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Department of Transportation, Planning Division records, 1936-1994

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Montana. Department of Transportation.
Title
Department of Transportation, Planning Division records
Dates
1936-1994 (inclusive)
Quantity
31.4 linear feet
Collection Number
RS 492 (Formerly RS 418)
Summary
This collection is a subgroup (Division) of the Montana Department of Transportation records, RS 492. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Transportation records. This collection documents the activities of the Montana Department of Transportation, Planning Division, consisting of subject files containing correspondence, reports, minutes, and miscellany. Also included are subject files kept by Deputy Directors Robert Champion and Steve Kologi, then an Engineer with the department.
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
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Historical Note

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 Planning Survey of the Montana State Highway Commission was established in 1936, jointly financed by the state and by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads. Also known as the Planning Survey Division, it was charged with gathering any and all types of data that would be beneficial for highway planning. The name of the Montana Highway Planning Survey was changed in 1966 to the Planning Section and in 1971, following the statewide reorganization, became the Planning and Research Bureau in the new Department of Highways. In 1975 it became the Planning Bureau in the Engineering Division. By 1981 it again was the Planning and Research Bureau, still in the Engineering Division, but in 1982 the Bureau moved to the Maintenance Division. In 1983 it became the Planning and Statistics Bureau in the newly created Program Development Division, where it remained. On July 1, 1991, the Department of Highways became the Department of Transportation. All records after July 1, 1991, are filed under the Department of Transportation. The Planning and Research/Statistics Bureau had, at various times, a Mapping Section, Rural Planning Section, Special Studies Section, Statistics Section, Traffic Operations Section, Urban Planning Section, Multimodal Planning, Rail Planning Unit (see also Montana Department of Highways Rail Planning Unit records) and Urban Transportation Section.

The majority of these various sections and bureaus have consistently remained functions of the Division, despite name changes. The division oversees planning, surveying, and data and statistics gathering for major projects; multi-modal—such as rail and transit—planning; and urban and rural planning.

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Content Description

This collection has been split into five series. Series I documents the activities of the Department of Highways, Planning and Statistics Bureau and includes: subject files on economic growth centers, needs studies, and rest area policy and procedures, local road mileage, road life tables, urban transportation plans and records for Billings, Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Bozeman, Butte, Fort Peck, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell, Lewistown, and Missoula. Also represented in this first series are records of the cooperation between MDT and the Department of Commerce Transportation Division in the 1980s, including special projects such as the Maritime Project "Feasibility of Stimulating Montana Exports through Transportation Innovation" to develop overseas markets, the Bulk Freight Grain Transportation System Study, the Shelby Intermodal Exchange Facility Study, the Butte Grain Sub-Terminal, and other projects.

Of special interest are county profiles for the majority of Montana counties that contain statistical data on vital statistics and health, education, housing, employment, income, government finances, social insurance and welfare, agriculture, and business enterprise, trade and service. The records also include miscellaneous maps, needs studies (1988-1994), and sufficiency reports (1944-1982).

Series II documents the activities of the Department of Highways Planning and Statistics Bureau after it became the Department of Transportation, Planning and Programming Division. Documents in this series were collected by Deputy Director Robert Champion (Box 20/1 – 20/21) and Engineer Steve Kologi (Box 20/22 – 22/13).

Series III contains records of the Division after the department changed to the Transportation Planning Division. This series documents activities similar to those in Series II.

Series IV, Urban Planning, is comprised of finalized Urban Planning Reports for major Montana cities.

Series V, Multi-modal planning, documents alternative transportation modes—rail and public transit—for some Montana cities. This series also contains Case Files related to the Union Pacific Merger.

Due to the continual restructuring of the department, some series may document similar functions of the department.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

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.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by series.

Location of Collection

40:7-6

Processing Note

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.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Highway engineering--Montana
  • Roads
  • Roads--Montana--Design and construction
  • Transportation--Montana

Finding aid prepared by Rachel Lilley; Updated by Lindsey Mick
2013; 2024

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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