Highways: An Architectural Approach

What is highway architecture? Who are the highway architects? Where do they practice? What is their role? WHAT IS HIGHWAY ARCHITECTURE? Highway architecture is a way of attempting to achieve the best of both worlds by shepherding a highway project from planning through design, construction, and operation. It is an approach to rebuilding our highway infrastructure, from a humanistic rather than strictly an engineering point of view. Continuity of purpose is the prime objective. A corollary goal is to make the highway an integral part of its setting. As now practiced, the building or rebuilding of anyone highway is partitioned, fragmented, and compartmentalized. Planners hand a concept to designers; design- ers then prepare plans and specifications and pass their work on to construction people; construction people build the highway and turn it over to maintenance personnel. Rarely does one find continuity from planning to operation of a facility. WHO ARE THE HIGHWAY ARCHITECTS? Although it is unlikely that anyone hands out a business card with occupation listed as "Highway Architect," this does not mean that no one practices the profession. Highway architects are those people who share the responsibility for developing a highway project. True, the practice is quite limited, but site development entrepre- neurs, rural county engineers, landscape architects, and consultants to smaller local governments often perform as highway architects. They take a project from concep- tion to completion and are concened with how the local community will react to it.