Originally known as the Texas Highway Department, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) celebrates 100 years of :

Collaboration – On any given day, more than 4,200 people are working on Interstate 35 (known as Main Street Texas since it stretches for 450 miles), all while the existing number of interstate main lanes are kept open to travelers.

Integrity  – The department was the first state organization anywhere to establish a self-auditing system to catch any fraud, cheating, theft, harassment, misappropriations of funds, or other malfeasance within.

Pioneering Vision – In 1917, a state highway engineer advocated for the hiring and training of women in construction and maintenance.

Safety – TxDOT has offered highway conditions via phone for 25 years, opening a call center in 1991. The first website interface became available in 1993. Today, the Travel Information Line is automated and interactive, so callers can query it by location; the dynamic online map works on computers and mobile devices, with an intuitive, user-friendly interface.

What’s changed in 100 years? In 1917, the state’s population was just over 4.5 million with less than 200,000 registered motor vehicles. Today, our population is well over 27 million and almost 24 million motor vehicles are registered in Texas. Currently, TxDOT is responsible for maintaining 80,000 miles of roadway. That’s more miles than in any other state in the nation. With 53,875 bridges and counting, Texas has nearly double the bridges of any other state, and more than the combined total of 17 states. As of September 2016, 82 percent of Texas bridges are in “good or better” condition and just 1.9 percent earned the lowest rating—the national average for deficient bridges is 9.6 percent.

Visit TxDOT’s Centennial website for a unique look at a Century of Transportation in Texas. Follow the scheduled stops around the state of a restored WWI surplus truck used by the department in its earliest years. A backdrop and exhibit showcasing the highlights of TxDOT’s 100-year history will accompany the truck.

Click on image for full illustrated history of TxDOT.