Public Works in the United States

Transportation and Public Works

Most frequently found within departments of transportation, state public works agencies plan, build and/or maintain the state’s infrastructure, including highways and roads, toll roads, bridges, waterways, and harbors. In some cases, these departments also have responsibility for highway patrol, and regulate rail and air travel. Some support or operate public transit systems, and may also operate programs such as commuter ride-sharing or “Adopt-a-Highway.”

Transportation and Public Works Websites

Visitors to these sites may find:

• Motor vehicle licensing information and transactional capabilities
• Current road conditions and construction alerts, some via wireless devices
• Weather conditions
• Scenic or historic roadways
• Maps and directions to airport and rail terminals and harbors
• Transportation planning documents
• Schedules of public meetings related to transportation plans
• Traffic, demographic, cargo and other statistics
• Geographic information system (GIS) maps
• Economic development and tariff information related to ports authority
• Highway and boating safety information

Unlike many other state departments, transportation agencies generally operate their own procurement functions. Thus, contractors may find information on doing business with the department, lists of contracts available for bidding, and lists of authorized contractors.

Historical Websites:

Finding the law: Public Works in the U.S. Code

A collection of general and permanent laws relating to public works, passed by the United States Congress, are organized by subject matter arrangements in the United States Code (U.S.C.; this label examines public works topics), to make them easy to use (usually, organized by legal areas into Titles, Chapters and Sections). The platform provides introductory material to the U.S. Code, and cross references to case law. View the U.S. Code’s table of contents here.