Minutes of April 6, 1960 Meeting Regarding the Interstate Highway Program

April 8, 1960 MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD Meeting in the President's Office - Interim Report on the Interstate Highway Program - April 6, 1960, 10:35 AM. Present: Mr. Frederick H. Mueller, Secretary of Commerce Mr. Bertram Tallamy, Federal Highway Administrato General John S. Bragdon Mr. Robert Merriam 3, it Colonel John A. Meek General Bragdon presented the highlights of the Interim Report, using seventeen charts. He emphasized the President's original concept of a new program of great scope and time limit making it a rounded- - out entity and that it be self-liquidating; the different concepts as to extent of local needs and the great sums involved. He stated that a minimum of $5 billion could be saved through revised criteria, and $3 billion through per- missive tolling; that these savings capabilities would be almost com- pletely lost if delayed a year. He recommended freezing the program to 39,300 miles at the 90-10 - sharing proportion. In view of present background, General Bragdon boiled down his immediate recommendations to: (1) Send to the Congress the proposal for permissive toll roads on the Interstate. This would be the only legislation at this time. (2) Quietly, and insofar as possible, administratively implement the revised criteria cited in the Report. Messrs Mueller and Tallamy opposed this latter item, saying it could only be done by telling the States outright of such a policy, and the States would rise up in arms. They considered the present law pre- vented them from such action - - this, in spite of the legal opinion of the Attorney General.