William L. Mertz transportation collection

Access and use

Location of collection:
George Mason University
2400 Fenwick Library
Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library MS2FL
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Mieko Palazzo
Phone: (703) 993-2220
Fax: (703) 993-2669
Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Preferred citation:

William L. Mertz transportation collection, C0050, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Summary

Extent:
47.5 Linear Feet 62 boxes
Creator:
Mertz, Lee, 1920-1993
Abstract:
The collection contains transportation related materials collected over a 45-year period. Types of materials include scholarly journal articles dealing with transportation topics, summaries of congressional acts relating to transportation, official reports and studies of transportation agencies, summaries of speeches given by transportation officials, and personal correspondence among transportation officials.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

William L. Mertz transportation collection, C0050, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains transportation related materials collected over a 45 year period. Types of materials include scholarly journal articles dealing with transportation topics, summaries of congressional acts relating to transportation, official reports and studies of transportation agencies, summaries of speeches given by transportation officials, and personal correspondence among transportation officials. Many of these documents are photocopies of the original materials. The material covers a wide variety of topics, such as The Federal Highway Acts, bridges, buses, the environment, transportation in cities, commuting, and trucking. Organizations represented by materials in the collection include the Federal Highway Administration,the Department of Transportation, the Tri-State Transportation Commission, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

Biographical / historical:

William Lee Mertz, a former Federal Highway Administration Associate Administrator, played a leading role in planning and developing the Interstate system of highways in the United States. Born in 1920, Mertz started his career as a highway engineer with the Bureau of Public Roads in the Department of Commerce. As a field engineer, Mertz worked on many interesting and important transportation projects. He took part in the 1955 Road Test in Ottawa, Illinois, where the basic designs for Interstate pavements were developed. Mertz was assigned in 1956 to the Bureau of Standards to develop standards for computer software for use in highway engineering applications. During the 1960s he worked with such groups as the National Capital Transit Agency in Washington, D.C. and the Tri-State Transportation Commission in New York. He also served as an administrator in the planning of the Interstate Highway System, including the Washington Beltway, I-95 in Maryland, and the Washington Metrorail System. In 1969 Mertz returned to the Federal Highway Administration as Chief of the Urban Planning Division and developed transportation planning studies in all 213 metropolitan areas of the nation. After he left the Federal Highway Administration, Mertz took it upon himself to assemble documents and materials that were important in the development of the Interstate system, and, more generally, to the development of highways and urban transportation policy. Mertz died in 1993.

Acquisition information:
Collection donated by Jonathan Gifford, Marty L. Freeman, and Perry M. Kent in 1994-2000.
Processing information:

Processed and finding aid compiled by Robert Vay, Vikram David, Estee L. Dudash, Barbara Haase, and Kaycee Morgan in 1995. EAD markup completed in February 2009 by Eron Ackerman and Jordan Patty.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Physical location:
R22 C2 S7 - C4, S2-S7