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Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

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The Federal Highway Administration is the agency within the Department of Transportation designated by Congress to administer most of the highway programs of the federal government. It was created in 1893 as the Office of Road Inquiry of the Department of Agriculture. For 20 years, under several names, its function was to gather available knowledge and to teach others how to build roads. It was the Post Office Appropriations Act of 1912 that gave the first assignment of actual road building; functions were further expanded by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1916. In 1918 it became the Bureau of Public Roads of the Department of Agriculture. Under a federal reorganization effective July
1, 1939, it was transferred to the Federal Works Agency and became the Public Roads Administration. In 1949, under another reorganization of the govern¬ment, it was transferred to the Department of Commerce and again named the Bureau of Public Roads. In 1967 it was transferred to the newly formed Department of Transportation. In 1970 the agency's name was again changed to Fed¬eral Highway Administration.



Activities of FHWA differ markedly from those of many other federal public- works agencies. As indicated earlier, most of the federal funds for highways are spent by or channeled through the state highway or transportation departments, with FHWA serving as adviser and monitor. In contrast, UMTA makes block grants to regional or local public transportation agencies. The Bureau of Recla¬mation and the Civil Works Division of the Army Engineers and the General Services Administration carry their projects through planning, design, and con¬struction, and then operate and maintain them.
Functions of FHWA include the following:

  1. Allocate federal-aid funds to the various states in accordance with laws enacted by Congress.
  2. Supervise the manner in which allocated funds are spent. This involves, among other t mgs, reviewing project selections, plans, and specifications, and monitoring construction for all federal-aid projects. Division offices in each state capitol and regional offices located strategically over the country carry out this function.
  3. Conduct research in the highway field. FHWA has its own research staff which con¬ducts investigations in all phases of highway engineering, including traffic safety. In addition, it sponsors research by universities, institutes, and consultants.
  4. Gather and disseminate information. Highway Statistics and the magazine Public Roads, both cited as references in this book, are illustrative of this function. FHWA also publishes the results of its in-house and sponsored research, and a variety of implementation reports. Some of the FHWA publications are also available from the National Technical Information Service.
  5. Provide an educational program through its National Highway Institute.
  6. Design and construct highways in national parks, on certain other federal lands, and for other agencies of the federal government.


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