The Montana State Highway Commission was created in 1913 by the state Legislative Assembly. The original Commission was composed of three members. In 1917 new legislation altered the organization of the Commission by authorizing the appointment of twelve members according to geographic highway districts. Membership was changed again in 1921 to three members appointed by the Governor and in 1941 to five members, also appointed by the Governor. In 1971 the Commission was renamed the Montana Department of Highways, created by Chapter 7 of the Executive Reorganization Act of 1971 and implemented by executive order of the Governor on December 16, 1971. The Department of Highways took over all but the advisory functions of the State Highway Commission.
By 1972, the Department consisted of seven divisions: the Legal Division, Personnel Division, Centralized Services Division, Engineering Division, Motor Pool Division, Gross Vehicle Weight Division, and the Maintenance Division. Each division is headed by an administrator. The Centralized Services Division, Engineering Division, Motor Pool Division, Gross Vehicle Weight Division, and the Maintenance Division are furthered sub-divided into bureaus, headed by Chiefs. In 1991, the Department of Highways became the Department of Transportation. This was primarily a name change. However, there were some structural and administrative changes.
The Department of Highways was renamed the Department of Transportation after an organizational change in 1991. As of 2024, the Department of Transportation contains ten Divisions: Director's Office, Administration, Aeronautics, Highways and Engineering, Human Resources and Occupational Safety, Information Services, Maintenance, Motor Carrier Services, Rail, Transit & Planning, and Professional Services.
Several of these Divisions also contain distinct Bureaus, Programs, Offices, or Units. The Director's Office oversees Administrative Districts, including Billings District, Glendive District, and Great Falls District; Administration oversees the Fiscal Operations Bureau (formerly Financial Management Bureau); Highways and Engineering oversees the Bridge Bureau, among others; Rail, Transit & Planning formerly oversaw the now-defunct Rail Planning Unit, among others; and Professional Services oversees the Office of Civil Rights.
These Montana Department of Transportation, Financial Management Bureau records (1988-1992) consist of monthly financial reports created for the Department Director's Office.
Arranged at the Collection level.
The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Department of Transportation were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 492, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival practices.
Collections from Montana Department of Transportation's various Divisions and Bureaus that
were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information available upon request
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search under these terms.