Highway Design/Excellence (1988)

Files in this series were generated from 1983 through 1994. Materials include memos; notes; correspondence; reports--especially budget reports; copies of bills; speeches; court decisions; press releases, mostly from the Federal Highway Administration; and news clippings. Subjects include reauthorization for federal funding of highway construction projects and construction standards, including the Buy America program concerning trade protection against foreign imports on concrete and the Davis-Bacon labor law regulating wages on construction workers. The Labor series contains additional information on the Davis-Bacon Act. Other construction issues include bridge building, including timber bridges, the development of rural roads, particularly in Maine, and particular road construction and demonstration projects, most of them in Maine, including the Brunswick bypass. Other projects include the Central Artery Project in Boston. Regulation issues include highway safety; traffic fatalities; manditory motorcycle helmet laws; drunk driving; development of outdoor advertising, particularly billboards; raising the 55mph speed limit; licensing standards for truck drivers; development of public transportation; and toll collection. Federal agencies and committees in this series include the Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, Office of Management and Budget, and the Environment and Public Works Committee, particularly its subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Other organizations include the Maine Department of Transportation and a variety of construction organizations, unions, and associations such as the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. Some of the files concern other senators, especially Senator Steven D. Symms of Idaho, who was chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee.

Most of these files were maintained and created by Grace Reef. Mary LeBlanc, Martha Pope, and Sandy Brown also generated some files. The Local Development series contains additional materials on nominations for the Economic Development Administration; development of federal buildings, especially the Kennedy Center; local development in Portland, Maine; and ferry construction. The Railroads series contains additional files on railroad crossings.