Oregon Department of Transportation

Oregon Department of Transportation
Agency overview
Formed 1969
Preceding agencies
  • Oregon State Highway Commission
  • Oregon State Highway Department
Jurisdiction Oregon
Headquarters Salem, Oregon
Agency executive
  • Matthew Garrett, Director
Parent agency Oregon Transportation Commission
Website www.oregon.gov/ODOT

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969.[1] It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Department which, along with the Oregon State Highway Commission, was created by an act of the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1913.[2] It works closely with the five member Oregon Transportation Commission (the modern name of the Highway Commission) in managing the state's transportation systems.

The Oregon Transportation Commission, formerly the Oregon State Highway Commission, is a five-member governor-appointed government agency that manages the state highways and other transportation in the U.S. state of Oregon, in conjunction with the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Inception

ODOT headquarters in Salem

The first State Highway Commission was created on August 12, 1913 and was composed of Governor Oswald West, Secretary of State Ben W. Olcott and 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 citizens appointed to replace the elected officials.

The new commissioners held their first meeting on March 6, and the commission was then known as the Oregon Highway Division. As Oregon's transportation needs started to grow the division expanded, and in 1919 it employed their first State Bridge Engineer, Conde McCullough.

Achievements

By 1920 Oregon had 620 miles (998 km) of paved roads and 297.2 miles (478.3 km) 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 (11,300 km) of state, market and country roads in Oregon, with nearly 5,000 miles (8,000 km) being hard surfaced.

ODOT Highway Division Regions

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"[3] 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 Oregon beaches were designated as highways when the division was initially formed. This became known as the exploding whale incident.

Directors

  • John Fulton July 1, 1969 December 31, 1970
  • George Baldwin January 1, 1971 June 30, 1971
  • Sam Haley July 1, 1971 July 8, 1973
  • George Baldwin July 9, 1973 April 30, 1976
  • Bob Burco May 1, 1976 January 8, 1979
  • Fred Klaboe January 9, 1979 December 31, 1981
  • Fred Miller January 1, 1982 February 16, 1987
  • Bob Bothman February 17, 1987 June 30, 1991
  • Don Forbes July 1, 1991 1995
  • Grace Crunican 1996 2001
  • Bruce Warner 2001 2005
  • Matthew Garrett December 19, 2005 present

State Highway Engineers

  • H.L. Bowlby June 3, 1913 March 31, 1915
  • E. I. Cantine* April 1, 1915 May 21, 1915
  • John L. Lewis May 22, 1915 August 27, 1915
  • E. I. Cantine* August 28, 1915 January 19, 1916
  • John L. Lewis January 20, 1916 April 10, 1917
  • Herbert Nunn April 10, 1917 March 31, 1923
  • Roy A. Klein April 1, 1923 February 28, 1932
  • R.H. Baldock March 1, 1932 August 15, 1956
  • W.C. Williams August 16, 1956 November 30, 1961
  • Forrest Cooper November 30, 1961 June 30, 1970
  • R.L. "Rod" Porter July 1, 1970 December 31, 1971
  • Tom Edwards January 1, 1972 December 31, 1972
  • I. Fred Klaboe January 1, 1973 May 31, 1976
  • H. Scott Coulter June 1, 1976 August 4, 1985
  • Lawrence W. Rulien - September 9, 1985 January 1, 1988
  • Don Forbes February 22, 1988 January 31, 1992
  • Bill Anhorn February 1, 1992 1993
  • Ken Husby 1993 1997
  • Tom Lulay 1997 2001
  • Cathy Nelson 2001 2013
  • Tom Lauer, 2013 to present

Slogans[3]

See also

References

External links

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