Interesting Facts
	One of the oldest highways on the Department's system is U.S. Route 40 (the National Road), which passes through Somerset, Fayette, and Washington counties. This portion was built between 1811 and 1818. Licensing of motor vehicles began January 1, 1906, under the "Automobile Act". The fee was $3.00 per vehicle. Owned and operated by the Department of Transportation, the Liberty Tunnels in Pittsburgh opened in 1924. At that time, the 5,700 foot facility was the longest artificially ventilated automobile tunnel in the world. Pennsylvania issued its first state highway map in 1925 to aid the motoring public. Earlier, route numbers were painted on telephone poles, barns and tree trunks. Joseph W. Hunter was the first State Highway Commissioner, appointed in 1903 when the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation started out as the Pennsylvania Department of Highways. Allen D.Beihler, P.E. serves as the 29th Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The oldest stone railroad bridge in use in Pennsylvania is the Starrucca Viaduct which crosses PA Route 171 north of Lanesboro, Susquehanna County. Department records show it was built by the Erie Railroad in 1848. The Transportation Department's Maintenance District in Centre County is located on the site of the old Air Mail Field, a refueling stop on the New York-Cleveland run back in the 1920's.