The first Texas farm-to-market road was completed in January 1937 between Mount Enterprise and Shiloh. The route was 5.8 miles (9.1 km) long and cost $48,000. In 1945, the highway commission authorised the construction of 7,500 miles (12,000 km) of farm-to-market roadway, to be shared by the federal and state government. The popularity of the program and the vast, isolated central and western areas of the state of Texas prompted the passing of the Colson-Briscoe Act in 1949, which allowed for the creation of an extensive system of secondary roads to provide access to the rural areas of the state and to allow farmers and ranchers to bring their goods to market. The act provided $15 million per year for local highway construction. In 1962, the Texas legislature increased this amount to no less than $23 million, and expanded the farm-to-market system from 35,000 to 50,000 miles (54,000 to 80,000 km). The system includes both farm-to-market roads and ranch-to-market roads, and now accounts for over half of the Texas Department of Transportation system.
Thanks for the info, Bigun.
Your first name wouldn’t be “Iva,” would it? ;)