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4-2147
FEDSRAL ITORXS AGENCY
WORK PROJECTS .t,l)MLJISTRATION
Fo r Release t o NewsJape rs
Sunday , July 7 , 1 940
S 1~40 . :
ii'$~~~-_.;-,-> .
COLONEL HA.RRI NGT01J CITES W?A DEFENSE. ACCOMP LISH:lENTS AS :BASIS FOR EXPANDED
PREPA:REDli/E SS PROGRAM
Now expanding the WPA pro gram of ureparedness proj ects t o employ half
a mill i on men , Colonel F . C~ Harring ton , Commissiomir of Work Projec ts , today
made public a summa ry of defense a ccomplishments showing construction or impr ovement of 12 , 000 military and. naval buildinr:; s and 500 l and.ing fi eld.s in less t han
five years .
These a nd hundr eds of other defense p r oject s repr esent an inve stment
of $346 , 689 ,000 i n Federal , Stat e and local funds from the inc ept i on of WFA in
J,.1ly , 1 935 , t o June 1 , 1940 .
They include 85 pe rc ent of all a irpo rt construction
during the pe r i od a nd work on thr ee-quart e rs of all a r my posts,
11
0ne hundred thousand men were emp l oyed on nro je ct s of a nat i onal
defense nature in June , 11 Co l one l Harrint;ton sai d .
11
7fe pl an to have five or six
times t hat many at work on p r epared.ness p rojects by fall , and the defense
accomplishments of WPA in the singl e fisc al y ear just begun should a~nroach
the total of the fiv e p r ece ding yP.ars .
11
The barracks , airports , armories , gar ages , utiljti es and o t he r
defense f a ci lities p r ovided this country by men who othe r wise woul d have been
idl e no·,v emerge as an impo rt a nt foundat i on fo:::- the in t r:mse peri od of tr a ining
and material p r eparati on ahead .
In this work of pr eparedness the ·;VPA is now
multiplying its a lready suos t :-mtial effo rts . "
The i t erns list ed in this summary of defense a c coL1plishmen ts , through
Maren of this year , f ~ll in two ma j or classifications-- p r ojects sponso r ed by
the Wa r a nd Navy :Departr.ien ts and the C'J ast Gua rd and 0"9er a.ted ·oy :TFA a t the
r eserva t i ons o r stations of these agenci es; and a irpo rt and a irway p r ojects and
Na ti onal Guard :J l'Ojects spons o red by st ate and local go vernment agenc i es and
ope r a t ed by WPA ,
An i mpo rtant amount of de f ens e wo r ~ not i ncluded. i n t his surw..:ary was
C·Jnducted under the third cl a ssificati on- - 11 Fede ral Agencytt pr ojects operated
by the Wa r a nd Navy Departments and the Coast Guard themselves under VTPA
Digitized by
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NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
4-2147
- 2 emp l oyment r egulati ons and financed by funds transfe rred from WPA .
These
":s'ederal Agency " :9 roj ec ts accoun ted for 39,650 of the 99 , 433 pers 0 ns at work
on defense p rojects on June 12,
Colonel Harrington further emphasized that the full scope of 7fFA
wo rk on behalf of nati onal defense, both in the past and in the future, fa r
exceeds the accomplishments in t he thr ee sne cific cat ego ries of defense work .
He po int ed l'IUt that many of the half million mil es c f roads a nd streets "built
or r epaired and nundreds of :oublic buildings would be of g r eat impo rtance in a
time of na tional eme r gency .
A major it em in the defense b~ild ing n r og r am has been t he construction
of 222 new armories and 36 add iti ons and the r ec onstr'.iction or i m:_) r ovement C'f
356 , in mos t instanc es lillder the sponsorship of State National Gu.,:.ud or gani zati ons .
Buil ding s cons tructed or impro ved for the a rmed f o rc es i nc lude 141
new garages and 533 improve d or enlar ged ; 146 storage buildings and 1 , 523
impr oved or enlarged ; 35 new administration buil dings and 231 imp r oved or
Pnlarged ;
and six new hospitals and 135 imp r oved or enla r ged ,
Other new
buildings nurnbertng 1 , 084 in clude barracks , quart~rs , mess halls , kit chens and
barns .
In addition 6 , 298 were improved or enlarged .
On th9 grounds surrounding thes e and ex.is ting buildi ngs WPA has built,
r epair ed or imp r oved 828 mil es of ro ad s and 8 41 bri dges and culvert s .
Ut iliti es p r ovided on military and naval sites i nclude 28 n ew plants
and impr ovement s t o 35 .
In this connection 100 miles of water li ne , 130 miles
of sewer li ne and 183 miles of telephone , t PleGr a~h and el ect ric line have been
nrcwiied and sub stantial mi l ea~e s repaired by TJPA worke rs .
The WPA a irp~ rt and airways p r ogr am has cons tructed for the War and
Navy Department s , Coast Guard and National Guard 14 landing fields, additions
t o f ive and impro vements to 30 .
mil es in length .
The runways cons truc ted t otal more than 40
WPA has also built 90 building s , includ.ing han~c>.rs , i mp r oved
479 and ~ade additi ons t o 23,
!t has ~rov i ded boundary li 6 hts and airway markers
in large numbers .
These airport facilities are in addi ti ·on t o a far greater numbe r
made available by WPA on st ate and local gove r nment s ites throughout the nation ,
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NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
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4-2147
- 3 -
all of t hem of value in a time of eme r gency .
Thi s group includes 171 new
landing fi eld.s , 274 imp r oved and 41 enl a r ged ; and the construction or r econstruction of 10 se apl a ne ba s es .
New hangars numbering 150 are i nclud ed among the 317 new building s
and 93 hangars o.ro among the 212 buildings impro v ed or enl a r ged on s it e s other
t hn.n military and na va l .
Al ong the airways of t he natio n WPA has provided
9 ,733 n e,:1 and 1 , 8 59 improved ma rkers; 66 new beacons a nd 14 repair ed ,
Sixty-six
l andi ng a r eas nave been fl oodli ghted .
Illustrat ing t he extent of WFA defense v•or:..t a t various key po in ts
in the nat i on ' s defense system , t he Army has ob t ained a t P:.catinay Ars e nal ,
New J ers ey , powder manufacturing buildings , 10 powde r storage magazines and a
nrunbcr of othe r st or age buildings .
The ccmplete li st of acco m, li shment s includes
construct i on of and i mp r ovements to offic ers ' quart e rs, emp loyees ' building s ,
ga r ages , cl imb- p r oo f fences , utiliti es and a bomb- proof shelt er i n the t etryl
ar ea .
Several mi l es of rai lroad tracks , r oads and. s idewalks have be An p r ovided,
The variety and ex t ent of pr ojec ts at t he importan t Charleston (S outh
Carolina) Navy Yard p r es ents a similarly impress ive t ot al .
The list here
includes, in a dditi on t o such i terns as r oads and barrac~:s , fiv e c rane towers,
an ammunition stor1\ge building and p i ers .
11
Such accomp lishme nts , multipli ed at othe r Army r ese rvat i ons and
Naval stations all ove r the country and in the possess i on s and t 9rri t or i es ,
already a r e indispensabl e {Jart s of our na tio nal de f ens e ,
sai d .
11
Co lonel Harri ngtcn
"WPA will p r ovide many mo r e such facilities in the coming months • 11
(Attached a r e four tables s.i:..owing i n detai l the accomplishments ,
expenditur es and er.ipl oymen t di s cus sed i n this re l ease . )
- --o0o - - -
Digitized by
Original from
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
SELECTED ITEMS OF ACCOMPLISHW.ENT ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS SPONSOF.ED OR
CO-Sl-'ONSORZD BY TEE WAR DEPA...~ T!.iEHT , NAVY DEFARTEENT,
COAST GUARD AND NATIOKAL GU.ARD
(4- 214 7)
Cumulative Through March 31, 1 940
It em
Number
or Amo unt
------=
--=-=. c:....-- ------- ------- -----~~
:'...'.::..::.~~~
~
Roads and St r ee ts - Total
Mil e s
828
Bridges and Culverts - Total
Numb er
841
New Construct io n
~uildings (other than utility pla,nts
and airport ·ouildings)
Total
-
Reconstruct ion
or Improvement Additio ns
Numb er
1, 598
8 ,97 5
1 3?
Adminis t r a tive Bu i ldings
:m.l.mb er
35
22S
6
Hospitals and Infirma ries
Numb er
6
1 33
2
Garage s
Nmiber
141
519
14
St or age Bu i J.di ngs
Number
146
1,50 7
16
Armo ri es
Numb er
222
356
36
Barra cks , Q,uarters, Mess Halls ,
Kitchens , Earns , Stl'l.bles , etc .
Numb er
1, 048
6 , 235
63
Number
28
35
XXX
t ili t y Plan t s
W
at er Mains a nd Distributi on Line s
Miles
100
44
XXX
Storm and Sanita ry Sewe rs
Mil e s
1 30
49
XXX
Te l epho ne and Teleg r a:ph Line s
MiJ. es
86
28
XJG
El ectric Powe r Li ne s
Mil e s
97
4 67
XXX
14
30
5
225 , 000
24 , 000
XXX
Facilitie s a t Airp orts and La nding Ar eas
Land i ng Fi el ds
Nunb er
R11nwn,ys
Lin. ft .
Airport Bui l dings - To t a l
N~lmb er
90
47 9
23
Admi n i s tra tive Bui l dings
Nunber
4
11
2
Hangnr s
Number
8
11 5
12
Ot he r Airp ort :B,lildi ngs
Numb er
78
3 53
9
Seaplane Ramps and La nding Pla tfor ms Nu mb er
l
1
xx::
Landing Ar eas Fl oodlight ed
Nwnb er
2
1
XXX
Bou.nda,r y L i 6 h ts
Numb er
90
330
XXX
Numb er
722
700
airway Fac i l itie s
Airway ;,,ar ke rs
FEDERAL ·vroRKS A'GEHCY
WO::UC PROJECTS .n.Dl'i:IHI STMTIOH
Division of Sta ti s tic s
Digitized by
Original from
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
•
ACCOMPL I S:"IMENT ON AIRPORT AND il.IR'iVAY PROJECTS
( Other Than Those Sponsored or Co- Sponsor0d by the War Dopartrr.ont
NarJ De-partn:ont , Coact Guard r);.• lTation::tl Guard )
( 4-214'i')
Cumulative Thro1lgh Marc:h 31 , 1940
:i.fow Con- · Re cons truot-ion
Sur_---__________s=-t.:..r::...11c tion o~ Improvement Aa.di ti ons. facig_g
Item
----
Fucili t ios [tt Airpor t s rmd Land i ng Areas
Land i ng Jield.s
Runways
Air-port 3u.i.ld.ings - Total
Administration Buildings
Hangarri
no .
Lin . ft .
No .
No .
No .
171
1, 676 , 000
317
68
150
Ho .
99
J·o .
:i:fo .
66
11 , 596
Other Ai17Jort Builclb6 s
Landing £re us Floodlighted
Boundary Li 6 h ts
274
426 , 000
187
38
88
61
-1 1
XXX
199 , 000
x:cx
0.,
::~xx
5
11
XXX
16
X .X :X
1, 320
XXX
XXX
Ai rway Fae il it ie s
l
Airwav Marke rs
Airwa; Beacons
eaplane Bases
!Jo •
9 , 733
:rJo .
66
1 , 859
14
llfo .
7
3
X XX
x:·(x
xxx
;:============-=-==-=:;::=.=-=-:-:.-=-=-=-==--===---::=-=----=============-::=:::...:====="==
NUMB:rI;R El&LOYED ON 'N'I:A 'FINANCED AIRPORT :PROSECTS AND PrtOJECTS
SPONSORED BY 'E-IJ£ WAR DEF AnTMENT , NA VY DEPARTW-.EHT , CO.AST GUARD , NA'.I'I mTAL GUARD
As of Jnne 12 , 1J4O
Projects 0:pera t ed. ·by
Frojeds
Other Ag en cie s and
Ope r ated
Fi
Agency
nRnc ed b y Trans f e rred
by 'iV?A
WPA Fimd.:1
I=================='=-==--=-=-=-::::-=-=--'-=-=--=--======-·=---=-=-=-=-·
-=
- ---- -·--··------
'i'bTli.L
Viar De.:it .
59 ~7 83
39 , ')"i()
3,1,, 648
28 , 917
10 , 7 :_:, 3
6 , 54 ::;
fo3.vy De:rt ., Coast Guard
Ha tio:1al Guard
All Oth e r AgE"m cies (Airprirt
ancl L irwnv P_rojects OrG,y)
::xx
5 , 731
:E::GT NDITUP.ES Oi~ WPA OPERATED AIRPORT PROJECTS AND F EtOJ:SCTS
SFCNl:03ED ]3I w.:.R DEPARTMENT , FiAVY D:iBPA3TlvCHT , COAST GUAP.D , liu~TIOE\L GLJj~RD
Continental United Stetes
Cunul3.tive through lvio..;v 31 , 1940
(Subject to Revision )
::::::::.__
Sponsoring
Ac ency
All
Funds
Federal
J!'unds
S9ons ors 1
funds
---------------------------
A/
TOTAL !::_/
$346 , 689 , 000
$273 , 683 , 000
War Dept .
lfo,vy Dept ., Coast Guard
lfo. tionc:.,l Guard
All Othe r ( for Airpo r ts
&1.d Airways Onl;r )
103 , 567 ,000
19 , 563 ,000
46 , 171 , 000
86 , 626,000
15 , 829 ,000
38 ,051 ,000
16 , 941 , 000
177,388 , 000
133 , 177 , 000
4-~ , 2J.l , 000
3 , 734 , 000
8 , 120 , 000
Does not include expend i tures of $36 , 317 ,000 from ?ede r al funds on -p:;o~c cts
opere.tod by the War Depar tmen t, $22 , 221 , 000 on Navy Department projects , r:, 11d
$366 , 000 on Coas t Guard projects finan c ed with transfe r red TTPA funcl.s .
::::::::::==:-Digitized by
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
FEDE:?Ji.1 WORKS .1'..GEiJCY
WORK PROJECTS ADMLH STRATION'
Di vDJ;i~i:mnl fo:in Statistics
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
@FedFRASER