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Celebrating 85 Years of DelDOT
A Collection of Highlights
1903
The General Assembly passed "An Act Regulating the Use of Automobiles on the Public Highway of This State."
It required that all automobiles be equipped with a horn or bell and that drivers slow down upon approaching
a vehicle drawn by a horse, mule, or other animal.
1905
The General Assembly passed the first registration law. The maximum speed limit at this time was "one mile
in three minutes," and brakes had to be installed on all automobiles.
1907
Operators' licenses were issued for the first time. 313 cars were registered this year.
1911
Ground broke on a highway privately funded by General T. Coleman duPont that was to stretch from the Maryland
line to a point near Wilmington. The road was begun with the agreement that duPont would later turn the road over
to the state. By the time construction was completed in July of 1924, duPont and his organization had spent
$3,917,004.
1916
Congress passed The Federal Highway Act, providing financial assistance for highway construction only to
states with an organized highway department.
1917
The General Assembly passed the Highway Act of 1917, providing a centralized highway department with the authority
to build and maintain a "permanent" highway system extending throughout the state. The Act encouraged
the building and preservation of new highways, rather than the maintenance of existing dirt roads.
1919
The General Assembly passed the State Aid Road Law, authorizing counties to issue bonds to raise funds for
the construction of highways. Funds raised by the counties were then matched by the state.
1923
The General Assembly passed the first gasoline tax--one cent per gallon.
1926
588 miles of road were completed and a hard-surfaced road connected every town and village in the state by
this year. The Highway Department initiated a program to improve primary roads and begin developing
a secondary road system.
1931
Well into the midst of the Great Depression, the Highway Department limited hours to 30 per week, established a
minimum wage, required contracts to be carried out in the most labor-efficient way possible, and required
that its contractors hire workers from lists provided by the State Emergency Relief Commission or the
Federal Reemployment Service.
1934
By this year, almost half of the state's construction costs were federally financed.
1935
The General Assembly transferred all county roads to the state. The Delaware State Highway Department
now controlled 2,600 more miles of mostly dirt roads and was responsible for every road in the state.
1941-1945
Material and labor shortages during the war years prevented the Highway Department from completing any major construction
improvement projects and made maintenance difficult. The traffic count dropped to half that of pre-war levels,
due to the rationing of gasoline and rubber. Speed limits were reduced to 35 miles per hour.
1951
The Delaware Memorial Bridge, at the time the sixth largest suspension bridge in existence, opened to traffic
and was dedicated to all those who died in World War II.
1956
The General Assembly authorized a ten-year program to surface all of the dirt roads in the state.
1963
President Kennedy cut the ribbon at the opening of the Delaware Turnpike on November 15, just one week before
his assassination.
1968
The second span of the Delaware Memorial Bridge was completed and opened, making it the largest twin suspension bridge in the world.
1969
The privately-owned Wilmington City Railroad Company, which first began operating motor bus service in 1925,
was made public by an act of the General Assembly and changed its name to DART, the Delaware Authority for Regional Transit.
1970
Delaware adopted a cabinet form of government and the State Highway Department became known as the Department
of Highways and Transportation. By this year, I-95 reached across the state.
1978
Construction was completed on I-495, providing a 6-lane bypass around Wilmington.
1984
Funding was appropriated for the Route 13 Relief Route Study, the first stage in a sequence of steps that will
eventually lead to the construction of State Route 1.
1987
Governor Mike Castle passed the Transportation Trust Fund as part of his Quality of Life Initiatives. The Transportation Trust Fund ensured DelDOT funding
for its U.S. 13 Relief Route and other projects encompassing DelDOT's 6-year Capital Improvement Plan.
1993
The first section of State Route 1, a 46-mile, controlled-access highway that will eventually stretch from Wilmington to
Route 13 south of Dover, is completed. The completion of the Smyrna-Dover section marks the first milestone
in the construction of the largest public works project in the Department's history.
1994
The General Assembly created the Delaware Transit Corporation (DTC) to manage and operate DART, the Delaware
Administration for Specialized Transport, the Delaware Railroad Administration, and the Commuter Services Administration.
DART changed its name once more, now becoming known as DART First State.
2001
Ground was broken for the new Transportation Management Center (TMC). The $4.9 million state-of-the-art
building will serve as the focal point in the Department's objective to focus not only on the construction of new
highways in the 21st century, but also on maximizing the efficiency of its existing roadway.
2002
Now charged with maintaining 11,111 lane miles of roadways and 1,350 bridges, DelDOT celebrates its 85th
birthday.
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