Everyone’s favorite state agency, or at the least the one everyone “interacts” with every day, turned 100 on Tuesday. Founded as the Highway Department of Georgia, GDOT was assisted by an allotment of $75 million from the Federal Aid Highway Act. The Act stipulated that the money came with the intention of forming a state highway department to oversee construction contracts. The name change came later in 1972. Prior to the founding of the department, the legislature passed an act in 1891 that allowed county commissioners to levy a tax to buy mules and machinery and to employ labor at regular wages. Citizens were also allowed to pay the tax by working on roads at a rate of 50 cents per day. This was probably a better arrangement than the 1755 law in the colony of Georgia that divided the state into nine districts and assessed taxes on males between 16 and 60 who were required to perform as many as 12 days of labor a year.
Prior to the dominance of the motor carriage, it wasn’t horse-drawn wagons that had been the big push, it was bicycles. It’s unclear if penny-farthings were a big part of it or not but the Good Roads Movement was a national crusade for better roads, particularly in rural areas.
The department has seen a lot of history. During World War II, only the most necessary work was done. Approval by the War Production Board was even required to use pine lumber from Georgia forests for bridge construction.
Following the war, in 1955, the Rural Roads Authority was created to “lift rural Georgians out of the mud.” The new authority was funded by a sale of $100 million worth of bonds. This was a change from the normal “pay as you go” policy and provided for thousands of miles of rural roads.
Like the rest of Atlanta, special preparations were made by GDOT for the 1996 Olympics. That year, GDOT introduced its Transportation Management Center and the NaviGAtor intelligent transportation system. These tools, enabled by new technology, marked the shift for GDOT from not only building and maintaining roads, but to managing traffic and incidents.
Former GDOT Commissioner Thomas Moreland reflected on his tenure from 1975-1987 and noted two particular accomplishments he was proud of, completing the Georgia interstate system, and doing so early, and also the “free the freeways” program when 1,100 lane miles was added to the metro Atlanta system.
All has not been totally rosy in GDOT’s 100 years. The beginning of Nathan Deal’s tenure as governor saw some turmoil over the management of GDOT funds and the fallout from that may have impacted the 2012 vote on TSPLOST. In a state where much of the economy is based around logistics – the Atlanta airport, the Savannah port, critical interstate infrastructure – Georgia is perpetually ranked in the bottom five for per capita transportation funding. In 2013, Georgia was 51st. These rankings will undoubtedly change thanks to the Transportation Funding Act passed last year and, for the most part, transportation is probably off the table at least a new governor moves in. That new funding though will make GDOT an agency to watch in year 101.
