Thomas MacDonald (1881-1957)
MacDonald was called the “man of the century” in highway development. His pioneering 35 years as head of the Bureau of Public Roads under seven U.S. presidents were critical to creating and refining the modern federal highway program, including the foundation of the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
He became Iowa’s chief engineer in 1913 and was a key figure in the development of the 1916 Federal-Aid Road Act, a landmark law that provided the basis for the federal government’s leadership in highway construction. In 1919, he was appointed “Chief of the Bureau,”where he provided leadership under several titles and agency names until 1953. In total, he supervised the creation of 3.5 million miles of highways.
