Record Group 103
ROAD ENGINEER

See also:

• RG 102 Engineer
• RG 104 Public Works, Department of

The office of County Road Engineer was created in 1937 as a professional position appointed by the County Commissioners. It was successor to the office of Engineer, and in King County the Road Engineer function was absorbed by the Department of Public Works in 1969.

103-274 Annual reports, 1953 - 1963
Annual reports of disbursements from road funds, including detail of expenditures by project.

Volume: 0.3 cu ft

103-36 Bridge files, 1901 - 1994
These files constitute a record of highway bridges built by, transferred to, or eliminated by King County between 1901 and 1994. During this period, bridge engineering was undertaken by the County Surveyor (1901-1907), County Engineer (1907-1937, 1949-1969), Road Engineer (1937-1938), and the Department of Public Works (1938-1948, 1969-1994). The files document these agencies' construction, inspection, maintenance, repair and replacement of bridges and of railroad and highway overcrossings and undercrossings. Record types include construction documents (e.g., cost estimates, contractor estimates, engineering notes and calculations, contract documents); inspection reports; correspondence; structure plans, site maps, and shop drawings; newspaper and journal articles; and photographs. Photographs and negatives have been removed (see description below for Series 103-474). Many maps, plans and drawings also have been removed, although some remain in the text files. These files originally comprised three subseries: (1) bridge files maintained by the Road Engineer; (2) bridge files maintained by the County Engineer and the Department of Public Works; and (3) files for bridges eliminated by the county through demolition, replacement, or transfer to another jurisdiction. These subseries have been partially interfiled. One subseries of road engineer job record cards and cost estimates for eliminated bridges remains at Box 48. Files in boxes 1-22 and boxes 49-55 are arranged in ascending numerical order by the county's bridge identification number. Boxes 23-47 suggest a chronological order. Files in box 48 are arranged by a separate three-digit bridge inventory (B.I.) number; cross-reference is made to each bridge's original identification number.

Volume: 18.33 cu ft

103-474 Bridge files: photographs, 1904 - 1988
King County, through its public works agencies, has been historically responsible for the siting, construction, inspection, maintenance, repair and replacement of highway bridges, overcrossings, and undercrossings within its jurisdiction. The county maintains a record of these activities for each bridge. Part of this record is photographs. This series is composed of photographs separated from Series 103-36, Road Engineer Bridge Files 1901-1994. The photographs document county activities in relation to bridges under the administration of several King County public works agencies (Engineer, Road Engineer, Department of Public Works). Most photographs date from three general time periods: 1910-1920, 1932-1936, and 1950-1988. Photographs from 1932-1936 were most often taken by bridge inspector Thomas P. Blum during summer inspection tours. Bridges were assigned one or more identifying numbers by the county. The agency record for each bridge includes bridge number; bridge name if applicable; location (name of street or road, nearest city or town, section-township-range coordinates); and name of watercourse, railroad or highway spanned by the structure. Added information includes type of photographic materials present, date span of photographs, and limited keywords describing image content. The photograph files are arranged numerically by the bridge number best representing the bulk of the photographs in a given folder. Within each folder, photographs are arranged in approximate chronological order. Negatives are present for many bridge images (particularly for the period 1910-1936) and are filed separately by bridge number. A partial visual index has been created for this series, consisting of selected photocopied images. Selection criteria were: (1) all photographs prior to 1950; (2) images, 1950-1988, depicting the human and natural environment of bridge sites; and (3) images, 1950-1988, representative of county work activities at bridge sites. Detailed or repetitive images of routine bridge inspections and of construction and repair work were generally excluded from the visual index but may be present in the folders themselves. The index also includes cross-references to many images of bridges found in Series 104-400, Public Works Project Photograph Files, 1898-1989.Volume: 8.92 cu ft

103-153 Building permit log, 1942 - 1943
Register of building permits issued, including owner's name, permit number, valuation of improvement and address of property. Includes annual summary statistics for the years 1942 and 1943.Volume: 0.1 cu ft

103-154 County or local road mileage report, 1947 - 1948
Report to State of Washington and Public Road Administration Highway Planning Survey detailing road mileage in King County by type, including change in mileage of each type during the year.

Volume: 0.1 cu ft

103-155 Court case work records, 1937 - 1941
Two volumes of bound data sheets summarizing work done by the county Road Engineer's office in support of the county Prosecuting Attorney. Data sheets have been bound in sequential numerical order, one court case or other action per sheet. Record information may state case identifiers; names of parties, attorneys and presiding judge; special witnesses employed by the county; and summaries of the nature of the case and of the work done by the Road Engineer. A hand-sketched preliminary location map or site plan often accompanies the text; final versions of the sketches were submitted in court as evidence. Sketched maps include maps of contested farm, industrial and stormwater drainages; sections of roads, trails and highways; street intersections; and floor plans of roadhouses and a "Hooverville" shack. Each volume contains a list of names of plaintiffs or other principal parties.

Volume: 0.3 cu ft

103-156 General correspondence files, 1938 - 1961
Incoming and outgoing correspondence of the County Road Engineer's office including citizen inquiries and complaints. Arranged by year and alphabetically by name of correspondent.

Volume: 9 cu ft

103-157 N.C. Anderson correspondence, 1937 - 1938
Correspondence of N.C. Anderson, Right-of-Way Engineer, regarding complaints and investigations relating to road rights-of-way.

Volume: 0.1 cu ft

103-273 Non-road project contract files, 1938 - 1961
Specifications, plans, bills of materials, estimates, correspondence and other contract documents for county public works projects other than roads and bridges. Projects include recreational facilities in parks, buildings at Boeing Field, dock repair projects, and preliminary plans for a proposed juvenile detention home.

Volume: 0.67 cu ft

103-159 Right-of-way file index, 1912 - 1957
Index to right-of-way files, including name of road or project, year, and file number. Incomplete: includes A-M only.

Volume: 0.1 cu ft

103-160 Road vacation files, 1927 - 1939
Correspondence, maps, petitions, resolutions and orders of vacation relating to road vacations.

Volume: 0.3 cu ft

103-38 Secondary road project files, 1935 - 1938
Specifications, plans, maps, correspondence and other contract documents relating to County road maintenance and construction projects. Includes applications for Federal government grants. Most of these Depression-era projects were funded by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (PWA) or the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Volume: 3 cu ft

103-31 State highway project files, 1927 - 1972
Specifications and plans for State Highway Department projects in King County. These files are the County Road Engineer's reference copies of the state's files.

Volume: 15 cu ft

103-32 Subject correspondence files, 1912 - 1973
Correspondence, reports, memoranda and miscellaneous records dealing with the administration of the County Road Engineer's office, relations with other County offices, and the development of policy. Includes correspondence with the City of Seattle, Washington State Highway Department and the Federal Government.

Volume: 14 cu ft

103-162 War labor board approval log, 1943 - 1944
Memoranda documenting War Labor Board approval or denial of authorization to proceed with construction projects. Includes name of project, cost, approval or denial date, and survey number.

Volume: 0.1 cu ft

103-375 Wharf files, 1899 - 1987
King County began to purchase, construct and maintain public wharves in 1900, primarily as dock facilities for its ferry service on Puget Sound and Lakes Union and Washington. Administrative oversight of wharves was a function of the county engineer's office from approximately 1924. With the rise of land-based transportation following World War II, the county increasingly worked to remove abandoned and unsafe wharves, or convert others to recreational purposes. These files constitute a record of county wharf and ferry facilities, as well as rock bunkers and sea bulkheads, primarily between the years 1906-1959. The files, originally a part of the county's bridge files, contain correspondence, petitions, copies of Commissioner resolutions; inspection reports; plans and specifications, cost estimates, shop drawings, field sketches, maps and plans; and photographs. Photographs (all black and white prints) can show many of the following images for each pier, ferry slip, or bunker: structure seen from various angles (shore and water, ground level, and elevated perspective); approaches (road or rail); ancillary structures (sheds, waiting rooms, retail businesses); adjacent terrain; adjacent residential and commercial structures; construction, maintenance, repairing or rebuilding of structure; and documentation of structure's deterioration. Negatives are present for a majority of prints. Dating of some images is very approximate. The county originally ordered wharf files by unique wharf numbers; current arrangement somewhat reflects this. Photographs, negatives and most maps and plans have been separated from the bulk of text files.

Volume: 2.5 cu ft

Record Subgroup 103.5
ROAD ENGINEER: KING COUNTY AERIAL SURVEY

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

The King County Aerial Survey was a county project funded by the Works Progress Administration to produce accurate maps for the county Assessor's office. The County Road Engineer provided supervision for the project and kept the resulting survey records. The project's main products included the accurate location of section corners in the western part of the county.

103.5-15 Abstracts of corrected tape measurements, 1935-1941
Corrected distance measurements from traverses. Includes tape and line numbers, date, page and volume numbers of corresponding field book data, location, forward and backward measurements, elevation, correction, tape sag and temperature. Some records contain drawings. Arranged by field book number. Areas covered: A-G, J, L, N and W.

Volume: 6 cu ft

103.5-17 Abstracts of direction, 1935-1941
Typewritten, bound corrected horizontal angle measurements computed from lists of directions, including location, traverse area, instrument number, date and volume number. Areas included: E, F and J.

Volume: 0.1 cu ft

103.5-16 Abstracts of levels, 1935-1941
Corrected level measurements from traverses. Data elements include line, rod and level numbers, description of the section, observer, date, time, temperature, rod readings, elevation and a volume number that refers to the field book location. Both first and secondary measurements are recorded. Areas included: A-G, J and W.

Volume: 1 cu ft

103.5-27 Astronomical azimuth determinations, 1935 - 1941
Workbooks including information on stations, instrument number, date and measurements.

Volume: 0.1 cu ft

103.5-25 Control levels - first and second order, 1935 - 1941
Control Levels, contained in bound books, used to connect traverses with U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey triangulation stations. Data include date, forward and backward measurements, time and station number.

Volume: 0.1 cu ft

103.5-14 Description cards, 1935 - 1941
Handwritten drafts on 4X6 graph paper containing information on ties to monuments and hubs. Includes location, date, weather, surveyors and a sketch of the area. Each card contains notes stating the degree of success in recovery and notes concerning the monuments.

Volume: 0.2 cu ft

103.5-23 Extension of lines - levels and angles, 1935 - 1941
Data includes date, weather, time, station, instrument number and measurements forward and backward.

Volume: 0.1 cu ft

103.5-28 Field books, 1935 - 1941
Field records of traverses, including tape measurements, levels and angles. Tape measurement include location, station, forward and backward measurements, temperature, tape number and tension, date, page number and remarks. Levels include date, forward and backward measurement, rod number, time, location, station and elevation. Angles include data on the observer, station, instrument, date, backward and forward measurements, remarks and some sketches. Includes local control survey records. Arranged by survey area and type of measurement.

Volume: 20 cu ft

103.5-22 Inverse position computations between triangulation stations, 1935 -1941
Inverse position computations are loose forms that provide computation formulas to be followed. Data elements include station names and a formula for deriving inverse computation.

Volume: 0.1 cu ft

103.5-143 KCAS miscellaneous files, 1935 - 1941
Miscellaneous small files including a brief history of KCAS, index of Lambert Coordinates of triangulation stations in King Co., description of monuments in area A, and section corners and monuments recovered. The history of the KCAS is a twenty-seven page document written in 1942 which includes a description of the extent of completed survey areas, definitions and descriptions of terms and practices, organization of working parties and descriptions of each record.

Volume: 0.1 cu ft

103.5-18 List of directions, 1935 - 1941
Corrected horizontal angle measurements from traverses. Each measurement refers back to area and page number in field book. Includes location, date, directions, corrections and a drawing indicating measurements and monument. Areas included: A-H, J-M and W.

Volume: 1.5 cu ft

103.5-24 Tape standardization records, 1935 - 1941
Data include card, comparison tape and standard tape numbers, length of tape, date, long or short of standard and true length of standard.

Volume: 0.2 cu ft

103.5-19 Ties to monuments, 1935 - 1941
Include location, date, description of monument and/or tie and sketches. Areas included: A, B, D-F and J.

Volume: 0.1 cu ft

103.5-21 Traverse computations, 1935 - 1941
Typewritten forms containing section grid with traverse lines drawn in and labeled, location, traverse line number, area, date, beginning and ending points and corrections. Includes traverses 1-490.

Volume: 2 cu ft

103.5-26 Triangulation computations, 1935 - 1941
Reference materials on triangulation monuments and calculations. Areas included: A-H, J, K, N, S.

Volume: 0.1 cu ft