Research

Scope and Content Note

The series consists of annual reports of the Department of Transportation and its predecessor agency, the Department of Public Works. Report contents and formats change over time; earlier reports typically include both narrative and exhaustive statistical information on all aspects of the department's activities; later reports tend to include fewer statistics. Reports for some years are missing.

The earlier reports of the Dept. of Public Works contain reports from the superintendent; the division of canals and waterways; division of highways; division of architecture; division of engineering; and division of public buildings. For the years 1943 and 1944 reports are included for the State Automotive Rationing Committee. Some early reports of the superintendent of public works include reports on state-owned passenger cars and trucks, and names of employees who died in service, retired, or were in the armed forces.

Of particular interest are reports for the post-World War II era which document the planning, design, and implementation of a modernized state highway system, including the New York State Thruway.

Later reports for some years include information in the following categories: transportation planning; freight transportation; aviation; waterways and ports; streets and highways; transportation safety; project summaries; charts of staff; and officials.

Beginning in 1987, each annual report contains reports for eleven regions of the state and also chapters for public transportation, highways, bridges, canals, planning and research, and people and administration.