Guide to Federal Records

Records of the Federal Highway Administration [FHWA]


(Record Group 406)
1916-89 (bulk 1956-89)

Overview of Records Locations

Table of Contents
  • 406.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
  • 406.2 HEADQUARTERS RECORDS 1961-89
  • 406.2.1 General records
  • 406.2.2 Records of the Executive Secretariat
  • 406.2.3 Records of the Office of the Chief Counsel
  • 406.2.4 Records of the Associate Administrator for Motor Carriers
  • 406.2.5 Records of the Office of Highway Planning
  • 406.3 RECORDS OF FIELD OFFICES 1956-81
  • 406.4 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL) 1970-86
  • 406.5 MOTION PICTURES (GENERAL) 1968-69
  • 406.6 VIDEO RECORDINGS (GENERAL) 1972-83
  • 406.7 SOUND RECORDINGS (GENERAL)
  • 406.8 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL)

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 406.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

Established: In the Department of Transportation, effective April 1, 1967, by the Department of Transportation Act, October 15, 1966 (80 Stat. 932), consolidating functions relating to highway transportation formerly vested in the Department of Commerce and the Interstate Commerce Commission. Bureau of Public Roads, transferred from Department of Commerce, was functionally absorbed by FHWA, August 10, 1970.

Predecessor Agencies:

In the Department of Agriculture:

  • Office of Road Inquiry (1893-99)
  • Office of Public Road Inquiries (1899-1905)
  • Office of Public Roads (1905-15)
  • Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering (1915-18)
  • Bureau of Public Roads (1918-39)

  • Public Roads Administration, Federal Works Agency (1939-49)
  • Bureau of Public Roads, General Services Administration (1949)
  • Bureau of Public Roads, Department of Commerce (1949-66)

  • National Traffic Safety Agency, Department of Commerce (1966)

Interstate Commerce Commission (regulation of motor carrier safety, 1935-66, under the Motor Carrier Act of 1935)

Functions: Administers federal financial assistance to the states for highway construction. Coordinates federal highway policies. Administers miscellaneous programs relating to highway beautification, safety, research and development, and training for state and local highway department employees and foreign highway officials.

Related Records: Record copies of publications of the Federal Highway Administration in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government. Records of the Bureau of Public Roads, RG 30.

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 406.2 HEADQUARTERS RECORDS
1961-89

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 406.2.1 General records

Textual Records: Central correspondence, 1968-71, 1974-75, 1978 (288 ft.). Reading file, 1968-71, 1974-75. Federal Aid Project correspondence, 1961-78. Environmental impact studies, 1973-78. Circular memorandums, 1916-67. Administrative manuals, memorandums, and notices, 1956-75. Records relating to public hearings, 1970-83. Records relating to the Highway Beautification Program including dockets, 1973-81; and transcripts of hearings and committee meetings, 1966, 1979-81. Records relating to outdoor advertising controls, 1965-69.

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 406.2.2 Records of the Office of the Administrator and Executive Secretariat

Textual Records: Subject files of Federal Highway Administrator Lowell K. Bridwell, 1967-68; and Francis C. Turner, 1968-69. Congressional and administrative correspondence, 1977-84 (259 ft.). Administrative subject files, 1964-68. General subject files, 1967-68. Administrator's files relating to the Bureau of Public Roads, National Highway Safety Bureau, and Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety, 1967-68.

Sound Recordings (2 items): Meetings between the Federal Highway Administration and the Delaware River Port Authority to discuss tolls on the Ben Franklin and Walt Whitman Bridges, May 10, 1967, and March 29, 1968.

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 406.2.3 Records of the Office of the Chief Counsel

Textual Records: Records relating to federal highway easements, 1968-69 (in Washington Area). Transcripts and exhibits of the Michigan Interstate Highway 696 arbitration hearings, 1968 (in Chicago).

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 406.2.4 Records of the Associate Administrator for Motor Carriers

Textual Records: Records of the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety, consisting of correspondence, 1978-79; subject files of Director Kenneth Pierson, 1978-87; reports, 1973-82; notices and orders, 1967-72; and records relating to legal proceedings, 1969-70. Records of the Office of Motor Carrier Information Management and Analysis relating to the size and weight certification program, 1979-89.

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 406.2.5 Records of the Office of Highway Planning

Textual Records: Records relating to large truck network designations, 1983-84.

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 406.3 RECORDS OF FIELD OFFICES
1956-85

Textual Records: Records, principally federal highway aid project files, of the following division and district offices of the Federal Highway Administration:

Atlanta, GA, Division Office, 1971-73; Columbia, SC, Division Office, 1964-77; Frankfort, KY, Division Office, 1966-81; Jackson, MS, Division Office, 1970-75; Montgomery, AL, Division Office, 1968-75; Nashville, TN, Division Office, 1971-72; Raleigh, NC, Division Office, 1968-75; and Tallahassee, FL, Division Office, 1969-79 (in Atlanta).

Augusta, ME, Division Office, 1970-73; Boston, MA, District Office, 1972-75; Concord, NH, Division Office, 1970-75; Montpelier, VT, Division Office, 1971-74; New Haven, CT, Division Office, 1971-74; and Providence, RI, Division Office, 1971-74 (in Boston).

Frankfort, KY, District Office, 1968; Indianapolis, IN, District Office, 1966-69; Lansing, MI, District Office, 1969-72; and Madison, WI, District Office, 1969 (in Chicago).

Helena, MT, Division Office, 1976-79 (in Denver).

Austin, TX, District Office, 1966-81; Baton Rouge, LA, District Office, 1965-82; and Santa Fe, NM, District Office, 1960-80 (in Fort Worth).

Bismarck, ND, District Office, 1966-67; Jefferson City, MO, District Office, 1966-67, 1970-72; Lincoln, NE, District Office, 1971-72; St. Paul, MN, District Office, 1966-67; and Topeka, KS, District Office, 1966-67, 1970-72 (in Kansas City).

Phoenix, AZ, District Office, 1967-85 (in Los Angeles).

Dover, DE, District Office, 1959-78; Harrisburg, PA, District Office, 1966-78 ; and West Trenton, NJ, District Office, 1976-77 (in Philadelphia).

Honolulu, HI, District Office, 1965-72; and Sacramento, CA, District Office, 1970-72 (in San Francisco).

Maps: Right-of-way maps associated with federal highway projects of the Ames, IA, District Office, 1958-77 (405 items, in Kansas City); Atlanta, GA, Division Office, 1970-76 (205 items, in Atlanta); Augusta, ME, Division Office, 1970-78 (270 items, in Boston); Austin, TX, District Office, 1964-75 (290 items, in Fort Worth); Denver, CO, Division Office, 1956-75 (1,380 items, in Denver); Frankfort, KY, Division Office, 1966-72, 1979 (610 items, in Atlanta); Hartford, CT, Division Office, 1956-76 (1,387 items, in Boston); Helena, MT, Division Office, 1967-73 (16 items, in Denver); Indianapolis, IN, District Office, 1970 (1,800 items, in Chicago); Lansing, MI, District Office, 1967, 1971-72 (2,112 items, in Chicago); Little Rock, AR, District Office, 1962-71 (114 items, in Fort Worth); Montgomery, AL, Division Office, 1968-71 (425 items, in Atlanta); Nashville, TN, Division Office, 1969-77, 1979, 1981-83 (755 items, in Atlanta); Oklahoma City, OK, District Office, 1960-67 (589 items, in Fort Worth); Sacramento, CA, District Office, 1968-74, 1976 (1,700 items, in San Francisco); St. Paul, MN, District Office, 1975-77 (50 items, in Chicago); Salt Lake City, UT, District Office, n.d. (375 items, in Denver); and Sacramento, CA, District Office, 1980-82 (2,050 items, in San Francisco).

Photographs (10 images, in Atlanta): Property, Tennessee Division Office, 1981.

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 406.4 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL)
1970-86

Maps: Published county and state road maps prepared by state highway departments following FHWA specifications, 1970-86.

SEE Maps UNDER 406.3.

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 406.5 MOTION PICTURES (GENERAL)
1968-69

Public information films "Highways Are For People," 1968, and "Electronic Route Guidance System-69," 1969 (2 reels).

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 406.6 VIDEO RECORDINGS (GENERAL)
1972-83

Public information video recordings, consisting of speeches, addresses, and press conferences of Department of Transportation Secretaries John Volpe, Claude S. Brinegar, and William Coleman; Federal Highway Administrator Norbert T. Tiemann; and FHWA Executive Director Lester Lamm, and President Jimmy Carter, 1972-76 (25 items).

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 406.7 SOUND RECORDINGS (GENERAL)

Briefing by Jesse Jackson to FHWA officials, April 4, 1979 (2 items).

SEE ALSO 406.2.2.

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 406.8 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL)

SEE Photographs UNDER 406.3.

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Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.

Ordering information

This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.


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