Page 1 of 86 Archives of Michigan Guide to Photographs of the Wayne County Road Commission 1908-1992, Bulk Dates: 1920-1960 RG 2011-40 OCLC 717484886 Added Entry: Wayne County Department of Public Services Total Quantity: 134 boxes (various sizes), 85 volumes, 3 oversize folders and 1 oversize motion picture film (96 cubic feet) Archives Stack Location: 29/5/3-11, 29/4/2-4 Transfer Agency: Wayne County Dept. of Public Services Transfer Date: 8/16/2011 Abstract: Photographs negatives and positive prints documenting the construction and maintenance of roads, highways and bridges in Wayne County, Michigan. Also includes documentation of the building and expansion of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and photographs of road commissioners, staff, and Wayne County executives William Lucas (1970-1986) and Edward H. McNamara (1986-2002). Lastly, the accession contains bound printed copies of Wayne County Board of Supervisors Proceedings, 1907-1976, Detroit City Council Journal, 1967-1982, and correspondence and press releases, 1919- 1962. The collection is arranged into 6 series: Photograph Negatives, 1920-1983 (Series 1); Photograph Prints, Roads A-Z, 1908-1969 (Series 2), Photograph Prints, Subjects A-Z, 1910-1992 (Series 3); Photograph Prints, People, 1921-1992 (Series 4); Special Formats (lantern slides, block prints, motion picture), c. 1908-1960 (Series 5); Administrative Records, 1907-1991 (Series 6). The largest group is the photograph prints of roads and highways found in Boxes 25 to 88. Wayne County Road Commission History In the late nineteenth century, the popularity of bicycles led to demand for better roads. In 1893, the Michigan legislature passed Public Act 149, which provided for the establishment of county road systems. In Michigan counties opting, by popular election, to adopt such a system, a county road commission would be established. The commission would have power to assess taxes and to construct and maintain county roads. Wayne County voters adopted a county road system in September 1906. By October 1st of that year, three men were appointed as road commissioners. The original three-man commission consisted of Edward N. Hines, Cassius R. Benton and renowned automobile manufacturer Henry Ford. Citizen opposition to the county road system - and particularly the road commission’s right to assess taxes - remained strong, however, RG 2011-40 November 26, 2014 Page 2 of 86 and a legal battle ensued. In April 1907, the Michigan Supreme Court declared the Wayne County Road Commission unconstitutional. Benton and Ford withdrew from the public debate, but Hines persisted. Thanks to his efforts, the Commission was reorganized and reauthorized in 1908. Benton and Ford did not rejoin, but Hines remained until his death in 1938. He served as Chairman for most of his tenure. Upon reforming in 1908, the Commission established priorities. It gave first priority to building or upgrading ten main routes to and from Detroit. Next, it improved roads originating from smaller communities. Then, the Commission made plans to “ring” Detroit with inner, middle and outer beltways. This approach became a model for other communities. In 1909, the Commission paved the first mile of concrete road in the United States. This was on Woodward Avenue, from the northerly line of the village of Highland Park to Seven Mile Road. At the time, most roads were paved with macadam, or some other type of stone or gravel material. Concrete had been previously tried (It was first used as road pavement in Bellefontaine, Ohio in 1893-1894), but the Wayne County Road Commission popularized it. The Road Commission can be credited with a number of other “firsts.” It was Hines, for example, who thought of separating traffic by painting a centerline on the road (He cited a leaky milk wagon as his inspiration.). In 1915, the Commission used the first finishing machine to replace hand labor in smoothing and leveling concrete roads. That same year, it became the first governing body to use scrapers towed by trucks to remove snow. Three years later, it became the first to beautify country roadways by planting trees. The Wayne County Road Commission oversaw the building of bridges and culverts, as well as roads. Between 1918 and 1925, it built forty-seven bridges at a cost of nearly $5 million. In the process, it quickly recognized the advantages of standardization, adopting twenty-four feet as the standard width for culverts and bridges. The Commission’s fourth annual report included plans and specifications for four-to-sixteen foot concrete culverts. The Commission performed some important work with grade separations. It began grade separation work with railroad-street intersections in the 1910s and then began a concentrated effort in 1921. By the mid-1930s, it had constructed forty-seven railroad- street grade separations. It also worked on road grade separations, beginning in 1926, when it began a construction project to carry Outer Drive over Bonaparte Road. The Commission’s work went beyond roads and bridges. In the late 1910s, it assumed a dual role as Board of County Park Trustees, and under these auspices, it planted trees among many streets and improved landscaping around bridges. The Commission also oversaw construction of Wayne County Airport (now known as Detroit Wayne County RG 2011-40 November 26, 2014 Page 3 of 86 Metropolitan Airport or Detroit Metro Airport), which was dedicated on September 4, 1930. As the number of motor vehicles increased, the Wayne County Road Commission had to consider more ways of handling traffic congestion. In 1925, it adopted the Detroit Rapid Transit Commission’s master plan for the Detroit metropolitan area’s road system. “Super highways” would form the main arteries of a road network running through Detroit and neighboring communities, reaching into Oakland and Macomb Counties, as well as Wayne. By the late 1930s, even this system seemed inadequate, and the Commission began calling for a network of “express” super highways with limited access. The first such highway was the Davison Expressway, constructed by the Road Commission in 1941- 1942. It was followed by the Ford Expressway, constructed by the State of Michigan, and the John C. Lodge Expressway, completed by the Road Commission. The three expressways – connected by interchanges, with the Lodge Expressway flowing into the pre-existing James Couzens superhighway – represent the beginnings of a modern freeway system. During World War II, the Commission also built about seven miles of the Willow Run Expressway, which provided access to the Willow Run bomber plant in Ypsilanti. In the last half of the twentieth century, the Wayne County Road Commission’s duties were assumed by the Wayne County Department of Public Services. As of 2014, that Department’s Roads Division is “responsible for the maintenance of approximately 1,440 1 county primary and local roadways and 462 miles of state trunk lines and freeways.” Sources Boyle, Johanna. “State Inventor of Ubiquitous Centerline Honored.” The Mining Journal (Marquette, Michigan), November 7, 2011, pp. 1A, 6A. Viewed online on November 20, 2014. (URL: http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/568858.html ) “Detroit’s Edward Hines: Cyclist and Road Doctor.” m-bike.org (Website). Viewed online on November 20, 2014 (URL: http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2011/11/04/detroits- edward-hines-cyclist-and- road-doctor/ ) Dunbar, Willis and George S. May. Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State (Third Edition, Revised). Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995, pp. 494-495. Franks, Carl D. “Marker to First Mile of Concrete Road.” Michigan History Vol. 43 (1959), pp. 109-114. Legislature of the State of Michigan. Public Act No. 149. Public Acts and Joint and Concurrent Resolutions of the Legislature and the State of Michigan, Passed at the Regular Session of 1893, With an Appendix Containing the State Treasurer’s Report for 1891-1892. (Lansing: Robert Smith and Company State Printers and Binders, 1893), pp. 239-248. 1 Web page of Wayne County Department of Public Services, Roads Division. URL: http://www.waynecounty.com/dps/1794.htm (Page accessed November 20, 2014). RG 2011-40 November 26, 2014 Page 4 of 86 Roise, Charlene K. and Clayton B. Fraser. “Historic Highway Bridges of Michigan.” Multiple Property Documentation Form Submitted to United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, 1999. Zimmeth, Mary. “Air Harbor.” Website: Seeking Michigan. Look! September 3, 2013. Viewed online on November 20, 2014. (URL: http://seekingmichigan.org/look/2013/09/03/air-harbor ) Container List Series 2011-40.1. Photograph Negatives, 1920-1983. Bulk dates: 1947-1973 Box 1, F1: Negative Master List #1-2450, c. 1940-1950 Box 1. F2: Negative List: Smith Brothers Negatives, 1930-1954 Box 1, F3-F4: Negative and Photographs Copies of Ledgers, c. 1920-1960 Box 2: Negatives, no. 1 to 900; c. 1940-1947 Box 3: Negatives, no. 901-1523 and 5341-5750; 1947-1948, 1956 Box 4: Negatives, no. 1524-2640; Aug. 1948 - Feb. 1951 Box 5: Negatives, no. 2641-3730; Feb. 1951 - July 1952 Box 6: Negatives, no. 3731-4920; 1952-1954 Box 7: Negatives, no. 4921-5350; 1955 Box 8: Negatives, no. 5751-6499; Sept. 1956 - July 1957 Box 9: Negatives, no. 6500-7400; July 1957 - June 1958 Box 10: Negatives, no. 7401-8250; June 1958 - May 1959 Box 11: Negatives, no. 8251-9075; May 1959 - Feb. 1960 Box 12: Negatives, no. 9076-9920; Feb. - July, 1960 Box 13: Negatives, no. 9921-11700; July - Oct. 1960 Box 14: Negatives, no. 10701-11499; Oct. 1960 - April, 1961 Box 15: Negatives, no. 11500-12400; April 1961 - August 1961 Box 16: Negatives, no. 12401-13250; August 1961 - Jan. 1962 Box 17: Negatives, no. 13251-14430; Jan. 1962 - Nov. 1962 Box 18: Negatives, no. 14431-15517, 15521C-15866C; Nov.