President Eisenhower later noted “The old convoy had started me thinking about good, two-lane highways, but Germany had made me see the wisdom of broader ribbons across land.” During and after World War II, the future President traveled on Germany’s Autobahn network of rural superhighways. The trip convinced the participants, which included military personnel, road advocates, and members of the press, of the country’s need for better roads. Army’s first transcontinental convoy, a two-month journey from Washington, DC, to San Francisco, CA, to assess the readiness of military vehicles to make such a long trip and to promote good roads. Eisenhower understood the value of roads. However, when President Eisenhower assumed office in 1953, only 6,000 miles had been completed at a cost of $955 million. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1952 provided some support for the system by authorizing $25 million with 50/50 Federal-State participation.
What was missing was a program to fund and build an interstate system with a uniform design. Furthermore, road design standards were not uniformly applied. Construction of this system began in 1947, but without increased Federal support, many States did not pursue construction. In 1947, BPR designated 37,681 miles of principal highways, including 2,882 miles of urban thoroughfares carrying the main line through cities. The network of highways would meet the needs of increasing automobile traffic and the requirements of national defense in time of war.Ī subsequent report to Congress, entitled Interregional Highways, helped shape the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944, in which Congress directed the designation of a 40,000 mile “National System of Interstate Highways” by joint action of State highway agencies, subject to the approval of BPR.
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The 1939 study, entitled Toll Roads and Free Roads, rejected the idea of a toll network, but proposed a system of toll-free interregional highways, with connections to and around cities. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1938 directed the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR), the predecessor of the Federal Highway Administration, to study the feasibility of a toll-financed system of three east-west and three north-south superhighways. By the late 1930s, there was a paved network of two-lane roads across the Nation, but its design and operation were inadequate for growing traffic volumes. In 1921, the focus shifted as Congress reshaped the program to restrict Federal-aid to a limited, designated system totaling no more than 7 percent of each State’s roads, with three-sevenths of this system being “interstate in character.” Up to 60 percent of the funds could be used on these interstate roads as the Nation embarked on construction of its first interstate system-the name often used to describe it. The Federal-aid highway program began in 1916 with that concept in mind, but it lacked a national focus. In the very early part of the last century, national highway policy was focused on getting farmers out of the mud and getting their produce to market. It is also an opportunity to look ahead to the next 50 years. Its impacts on the American economy – the jobs it would produce in manufacturing and construction, the rural areas it would open up – was beyond calculation.” This year is an opportunity to recognize the importance of transportation to our economy and our way of life. President Eisenhower wrote the following in his memoirs: “.more than any single action by the government since the end of the war, this one would change the face of America. The importance of the Interstate System to our economy cannot be exaggerated. The creation of the Interstate System is one of the greatest public works projects in history. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you at today’s hearing on celebrating the 50 th anniversary of the Dwight D. Subcommittee on Highways, Transit, and PipelinesĬommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure United States Department of Transportation
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