WCRC celebrates 100 years

by Washtenaw County Road Commission

On April 7, 1919, Washtenaw County voters approved the “Good Roads Proposition,” 9,134 in favor, 2,351 opposed. That means that April 7, 2019 marks the 100th birthday of the Washtenaw County Road Commission.

For the next 100 years, the staff at WCRC has been working hard to maintain a safe road system for the traveling public. It hasn’t always been an easy road (pun intended). It has meant long nights away from home working through dangerous conditions like the Blizzard of 1978 or the Dexter Tornado of 2012. It also has meant working through budget and personnel shortages caused by national crises, like the Great Depression, WWII, and the Great Recession. Being a county road commission has also meant innovating through periods of dramatic cultural change, like the explosion of the car culture to age of autonomous vehicles and social media.

Throughout the ups and downs of the last century in America, WCRC has gone from maintaining roads with horse and buggy to an innovative 130-person agency in charge of maintaining 1,600 miles of county roads for the 367,000 residents of Washtenaw County.

Who knows what the next 100 years will hold for Washtenaw County; but the staff at WCRC will be ready to help get there. Happy 100th Birthday, WCRC!

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.