Its official name is the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. To most Americans, it is known simply as the interstate, though at times there are a number of more colorful names applied to certain sections, particularly in crowded cities. Its construction began in 1956, with the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act by Congress. While most Americans believe it to have been completed in the 1960s and 1970s, the original system was not declared complete until 1992. Its rapid construction is one of many myths surrounding the interstate system, among them that it was inspired by Germany’s autobahn, much admired by Eisenhower in the aftermath of World War II.
Construction of the original interstate system cost American taxpayers $114 billion, equivalent to nearly $600 billion in 2023. Its construction led to the displacement of over 1 million people and led to protests over actions labeled urban renewal as part of the project. Today, nearly 25% of all automobile traffic in America is on interstate highways.
That it changed America is readily evident. The interstates greatly added to the creation of suburbs and suburban sprawl. The system led to the creation and rapid expansion of the fast-food industry, the motel industry, shopping malls and strip malls, and bedroom communities far removed from the urban core of cities. At the same time, it contributed to the decay of those urban cores, as city populations fled to the suburbs, where they could buy a house with a yard, send their children to newly built schools, and live the late 20th century ideal of the American Dream.
The interstates also helped enable the expansion of the over-the-road trucking industry, contributing to the decay of American railroads. The system is so well signed that even those with no concept of geography can leave New York and drive to Los Angeles simply by following the road signs. It is also in trouble in many places, with bridges and sections of highway listed as functionally obsolete. Potholes and decaying road surfaces challenge drivers and in the nation’s major cities, traffic often slows to a time eating crawl.
It was a major engineering achievement, its construction was a joint venture between states and the federal government, and it remains a vital component of both military and civil defense plans. The story of the interstate highway system is part of the legacy of 20th century America. Here it is.
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