Who We Are

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is one of the major organizational units of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Our Mission

The FHWA's main mission is to make sure that the Nation's highway transportation system is safe for public use. The FHWA also must consider how highways affect the environment, as well as social and economic conditions.

The FHWA works with the States to develop the major highway systems. The FHWA distributes funds to States. These funds are used for the construction and preservation of the approximately 45,000-mile National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. We also provide funds to improve more than 800,000 miles of urban and rural roads on the other Federal-aid highway system.

The FHWA regulates and enforces Federal requirements relating to truck and bus safety. This includes the safe operation and maintenance of equipment, the qualifications of drivers, and the movement of dangerous cargoes such as explosives and hazardous materials.

Our History

In 1893, the U.S. Congress established an Office of Road Inquiry within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Its job was to collect and distribute information on road construction and maintenance, and to help meet the farmers' needs for better road transportation.

In 1918, the Office of Road Inquiry became the Bureau of Public Roads. The BPR, as it was called, was transferred to the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1949.

The Federal Highway Administration is the successor of the BPR. It has been an administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation since the department's creation in 1967.