Mad Hatters would battle this all the way, demanding each state decide for itself with funding through non-stop corporate ads (oh, wait, we have that already). mjh
So This is Nebraska by Ted Kooser | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor
It was on this day in 1956 that President Eisenhower signed the Federal Highway Act, which established the Interstate Highway System.
The Interstate Highway System had been in the works for a while. During World War I, the Army determined that the condition of national roads needed to be improved for national defense, so they produced a map for the government of the major routes they felt were important in the event of war. In 1938, President Roosevelt drew out a map of "superhighways" to cross the country.
The American public had its first taste of the a "superhighway" system in 1939, at the New York World’s Fair. The most popular exhibit there was the General Motors Futurama ride, which showed a vision of the future in 1960. Fairgoers sat in chairs that moved through a diorama of the future America, where everyone owned a car and the entire country was connected by freeways. On these freeways, the lanes going in one direction were separated from the traffic coming from the other direction. Drivers could go up to 50 mph, and could travel from one coast to the other without a single traffic light. These ideas were so exciting that 28,000 people attended the Futurama exhibit every day.
As a general during World War II, Eisenhower was impressed by Germany’s autobahn system, and he decided that the United States needed something comparable. After the war, the economy was booming, and Eisenhower decided the time was right to push through the Interstate Highway System. It was the largest public works project in American history. It took longer than expected to build—35 years instead of 12—and it cost more than $100 billion, about three times the initial budget. But the first coast-to-coast highway, Interstate 80, was completed in 1986, running from New York City to San Francisco.
It was a great boon for hotel and fast-food chains, which sprung up by interstate exits. It was also a boon for suburban living, since commuting was faster and easier than before.
But it was not necessarily good for American literature.
So This is Nebraska by Ted Kooser | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor