MTLRS421.xml Guide to the Montana Department of Highways, Missoula District Office records 1927-1988 Montana Department of Highways, Missoula District Office Finding aid prepared by Rachel Lilley; Updated by Lindsey Mick Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) Montana Historical Society Research Center 2013; 2024 Finding aid encoded by Kathryn Kramer; Updated by Lindsey Mick2013; 2024 Finding aid written in English. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition). Montana Historical Society Archives RS 421_RS 492 Montana. Department of Highways. Montana Department of Highways, Missoula District Office records 1927-1988 5.8 linear feet This collection is a sub-subgroup (Office) of the Montana Department of Transportation records, RS 492. The Missoula District Office currently operates under the Director's Office Division. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Transportation records. This collection (1927-1988) consists of primarily of correspondence, both internal and inter-departmental, dealing with procedural, personnel, and project-related topics. There are also frequent communiqués from the Federal Highway Administration. 41:3-7 English

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 was headed by an administrator. The Centralized Services Division, Engineering Division, Motor Pool Division, Gross Vehicle Weight Division, and the Maintenance Division were furthered sub-divided into bureaus, headed by Chiefs. In 1991, the Department of Highways became the Department of Transportation.

The Highway Department, the Department of Highways, and Department of Transportation maintained regional offices in five districts: Billings, Butte, Glendive, Great Falls, and Missoula. The District Engineer (later called the District Administrator) was the chief administrative officer in each district office. District office files document the activities of the district administrators, engineers, maintenance crew, and other district office employees. The district offices addressed administrative, functional, and project related issues of their particular area, including: highway needs, current construction projects, training for employees, road design, federal and state aid and grants, and reports to the Department of Highways/Department of Transportation in Helena.

This collection consists primarily of correspondence documenting district office activities, including: notifications of, and judgments on, encroachment of highway right of way; training needs and requirements for personnel; departmental policies and procedures; signing on Montana highways; plowing, sanding, speed limits, crossing lights/walks, and other pedestrian and driver safety measures; testing roadway durability; and scheduling roadway projects, such as resurfacing and widening.

It should be noted that the Archives is only in possession of the Department of Highway, Missoula District Office records, and did not receive any accompanying Missoula District Office records from the Department of Transportation.

This collection is arranged by series.

Collection is open for research.

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 this collection, RS 492. Rather than reprocessing over 280 linear feet of Transportation materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those collections/finding aids, and provide access to them via links through the central finding aid. This decision has allowed the MTHS archival staff to maintain intellectual control over the collection, while removing the need to reprocess it. It also keeps State Agency finding aids at manageable sizes. Please read the scope and content note carefully to determine if this subgroup/sub-subgroup pertains to your research needs.

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.

Roads Transportation--Montana Highway engineering--Montana Roads--Design and construction--Montana Montana Detailed Description of the Collection Correspondence 1 General Correspondence 1927 >May–1977 August 2 General Correspondence 1977 September–1982 February 3 General Correspondence 1982 March–1983 December 4 General Correspondence 1983–1985 December 5 General Correspondence 1986 January–1987 December 6 General Correspondence 1988 January–1988 July 7 General Correspondence 1988 August–1988 December Minutes 7 District Staff Meetings 1984-1986