By Dan Wallach, Beaumont Enterprise

In the 1890s and early 1900s, a mule-powered rapid transit system hauled people around downtown Seguin. Courtesy Seguin Public Library

In the 1890s and early 1900s, a mule-powered rapid transit system hauled people around downtown Seguin. Courtesy Seguin Public Library

The first public Commission meeting was held June 21, 1917, in Mineral Wells.

The first public Commission meeting was held June 21, 1917, in Mineral Wells.

In 1917, the first Texas Highway Commission planned a network of highways that would span 8,865 miles.

In 1917, the first Texas Highway Commission planned a network of highways that would span 8,865 miles.

In the early 1930s, the Texas Highway Patrol was part of the Texas Highway Department.

In the early 1930s, the Texas Highway Patrol was part of the Texas Highway Department.

A flood washed away this 1923 Pecos River Bridge on U.S. 90 in 1954.

A flood washed away this 1923 Pecos River Bridge on U.S. 90 in 1954.

In 1956, the U.S. Congress passed a bill to build the interstate highway system. This is the first sign installed on I-30 near Greenville, on Dec. 16, 1958.

In 1956, the U.S. Congress passed a bill to build the interstate highway system. This is the first sign installed on I-30 near Greenville, on Dec. 16, 1958.

In 1957, Texas Highway Department employees Virgil Ingram and Harold Ringer repainted the Rainbow Bridge.

In 1957, Texas Highway Department employees Virgil Ingram and Harold Ringer repainted the Rainbow Bridge.

Rivet inspector D.A. Talbert during construction of the Neches River High Bridge (now known as the Rainbow Bridge) on Texas 87.

Rivet inspector D.A. Talbert during construction of the Neches River High Bridge (now known as the Rainbow Bridge) on Texas 87.

Andy Anderson outside the warehouse at Roby when he retired in 1958. He recalled living on $10 for half a month during the Great Depression. "It was worth it," he said.

Andy Anderson outside the warehouse at Roby when he retired in 1958. He recalled living on $10 for half a month during the Great Depression. "It was worth it," he said.

Construction of Interstate 35 in Austin, looking south at the former intersection of East Avenue and 15th Street, in December 1959.

Construction of Interstate 35 in Austin, looking south at the former intersection of East Avenue and 15th Street, in December 1959.

Palm trees line U.S. Highway 281 south of Pharr in the 1950s.

Palm trees line U.S. Highway 281 south of Pharr in the 1950s.

Light traffic on the section of Interstate 35E known as the Stemmons Freeway, looking south on Sept. 1, 1960, in Dallas.

Light traffic on the section of Interstate 35E known as the Stemmons Freeway, looking south on Sept. 1, 1960, in Dallas.

Key punch machine operators perforating cards in 1962. These cards supplied data to TxDOT's IBM computer.

Key punch machine operators perforating cards in 1962. These cards supplied data to TxDOT's IBM computer.

The Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge on U.S. 181, shown here in 1966, opened in 1959. The bridge is 235 feet high and the main span is 640 feet long.

The Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge on U.S. 181, shown here in 1966, opened in 1959. The bridge is 235 feet high and the main span is 640 feet long.

In the 1960s, before Don't Mess With Teas, there was the Litter Critter.

In the 1960s, before Don't Mess With Teas, there was the Litter Critter.

Construction of the Interstate 10 bridge across the Llano River in Kimble County in May 1970.

Construction of the Interstate 10 bridge across the Llano River in Kimble County in May 1970.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon enacted a national 55 mph speed limit due to the energy crisis.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon enacted a national 55 mph speed limit due to the energy crisis.

In 1977, after 20 years, the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike toll booths came down and Interstate 30 signs went up.

In 1977, after 20 years, the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike toll booths came down and Interstate 30 signs went up.

A portion of Route 66, known as the "Main Street of America," crossed the Texas Panhandle. It was replaced by Interstate 40.

A portion of Route 66, known as the "Main Street of America," crossed the Texas Panhandle. It was replaced by Interstate 40.

Opened in 1982, the Pennybacker Bridge crosses Lake Austin on Loop 360.

Opened in 1982, the Pennybacker Bridge crosses Lake Austin on Loop 360.

'Liberty' rolls through Beaumont to celebrate TxDOT centennial

SOUTHEAST TEXAS TALES

When the Texas Department of Transportation looks in its rear-view mirror, it can see a century of road-building that grew from 8,865 miles of two-lane blacktop to more than 80,000 miles of pavement carrying more than 25 million vehicles.

The department, originally named the Texas Highway Department on April 4, 1917, used a World War I surplus truck for its first vehicle.

That truck, dubbed "Liberty," is coming to Jefferson County on Wednesday to help celebrate TxDOT's centennial.

In October 1918, the highway department got into the road-building business with a 20-mile stretch between Falfurrias and Encino in Brooks County, southwest of Corpus Christi, now designated U.S. 281.

>> See historic photos from TxDOT's first 100 years in the gallery above.

The "Liberty" truck will visit all 25 of TxDOT's districts around the state leading up to and beyond the actual centennial day. "Liberty" isn't making the statewide drive on its own power; it will be aboard an 18-wheeler truck for that.

The Beaumont district, formed in 1932 with eight counties, has almost 2,400 miles of highways and more than 1,500 bridges to look after, like the newly rebuilt Quick Sand Bridge in Newton County destroyed a year ago in the massive downpour and flooding in March 2016.

The Texas Highway Department name stuck around until 1978 when the Legislature changed it to the unwieldy mouthful of the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation. It was mercifully shortened to Texas Department of Transportation in 1991.

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Its mission changed in the 1970s to include local and regional transit providers. In the 1990s and 2000s, it added duties that included aviation, railroads, ports and waterways.

A local application of TxDOT's aid to ports and waterways can be seen in the under-construction "flyway" from Old U.S. 90 alongside Interstate 10 in Orange County into the Port of Beaumont's Orange County dock, vaulting over the KCS and Union Pacific railroad tracks and wetlands.

TxDOT is still rebuilding portions of Interstate 10 from the Sabine River to Winnie. Most of the work in previous years focused on Orange County, the Neches River Bridge - now Purple Heart Memorial Bridge - the intersection at Major Drive and now the section of interstate from Beaumont to Chambers County, transforming the oldest segment of Interstate 10 into the newest.

TxDOT also is nearing the end of its Eastex Freeway ramp change project and the Concord Road reconstruction.

TxDOT transformed the manner in which Southeast Texans commute when it built the new Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in the 1980s.

Completion of Concord to Texas 105 will close a loop extending from Cardinal Drive, past Lamar University, through Old Town and into the North End, where it ultimately connects to the northwestern route to Interstate 45 and North Texas.

Southeast Texas Tales is a weekly feature that revisits regional history.

DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/dwallach

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'Liberty' rolls through Beaumont to celebrate TxDOT centennial ... - Beaumont Enterprise