of over 11,000 men. Throughout June bad weather seriously delayed the construction schedule on the southerly section, including numerous washouts of structures. Despite this, work on the major structures was not seriously impeded and some were put into use.
On June 9 and 10 disaster struck when heavy rains extending 200 miles north and south of Ft. Nelson caused the destruction of 24 temporary bridges. A coordinated effort by all the forces, using stockpiled and salvaged material, resulted in reopening this section for through traffic by July 20, nearly 2 weeks sooner than the most favorable estimates made at the time of the floods.
Even with the temporary loss of six more bridges to high water west of Ft. Nelson early in August, the opening of the Peace River Bridge to one-way traffic August 4, and later that month to two-way traffic, was accomplished. Fortunately, by this time it had become almost routine to replace temporary spans, and 5 days after the washouts traffic was again moving over the sector.
As late as August the 40-mile section near the Alaska-Yukon border was still impassable. Access to the area was possible only by float planes. Finally on October 13 the gap was closed, reopening the road permanently. Followup forces improved it to required standards. By October 31, 99 bridges had been completed, and 34 were either under construction or not yet started. The entire pioneer road was in a usable condition.
At the peak of operations in September 1943, there were 1,850 PRA employees and 14,100 civilian employees of 81 contractors working with 11,107 units of equipment. Except for two companies, the Army engineer regiments had been moved in February 1943 to new assignments elsewhere. As with the pioneer road, the 1,420 miles of final highway was largely built in a 4-month period, with the final overall cost for both the pioneer road and completed highway amounting to $138,312,166.
| Item | PRA Funds | Army Funds | Total |
| Cost of pioneer road | $ 10,196,759 | $ 9,547,826 | $ 19,744,585 |
| Cost of final type road | 87,205,328 | 6,874,307 | 94,079,635 |
| Other work | 11,615,913 | 11,615,913 | |
| Final job inventory | 12,872,033 | 12,872,033 | |
| $121,890,033 | $16,422,133 | $138,312,166[1] |
The challenge of administering the civilian program in constructing the Alaska Highway at a time when Bureau personnel were helping to complete the Inter-American Highway and administering wartime activities on domestic highway systems required a tremendous effort by everyone in the organization. In retrospect, these undertakings confirmed the soundness of Commissioner MacDonald’s personnel and administrative policies, the comprehensive training programs of young engineers, especially on field construction projects in the national forests and parks and other Federal lands, and the spirit and pride of all employees in maintaining the professional stature of the Bureau.
Postwar Operations
The Philippine Program—1946 to 1969
Public Roads began work in the Philippines in 1946 under authorization contained in Public Law 370, 79th Congress, an Act for the rehabilitation of war damage to the Philippines (usually referred to as the Rehabilitation Act of 1946). The Act authorized Public Roads “. . . after consultation with the Philippine Government, to plan, design, restore, and build, . . . such roads, essential streets and bridges as may be necessary . . . for national defense and economic rehabilitation and development of the Philippines.” It also provided authorization for training engineers of the Philippine Government.
Under this authorization and with a fiscal appropriation of slightly more than $40 million, Public Roads assigned three of its highway engineers under F. C. Turner to begin the program.
The program began under difficult conditions. Recruitment of engineers in the States did not proceed readily since many Public Roads engineers had just finished difficult wartime assignments. Housing was practically nonexistent, office facilities limited, and at this time, there was a Pacific shipping strike in progress. For the Philippine Bureau of Public Works, only a few experienced engineers were immediately available.
By September 1947, however, many of the initial problems were overcome and the project was well underway with key positions filled and operating procedures well defined. A highway planning and programing section was established in the Philippine Bureau of Public Works to undertake a complete road and bridge inventory necessary for future economic development. This new section was also responsible for recommendations on the organization of a Philippine Division of Highways separate and distinct from the numerous other operations of the Philippine Bureau of Public Works. The recommendations of the highway planning survey (HPS) were accepted, and in 1948 a Philippine Division of Highways within the Bureau of Public Works was established by executive order.
Under the “Rehab” program administered by the reorganized highway department, approximately 500 bridges and 360 miles of high-type roads and streets were constructed.
The work of the U.S. Division Office under the Rehabilitation Act of 1946 continued through 1951 at which time Public Roads was requested by the International Cooperation Administration (ICA) to remain in the Philippines as highway consultants to the ICA and as advisors to the Philippine Bureau of Public Highways. Public Roads personnel completed the work under the Rehabilitation Act, which had been extended 1 year, and accepted new work authorized by ICA. Funds were provided by ICA with matching funds by the Philippine Government for a program of improvements for a nationwide highway network, construction of development roads (principally on the Island of Mindanao), replacement of temporary wooden bridges, and the development of village and feeder roads. The training program begun in 1948 was continued and was so successful that
536
- ↑ H. Rep., supra, note 17, p. 26.
