State DOTs: Those Were The Days

Today we see many state departments of transportation agencies have increasingly privatized maintenance operations on state highway mileage to include snow removal; pothole repair; grass cutting; and even litter control. The measures have been undertaken to save taxpayers money in these times of austere budgets. Contrast this with a time when some state highway departments were equipped to self-perform even heavy highway construction. The photos depict the Virginia Department of Highways working on State Route 80 approximately one mile west of Breaks Interstate Park in Buchanan County, VA on Aug. 1, 1969.