The conception, development, and adoption of early AASHO highway design criteria are documented. Examining the early efforts states used to select a design vehicle and develop horizontal curve design criteria illustrates why AASHO’s leadership was necessary. AASHO’s slow and somewhat haphazard criteria development, and the disparity from state to state, demonstrated the need for a national consensus in highway design parameters. AASHO’s role in providing these criteria is outlined through its initial development of policy booklets, followed by its 1954 publication of the landmark Blue Book. The processes by which nine states adopted the AASHO guidance are briefly reviewed. In several cases, the AASHO policy was embraced immediately, and in others it was accepted slowly as states clung to their independent design processes and only gradually updated their design criteria. A few simple conclusions are drawn about the development and adoption process, particularly as it may relate to tomorrow’s highway design criteria.
