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:

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13:

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Describes, in text and illustrations, the construction and function of the United States Interstate System.

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.

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.

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).

Blue Highways
Blue Highways

Author: William Least Heat-Moon

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2012-04-03

Total Pages: 458

ISBN-13: 0316218545

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Hailed as a masterpiece of American travel writing, Blue Highways is an unforgettable journey along our nation's backroads. William Least Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity about "those little towns that get on the map -- if they get on at all -- only because some cartographer has a blank space to fill: Remote, Oregon; Simplicity, Virginia; New Freedom, Pennsylvania; New Hope, Tennessee; Why, Arizona; Whynot, Mississippi." His adventures, his discoveries, and his recollections of the extraordinary people he encountered along the way amount to a revelation of the true American experience.

Dixie Highway
Dixie Highway

Author: Tammy Ingram

Publisher: UNC Press Books

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1469612984

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Dixie Highway: Road Building and the Making of the Modern South, 1900-1930

America's First Interstate
America's First Interstate

Author: Roger Pickenpaugh

Publisher: Kent State University

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781606353974

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The story of America's first government-sponsored highway The National Road was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, this 620-mile road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was the main avenue to the West. Roger Pickenpaugh's comprehensive account is based on detailed archival research into documents that few scholars have examined, including sources from the National Archives, and details the promotion, construction, and use of this crucially important thoroughfare. America's First Interstate looks at the road from the perspective of westward expansion, stagecoach travel, freight hauling, livestock herding, and politics of construction as the project goes through changing presidential administrations. Pickenpaugh also describes how states assumed control of the road once the US government chose to abandon it, including the charging of tolls. His data-mining approach--revealing technical details, contracting procedures, lawsuits, charges and countercharges, local accounts of travel, and services along the road--provides a wealth of information for scholars to more critically consider the cultural and historical context of the Road's construction and use. While most of America's First Interstate covers the early days during the era of stagecoach and wagon traffic, the story continues to the decline of the road as railroads became prominent, its rebirth as US Route 40 during the automobile age, and its status in the present day.