ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF A TYPICAL HIGHWAY AGENCY

Until recent decades in the United States, the organization of state highway agencies and the administration of highway programs have reflected an almost exclusive identification and concern with the engineering and related technical aspects of constructing and maintaining roads. Now highway planning must encompass a wide range of environmental concerns, and integrate different transportation modes to form balanced multi-modal systems, as well as employing to maximum advantage the tremendous technological advances in engineering sciences and the arts of administration. The author describes the changes that have occurred over the years and traces the evolution of State highway agencies into today's structures. He discusses the significance of the creation of unified State Departments of Transportation in place of highway departments, and relates how the U.S. experience can be effectively transferred to benefit highway development programs in Africa.