California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) history

The state’s road-building unit goes all the way back to the the California “Department of Highways” that was formed in 1897.

Proposed roads required separate legislative approval and funding until 1902, when a constitutional amendment was adopted allowing the legislature to create a single highway system funded and administered as a whole.

The agency’s role was financially reinforced by the voter-approved Road Bond Act of 1909 that provided $18 million for state highway system construction.

Below is the 1911 list of California Highway Commission divisions:4

The seven divisions were eventually restructured into 12 districts to accommodate needed highway expansion and maintenance spurred by population growth and development.5 The Commission marked the first state highway construction contract in 1912.

The California Highway Commission remained intact within the new department until 1923, when it was pulled out of Public Works to allow the Chief of the Division of Highways to focus on building and maintaining highways.

In 1934, the California Division of Highways assigned route numbers to state highways.8 Even numbered highways primarily go east and west while odd numbered highways go north and south.

It was built in the Spanish/Mediterranean architectural design, typically used for state buildings pre-world War II.14 A dedication luncheon ceremony for the new District Office was held at the high class San Diego Hotel on August 3, 1935.

He took a job with Los Angeles County and then became interested in becoming a bridge engineer with the Division of Highways where he found himself in 1938.

Plans for modernization were set in motion in 1950 when the California State Division of Architecture, Department of Public Works, in cooperation with the Division of Highways, hired architects C. Paderewski, Mitchell & Dean, and Adrian Wilson to begin design of the new District 11 office complex.

The Harbor Street property was used by the Port Authority until the property was sold for construction of a hotel in 1956.20

In 1962, Dekema petitioned the San Diego Highway Development Association (SDHDA) to submit a resolution to Caltrans elevating his position in parity with his counterparts in the San Francisco and Los Angeles districts.

This article provides an overview of the SCAG and its current functions pertaining to transportation. It is part of a series that provides short guides to different governmental transportation organizations in LA and CA. Formal Name: Southern California Association of Governments Year Formed: 1965 Budget: $65.3 million Staff: 130 What…

In the year 1972, during his first stint as governor, Jerry Brown consolidated the state’s powerful road-building department (the CA Division of Highways) with other transportation-related departments to form the official “California Department of Transportation.”

The year 1973 marked the end of the Division of Highways and the beginning of the California Department of Transportation.

The Caltrans 11 News Bulletin from May 18, 1983, announced that Dotson had been permanently appointed as the new District Director as of 4:45 p.m. the previous day.

Construction on State Route 52 from the Interstate 805 separation to San Clemente Creek was completed in 1987.

A retirement dinner was held for Dotson at the United States Grant Hotel on August 27, 1988.

It is part of a series that provides short guides to different governmental transportation organizations in LA and CA. Formal Name: Southern California Regional Rail Authority Year Formed: 1991 Budget: $263 million Staff: 800 What Metrolink Does…

Cathryne Bruce Johnson, who has worked as a Public Information Officer with Caltrans District 11 for nearly a decade, has been with the District since 1992.

It is part of a series that provides short guides to different governmental transportation organizations in LA and CA. Formal Name: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Year Formed: 1993 Budget: $7.2 billion Staff: 10,000 What Metro Does…

The Interstate 5/ Lomas Santa Fe Project, which opened in February 2009, was also the first major bond-funded project to be completed in the state.58

In 2012, Berman served on special assignment for an intensive department program review.

The SHOPP program budget was $3.8 billion in FY 2017–18.