85R17717 JGH-D
By: Morrison H.R. No. 1199
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Texas Department of Transportation is
celebrating its 100th anniversary on April 4, 2017, and this
significant milestone provides a welcome opportunity to recognize
the agency's many contributions to the Lone Star State; and
WHEREAS, Originally known as the Texas Highway Department,
this essential organization was established in 1917 by the 35th
Texas Legislature; with a staff of just 10 employees, the
department carried out one of its earliest construction projects in
1918, which involved building a 20-mile road between Falfurrias and
Encino; moreover, in its first nine months, the department
registered nearly 200,000 automobiles and created the first
official highway map, showing the routes of more than 8,800 miles of
improved roadways that would tie the state together; and
WHEREAS, During World War II, highway construction was
limited to those routes essential to national defense, but after
the war ended, the Texas Highway Department began an aggressive
rebuilding and expansion effort; in 1945, the agency began to build
expressways in major Texas cities, and in 1949, it created a program
to develop a secondary system of rural, farm-to-market highways;
meanwhile, between 1945 and 1950, vehicle registrations jumped from
1.7 million to 3.1 million; and
WHEREAS, In 1975, the organization was renamed the State
Department of Highways and Public Transportation, and its
responsibilities were broadened to include local and regional
public transit systems; during the 1990s and 2000s, the agency
adopted its current name and further expanded its scope to
encompass aviation, railroads, ports, and waterways; and
WHEREAS, Today, TxDOT employs some 11,000 men and women who
work every day to help 27 million motorists travel safely and
efficiently over more than 80,000 miles of roadway, and the skill
and dedication of the department's staff play a vital role in the
continued prosperity of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the 100th anniversary of the
founding of the Texas Department of Transportation and extend to
all those associated with the agency sincere best wishes for
continued success in their important work; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for TxDOT as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.