Highway Instrument Training Program

When funding for the Interstate Highway System was secured in 1956, the push was on for states to begin grading and paving the very next spring. According to a paper submitted to the County Engineer's Conference held in December 1956, Iowa Highway Commission Personnel Engineer James Hoag said the Iowa 1957 construction program was expected to almost quadruple the highway plan of 1955.

During this time period a shortage of qualified highway engineers was being felt around the country. With the additional work brought by the interstate, Hoag said some state departments were as far as five years behind in the design of plans for appropriations that were already available. In Iowa , cooperation between Iowa State College and the Iowa Highway Commission provided a training school for technicians to alleviate the pinch in our state. While the school stressed that the participants were not going to be trained engineers, the engineering work they would be able to complete would free up a great deal of time for the professional engineers on staff.

The following are links to papers presented to the Annual County Engineers Conference in the year specified

Additional background information