for new highways and bridges for<br />
<strong>Maryland</strong>’s success in the post-War period. On March 6, 1947, the Governor again raised the<br />
issue to the General Assembly. His program, which he called “The Five Year Program,”<br />
proposed that the financing of necessary bridges and highways would be created by the <strong>State</strong><br />
selling $100,000,000 in bonds, which in turn would be repaid through tolls on certain highways<br />
and bridges. The governor also requested a one-cent increase in the state’s sales and gas taxes,<br />
and an increase in automobile and truck registration fees. All of these monies were specifically<br />
designated for the SRC’s use for highway and bridge construction. Lane’s Five Year Program<br />
called for construction of a “modern” highway system. It would be based on a “master plan for<br />
an integrated arterial state highway system.” In his speech, the Governor also called for a “tollfree<br />
expressway system” for the intra-state traffic. 32 The General Assembly agreed with his<br />
proposals and Article 89B of the Annotated Code of <strong>Maryland</strong>, “Express <strong>Highway</strong>s Act,” was<br />
amended and passed in 1947. 33<br />
Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Baltimore-Washington Expressway<br />
Figure 4: Improved US 40 after 1949 (left) and unimproved highway before 1949 (right) 34<br />
(Source SHA Photo Archive)<br />
31 “<strong>Highway</strong> Fund Diversion Hit,” The Washington Post, June 5, 1946, p. 8.<br />
32 Governor William Preston Lane, “A Message to the General Assembly by Governor William Preston Lane, Jr. on<br />
the <strong>State</strong> <strong>Highway</strong> System.” March 6, 1947<br />
33 William Preston Lane, “A Message to the General Assembly by Governor William Preston Lane, Jr. on the <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>Highway</strong> System,” March 6, 1947, <strong>Maryland</strong> Department, Enoch Pratt Free Library. See also, Expressway Act of<br />
1947, Vol. 411, Page 1383 of the On-line Archives at www.msa.md.gov/megafile/msa/speccol.<br />
34 Source SHA Photo Archive.