Oregon Department of Transportation

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The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the Oregon state government responsible for systems of transportation.

History

Creation

The first State Highway Commission was created on August 121913 and was composed of Governor Oswald West, Secretary of State Ben W. Olcott and State Treasurer Thomas B. Kay. On January 12, 1915 James Withycombe became Governor and replaced Oswald West on the Commission. The 1917 Oregon Legislative Assembly redesigned the State Highway Commission, with appointed citizens replacing the top state elected officials.

Inaugural meeting

The new commissioners held their first meeting on March 6, and it was then known as the Oregon Highway Division. Interestingly, Oregon beaches open to motor vehciles are designated as highways; which led to the highway division's later 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 McCullough.

Achievements

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 (also known as U.S. Route 101) 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, and Umpqua rivers and Coos Bay were completed, closing the last gaps on the highway. By 1940, the highway division was managing more than 7,000 miles of state, market and country roads in Oregon, with nearly 5,000 miles being hard surfaced.

Historical events

On Christmas Eve of 1964, Oregon was affected by massive flooding and the division was forced to close U.S. Highway 99 and several bridges in the area. According to the Medford Mail Tribune, 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.

Unusual events

Several unusual events occurred in the department's history. In 1958, the division changed its slogan to the unintentionally funny "Oregon Freeways. ..Symbol of 2nd Century Progress" and in 1967 ODOT celebrated its 50th anniversary, 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 sperm 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 division was initially formed.

Slogans

  • 1913 - "Get Oregon Out of the Mud"
  • 1957 - "Building Oregon Thru Better Highways"
  • 1958 - "Oregon Freeways. ..Symbol of 2nd Century Progress"
  • 1961 - "Freeways are Easier"
  • 1967 - "Fifty Years of Building Better Highways in Oregon" (not actually technically correct, as the department was formed in 1913)
  • 1978 - "Keep Oregon Green and in the Black"
  • 1986 - "ODOT on the Move"
  • 2006 - "Celebrate the interstate!"

Directors

State Highway Engineers

External links

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