February 4, 1927

House Bill 128 was signed into law. The “Martineau Road Law” ushered in a new era of transportation in Arkansas, during which the state would assume the debts of former road improvement districts—which were $60 million in the red in the early part of the decade—issue bonds to begin road construction, increase gasoline and auto taxes, and charge tolls to finance new bridges. With this law, the state government took on highways as one of its biggest responsibilities.