US Interstate Highway System Turns 50

Russell MacCleery, 93, seated, smiles, with Executive Councilor Ray Burton, left, and Peter Thomson of the Highway Safety Commission, Thursday, June 29, 2006, in Concord, N.H., as they get ready to commemorate the 50th anniversary of interstate highway system. Burton lead a small caravan of antique cars up New Hampshire's I-93 to celebrate the June 29, 1956 signing of the bill by President Eisenhower that created the Interstate Highway system.

COMMENTLINES
Thursday marked the the 50th anniversary of America’s Interstate Highway system, the nearly 47,000 miles of pavement that links almost every part of the continental US.

As a kid riding with my parents on frequent trips up and down the east coast, I remember an incomplete Interstate 95, with detours where the asphalt had yet to be laid.

As I grew up, so did the pavement. Cities grew farther out into the suburbs and a whole culture of highway life on US 1 and 17 slowly died as it gave right-of-way to the new exit-ramp culture spawned by the limited-access interstate.

The story of the federal interstate system is very much linked to story of the baby boom generations, with all of the same promise and problems ... successes and failures.

NEWSBYTES
What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been
The federal interstate highway system is celebrating its 50th anniversary. How it’s changed us—for better and worse.
June 29, 2006 (Newsweek) -- If you’ve ever felt like you were born to be wild, if you’ve ever headed out on the highway looking for adventure and whatever comes your way, you know that the interstate can represent freedom, promise and possibilities. But for others, those same roads represent darker forces—an overuse of fossil fuels, the depopulation of America’s inner cities, urban sprawl.

The Superhighway to Everywhere
Now 50, Interstates Moved America Into Another Lane
EXIT 275, INTERSTATE 70, Kan. (washingtonpost.com) -- There were no Wal-Marts in 1956, no Ramada Inns or Best Westerns. Cross-country travel most often meant the railroad and only about two-thirds of adult Americans had a driver's license.

Eisenhower's 'autobahn' at 50
(CSM) -- On June 29, 1956, President Eisenhower signed a bill to build the Interstate Highway System - a dream of his since he crossed the US in 1919 and, later, after he saw Hitler's autobahn. Little did he know what 46,876 miles of expressways would do.

A Half-Century Legacy
(Forbes) -- America's Interstate Highway System is 50 years old.

After 50 years, the interstate highway program has earned an early retirement
By Ron Utt
(Heritage Foundation) -- As the interstate highway system rolls through its 50th anniversary this week, pundits have filled the air with accolades to its contribution to America’s transportation and economic development. Most Americans view it as a successful government program that has provided a half a century of major benefits, with more to come for our children and grandchildren. Never mind that it was way over budget—expected to cost $25 billion when it was authorized in 1956, the final bill for the interstate highways was $128.9 billion.

Tags: Interstate, Driving, Highways, Highway, Travel, Traffic
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension