The Edward M. Gatliff Memorial Bridge is on Kentucky route 90 at Cumberland Falls, Ky. It was completed in 1954 to replace a ferry crossing operation. The stone facing was obtained from a local quarry.
Early in 1955 it seemed apparent that Congress would soon enact legislation which would provide funding authorizations for the construction of the Interstate System which had been designated in 1947. The contemplated workload and manpower needs for such a program were staggering. Since an adequate supply of qualified engineers was not then available to administer the program, a task force was appointed to study the problem and develop recommendations. As a result of the studies, the field structure again was reorganized and further redelegation of responsibilities and authorities was given to the field offices. This decentralization to the field was the most important and beneficial change made by BPR in its administration of the highway program since the creation of the first operating field offices in 1917. The total BPR employment as of June 30, 1956, totaled 3,646, a reduction from the postwar peak of 4,239 as of June 30, 1949.
In June 1957 a very important functional addition was made in the Washington headquarters by the creation of a Project Examination Division in the Office of Administration. The new division initiated a broad internal and external management audit program in BPR designed to ensure compliance with program policies and procedures as well as to monitor program effectiveness and integrity at both the Federal and State levels.
In December 1961, as a result of a consultant’s study of the program’s management and operations undertaken in 1960, an Office of Planning was established as a separate unit. Previously this function was combined with research. The separate office greatly strengthened the planning function in BPR and speeded the implementation of the 3C planning process when it became a requirement in the 1962 Federal-Aid Highway Act. By now the total full-time employment of BPR was 4,521, including 206 temporary employees and 188 stationed in foreign countries.
During the next several years broadening program responsibilities and functions were to make rather frequent reorganizations of the Washington head-quarters necessary. For example, a reorganization in 1962 created an Office of Right-of-Way and Location to assume functions formerly a responsibility of the engineering staff. A very significant change in terms of program development was the creation of an Office of Audits and Investigations by transferring the Project Examination Division and the external audit functions of the Finance Division from the Office of Administration.
It became necessary to add certain specialists to the organization over the years as the requirements of the various highway acts and other legislation affecting the highway program were enacted by Congress, and the Bureau became something more than just an engineering organization to oversee the construction of highways. These specialists included economists, landscape architects, real estate appraisers, behavioral scientists, planners, historians, ecologists, contract specialists, safety experts, and civil rights specialists. By December 31, 1966, total employment was 4,839, including temporary employees and 157 persons in foreign countries.
The Department of Transportation Act enacted October 15, 1966, consolidated more than 30 transportation agenices or functions that had been scattered throughout the Government. At its inception, the Department encompassed more than 90,000 employees and an annual budget of approximately $6 billion,
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