The Best Investment a Nation Ever Made
The Best Investment a Nation Ever Made

Author: Wendell Cox

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 1998-05

Total Pages: 42

ISBN-13: 0788141864

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Without a first class system of interstate highways, life in America would be far different -- it would be more risky, less prosperous, & lacking in the efficiency & comfort that Americans now enjoy & take for granted. The Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate & Defense Highways, in place & celebrating its 40th anniversary, must surely be the best investment a nation ever made. Consider this: it has saved the lives of at least 187,000 people; it has prevented injuries to nearly 12 million people; it has returned more that $6 in economic productivity for each $1 it cost, & much more. Photos. Charts & tables.

The Big Roads
The Big Roads

Author: Earl Swift

Publisher: HMH

Published: 2011-06-09

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 054754913X

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Discover the twists and turns of one of America’s great infrastructure projects with this “engrossing history of the creation of the U.S. interstate system” (Los Angeles Times). It’s become a part of the landscape that we take for granted, the site of rumbling eighteen-wheelers and roadside rest stops, a familiar route for commuters and vacationing families. But during the twentieth century, the interstate highway system dramatically changed the face of our nation. These interconnected roads—over 47,000 miles of them—are man-made wonders, economic pipelines, agents of sprawl, uniquely American symbols of escape and freedom, and an unrivaled public works accomplishment. Though officially named after President Dwight D. Eisenhower, this network of roadways has origins that reach all the way back to the World War I era, and The Big Roads—“the first thorough history of the expressway system” (The Washington Post)—tells the full story of how they came to be. From the speed demon who inspired a primitive web of dirt auto trails to the largely forgotten technocrats who planned the system years before Ike reached the White House to the city dwellers who resisted the concrete juggernaut when it bore down on their neighborhoods, this book reveals both the massive scale of this government engineering project, and the individual lives that have been transformed by it. A fast-paced history filled with fascinating detours, “the book is a road geek’s treasure—and everyone who travels the highways ought to know these stories” (Kirkus Reviews).

General Location of National System of Interstate Highways, Including All Additional Routes at Urban Areas Designated in September, 1955
General Location of National System of Interstate Highways, Including All Additional Routes at Urban Areas Designated in September, 1955

Author: United States Bureau of Public Roads

Publisher: Andesite Press

Published: 2017-08-24

Total Pages: 108

ISBN-13: 9781376167238

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Divided Highways
Divided Highways

Author: Tom Lewis

Publisher: Penguin Group

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780140267716

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In Divided Highways, Tom Lewis tells the monumental story of the largest engineered structure ever built: the Interstate Highway System. Here is one of the great untold tales of American enterprise, recounted entirely through the stories of the human beings who thought up, mapped out, poured, paved - and tried to stop - the Interstates. Conceived and spearheaded by Thomas "the Chief" MacDonald, the iron-willed bureaucrat from the muddy farmlands of Iowa who rose to unrivaled power, the highway system was propelled forward through the pathbreaking efforts of brilliant engineers, argued over by politicians of every ideological and moral stripe, reviled by the citizens whose lives it devastated, and lauded as the greatest public works project in U.S. history.

The Roads that Built America
The Roads that Built America

Author: Dan McNichol

Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 9781402734687

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The year 2006 celebrates the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Interstate System, the most incredible road system in the world. Created by Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose WW II experiences taught him the necessity of a superhighway for military transport and evacuation in wartime, today's Interstate System is what connects our coasts and our borders, our cities and small towns. It's made possible our suburban lifestyle and caused the vast proliferation of businesses from HoJos to Holiday Inns. And if you order something online, most likely it's a truck barreling along an interstate that gets the product to your door. Written by bestselling author Dan McNichol, The Roads that Built America is the fascinating story of the largest engineering project the world has ever known.

Celebrating 50 Years
Celebrating 50 Years

Author: U. S. Congress

Publisher:

Published: 2017-01-29

Total Pages: 53

ISBN-13: 9781520488806

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In 1956, after much planning and compromise, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act, creating the interstate highway system, a project which transformed America forever. As our Country entered the 20th century, good roads, even paved roads, weren't common. Plans for a national system of expressways were developed in 1944 by the National Highway Committee. Congress designated the 40,000 mile national system of interstate highways in 1944, but funding would not be authorized until 1952, when President Harry Truman signed the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1952, offering a token down payment of $25 million for the interstates. However, it would be up to the next President, President Dwight David Eisenhower, to lead the campaign for the Nation's interstate system. President Eisenhower made it a keystone of his domestic agenda when he was elected to office in 1953. He envisaged a new, tax-based financing plan with the Federal Government bearing the largest share of construction costs. Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act without fanfare, in a hospital room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he was recovering from illness. Today, Americans continue to reap the benefits of that legislation. The wide, relatively straight roadways in the interstate highway system were designed to be faster and safer than the two-lane roads that preceded them. In fact, the interstate system is the safest road system in America.