Memoranda of the Construction Division of the Virginia Dept. of Transportation, 1949-1979

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Memoranda of the Construction Division of the Virginia Dept. of Transportation, 1949-1975, Accession 54626. State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Summary

Creator:
LVA
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Memoranda of the Construction Division of the Virginia Dept. of Transportation, 1949-1975, Accession 54626. State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

Memoranda of the Construction Division, 1949-1979, include both incoming and outgoing memoranda. The majority of the memoranda is outgoing, 1949-1978, from the Construction Division Engineer to district engineers. Memoranda may include attachments such as correspondence, reports, and specifications. Topics may include bridges, contruction materials, construction projects, federal grants and funds, Federal Highway Act of 1950, Instate System, maintenance, policies, procedures, repairs, road sufaces, safety, signage, specifications, standards, State Convict Road Force, utilities, and work orders. These memoranda are alternately named circular letters.

Also includes incoming memoranda, 1964-1979, from the Commissioner, Director of Administration, Director of Engineering, Director of Operations, Director of Programs and Planning, and a Flow Charts and Procedures, 1968.

Biographical / historical:

On March 12, 1904, the General Assembly passed an act providing regulations for the establishment, construction, and improvement of public roads, bridges, wharves, and landings. Previously the county and city governments had enjoyed relative freedom in such matters. The General Assembly passed an act on March 6, 1906, establishing the State Highway Commission and the office of the state highway commissioner to regulate road construction. The State Highway System was created by the General Assembly by an act passed on January 16, 1918.

he State Highway Commission was reconstituted in 1922. The General Assembly passed an act on March 24, 1922, placing the State Highway System under the authority of the commission, which was headed by a chairman who appointed the state highway commissioner. The duties of the commissioner were transferred to the chairman of the State Highway Commission by an act of the General Assembly passed on March 21, 1924, and the office of commissioner was abolished. The state government reorganization act passed by the General Assembly on April 18, 1927, designated the chairman of the State Highway Commission as state highway commissioner and establishd the Dept. of Highways as a state agency. An act passed on April 7, 1974, changed the commission's name to the State Highway and Transportation Commission and the department to the Dept. of Highways and Transportation, adding rail and public transportation to its jurisdiction. In 1985 the commission became the Virginia Highway and Transportation Board and in 1987 the board's name was changed to the Commonwealth Transportation Board. The is board is responsible for locating routes, letting construction contracts, creating traffic regulations, naming highways, gathering and tabulating information and statistics, entering into contracts with other states, and administering and allocating the Transportation Trust Fund. In the 1987 the board's duties were expanded to include the additional responsibility of coordinating the planning for the financing of transportation needs, including the needs for highways, railways, seaports, airports and public transportation.

The Department of Transportation is responsible for effecting the policies of the commission with regard to ground transportation and highway planning. The department and the commission were placed under the secretary of transportation and public safety by an act passed by the General Assembly on April 8, 1972. The General Assembly created separate secretariats for transportation and for public safety on April 12, 1976, and placed the department and commission under the secretary of transportation. Effective July 1, 1984, the two secretariats were recombined. The agency is now known as the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The Construction Division is responsible for federal Submissions of projects to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), contractor prequalification, advertisement and award of Design Bid Build contracts, Value Engineering, Specifications, contract claims, contract management oversight for Design Build and Design Bid Build projects, Construction Engineering and Inspection programmatic coordination and oversight, project controls, the Construction Quality Improvement Program Section (CQIP), construction software administration, and Construction modernization initiatives.

Acquisition information:
Accession 54626, transferred Oct. 9, 2025.
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in chronological order.

Physical description:
1.8 cu. ft. (4 boxes)