STATEMENT BY U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SLATER UPON THE DEATH OF FRANK TURNER

Topics:  Rodney E. Slater, Frank Turner

U.S. Department of Transportation
October 5, 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 5, 1999
Contact: Karen Whitney
Telephone: 202-366-0660
DOT 157-99

We are deeply saddened at the death of Frank Turner. Mr. Turner left behind an extraordinary legacy of service to the United States that spanned more than half a century.

We mourn his passing and, at the same time, celebrate his achievements. Mr. Turner was truly an "agent of change." He pioneered development of the nation’s surface transportation system as we know it today and set the Interstate highway system on course for America, an accomplishment for which he was recognized by Vice President Gore. Mr. Turner is a particularly important model for all transportation workers. Seventy years ago he began his career as a junior highway engineer and became the first person in the Federal Highway Administration to rise completely through the ranks to administrator.

We shall strive to honor his memory, with vision and vigilance, by continuing to carry out in the 21st century the high ideals so vividly embodied in his long career of public service in the 20th.