Montana Department of Highways Construction Bureau records
Scope and Contents
This collection is a sub-subgroup under the Montana Department of Transportations records, RS 492. The Construction Engineering Services Bureau operates under the DOT Engineering Division. To see the other Department of Transportation records, visit the primary finding aid, RS 492.
The Construction Bureau files consist of the project files of various federally funded projects from 1919 to the 1980s. Most of the projects are from the 1920s through the 1950s and consist of FAP’s (Federal Aid Projects). These were initiated by the Federal Road and Federal Aid Highway Acts of 1919 and 1921, and administered by the Bureau of Public Roads/Federal Highway Administration. A number of the projects’ finances were also implemented the Federal Highway Act of 1952, in order to improve the Interstate Highway System. Many of FAP projects were also initiated by the Works Projects programs of the New Deal of the 1930s, including NRH/NRM (National Recovery Highway projects) and ECHP (Emergency Construction Highway Projects). Most of the files include area maps. Some files include transcribed public hearings, photographs, drawings, and some inventories of file contents.
Dates
- Creation: 1919-1980
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
Collection open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.
Biographical / Historical
The Montana State Highway Commission was created in 1913 by the state Legislative Assembly. The original Commission was composed of three members. In 1917 new legislation altered the organization of the Commission by authorizing the appointment of twelve members according to geographic highway districts. Membership was changed again in 1921 to three members appointed by the Governor and in 1941 to five members, also appointed by the Governor. In 1971 the Commission was renamed the Montana Department of Highways, created by Chapter 7 of the Executive Reorganization Act of 1971 and implemented by executive order of the Governor on December 16, 1971. The Department of Highways took over all but the advisory functions of the State Highway Commission.
By 1972, the Department consisted of seven divisions: the Legal Division, Personnel Division, Centralized Services Division, Engineering Division, Motor Pool Division, Gross Vehicle Weight Division, and the Maintenance Division. Each division is headed by an administrator. The Centralized Services Division, Engineering Division, Motor Pool Division, Gross Vehicle Weight Division, and the Maintenance Division are furthered sub-divided into bureaus, headed by Chiefs. In 1991, the Department of Highways became the Department of Transportation. This was primarily a name change. However, there were some structural and administrative changes. The Construction Bureau is part of the Engineering Division.
The Construction Bureau coordinates all activities connected with highway construction. This includes bid preparation and letting, developing policies and specifications, resolving construction problems, and approving payments for construction work. The Construction Bureau also implements all construction programs associated with Federal Aid Projects.
Extent
30.8 linear feet
Abstract
Project Files of the Montana Department of Highways Construction Bureau.
Arrangement
The Construction Bureau records are arranged into three sub-groups: Correspondence, Reports, and Project Files. Project files are arranged by folder; project numbers, project areas, and/or road names listed.
Physical Location
43:6-4
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquisition information available upon request
Processing Information
In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Department of Transportation were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 492, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival practices.
Collections from Montana Department of Transportation's various Divisions and Bureaus that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 492. Rather than reprocessing over 280 linear feet of Transportation materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those collections/finding aids, and provide access to them via links in this Master finding aid. This decision has allowed the MTHS archival staff to maintain intellectual control over the collection, while removing the need to reprocess it. It also keeps State Agency finding aids at manageable sizes.
- Title
- Guide to the Montana Department of Highways, Construction Bureau records 1919-1980
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Ellie Letterman
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Based On Dacs ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
Repository Details
Part of the Montana Historical Society, Research Center Archives Repository
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT 59620-1201 United States
406-444-2681
406-444-2696 (Fax)
mhslibrary@mt.gov