Oregon Department of Transportation
The Oregon Department of Transportation (otherwise known as ODOT) is a department of the Oregon state government responsible for systems of transportation.
History
The ODOT was formed by a legislative act in 1913, and was then known as the Oregon Highway Division. Interestingly, Oregon beaches were designated as highways at the time and this lead to the highway division's involvement in the exploding whale fiasco. As Oregon's transportation needs started to grow the division started to expand and in 1919 the division employed their first State Bridge Engineer, Conde B. McCullough. By 1920 Oregon had 620 miles of paved roads and 297.2 miles of plank roads for a population of 783,389, and by 1932 the work that had been started on the Oregon Coast Highway in 1914 was completed, except for five bridges, which meant greater responsibility for the division. This work was complete when the construction of the bridges over the Yaquina, Alsea, Siuslaw, Umpqua and Coos Bays were completed, closing the last gaps on the Oregon Coast Highway. By the time 1940 rolled around, there was more than 7,000 miles of state, market and country roads in Oregon, with nearly 5,000 miles being hard surfaced.
On Christmas Eve of 1964, Oregon was affected by masive flooding and the division was forced to close Highway 99 and several bridges in the area. According to the Melford Mail Tribute, the division's Highway Engineer, Forrest Cooper, said 28 highway bridges were out and many highways looked doubtful whether they would continue to be opened.
Several unusual events occurred in the department's history. In 1967, ODOT celebrated it's 50th birthday, even though it was by then fifty-four years old. On November 12, 1970, the department gained notoriety after they attempted to dispose of a rotting beached grey whale by using half-a-ton of dynamite to blast it off the beach, as one might remove a boulder. They were given responsibility for this task because, as mentioned above, Oregon beaches were designated as highways when the department was initially formed.