Federal Aid Road Act of 1916: Building the Foundation - Vol. 60· No. 1 - Public Roads

As suggested by Gen. Stone a year before he became the federal government's first special agent and engineer for road inquiry, the "disease" was bad roads. Well into the 20th century, calling them "roads" gives them more credit than they deserve. They were often little more than trails that were muddy in the rain and dusty the rest of the time. Any long trip by automobile required not only time, patience, and ingenuity, but tire-patching equipment, tools, spare parts, and emergency food and fuel.

Since the mid-19th century, roads had been universally recognized as a state and local responsibility. And if state and local officials let the roads deteriorate, so be it. That was their decision, and in an era when privately owned railroads dominated interstate travel and commerce, it was not a national concern.

Federal Aid Road Act of 1916: Building the Foundation - Vol. 60· No. 1 - Public Roads