Roads

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Roads

Index of Photos

There has been a fundamental change in America's transportation needs. Just a hundred years ago, most people lived on farms or in thousands of small rural communities. They lived close to where their food supply was grown and most people were either directly or indirectly involved in growing their food. Now, that is all changed. With the automobile as the preferred mode of transportation since the 1920s, most people now live in cities - urban centers far
from the farm, meaning their food and other needs must be transported to them.

Florida roads received a healthy boost in 1931 when the gas tax was increased to six cents per gallon, with three cents going to the department for construction and maintenance and another three cents going to the counties to repay existing debts. The 1940s was the most important decade for transportation in Florida. Not only did federal funds become available for municipal roads, but World War II placed priority on several Florida projects. The most notable of these was the construction of the Overseas Highway - a system of roads, bridges and ferries linking the Florida mainland with Key West. The 1950s saw the construction of Florida's Turnpike. Once administered by the Old Sunshine State Parkway Authority, Florida's Turnpike is now part of the Department of Transportation.

	Paving Roads in Miami (1921) (18 k)		Tallahassee Street Scene (1948) (25 k)
	Sunshine State Parkway (1959) (31 k)		Orlando Street Scene (1926) (28 k)
	Polk County Paving Plant (1917) (31 k)		Tampa's Twig Street (1919) (43 k)
	Miami Transit Company (1927) (38 k)		Brooksville Road Construction (1926) (52 k)
	City of Coral Gables Bus (1930) (56 k)		Jacksonville Buses (1943) (68 k)
	Jacksonville Transit Changes (1936) (25 k)		Tampa Street Scene (1926) (21 k)