Interstate Highway System: 50th Anniversary

Steve Melito writes "This week, CR4: The Engineer's Place for Discussion and News, celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System, "a giant nationwide engineering project" that transformed a nation. In 1994, the American Society of Civil Engineers described the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System as "one of the Seven Wonders of the United States". In 2006, this network of roads includes 46,000 miles of highway; 55,000 bridges; 82 tunnels, and 14,000 interchanges. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), excavation for the interstate system has moved enough material to bury the State of Connecticut knee-deep in dirt. The amount of Portland cement could build more than 80 Hoover dams, or lay six sidewalks to the moon. The lumber used would consume all of the trees in 500 square miles of forest. The structural steel could build 170 skyscrapers the size of the Empire State Building, and meet nearly half of the annual requirements of the American auto industry. Check back with CR4 all week as we cover the 'Roots of the Road,' 'the Politics of Passage,' 'Adventures in Civil Engineering,' and 'The Road Ahead.'" One of the things that's interesting about why Eisenhower pushed for the highway system was that he saw the Autobahn system in Germany during the occupation post-WWII and knew that that was one of the things that the United States needed to develop.

Comments

Re:Cue the analogies...

[barzok]

How would charging for access to highways be any different from paying to ride on the bus or train? that way only the people who use it have to pay for it. Those unwilling to pay for the use of the highway can use other roads leaving the toll roads free for those who are willing to pay to save a few minutes.

If only it were so easy. In Upstate NY, I-90 (the only interstate crossing the state East-West, unless you count I-86 which is still being built and follows the PA border) is a toll road, but the alternative to taking it isn't matter of "a few minutes" - the difference can be 30 minutes to several hours, depending on the distance you're travelling. A few years ago, I travelled about half the length of the state one weekend on I-90, and the trip was about 2 1/2 hours, toll cost was a couple bucks. I made the return trip on non-toll roads and it took me nearly six hours. Toll cost: $0. Extra fuel cost, at least $5 (longer distance, even though the start and end points didn't change). So that was basically a wash. The time was a killer.

Actually, I-90 in NY was supposed to become free quite a few years ago after the tolls paid off the construction costs. Now those tolls cover some of the maintenance, but are also the primary source of funding for the recreational Erie Canal system, which can't sustain itself.

Re:Why an Interstate Highway in Hawaii?

[mph]

It also has. just barely, but has the 2 mile straight length that was demanded in each highway every so often for landing endangered aircraft.

Nope.

Re:I wondered that too...

[SCO_Shill]

1. Yes, it costs the equivalent of a few thousand dollars to go to Fahrschule (driving school) and you have to be 18 to be able to get your license.

2. The Autobahn is about twice as thick as the interstate. As a result, it doesn't crack as much. And when it does, they rip out that section and replace it. Think about that the next time you're on I-70 in Utah (north of Moab).

3. There are speed limits in lots of places on the Autobahn, especially around the cities.

4. Speed records were set, yes, even with its curves following the natural terrain.

5. Try driving on the Autobahn during Sommerferien (summer vacation). Parts of the Autobahn can literally turn into parking lots.

I think the biggest factors are 1 (better trained drivers who have to pass real tests) and 2 (better maintained roads) along with cars that are built to travel at higher speeds.

Re:Parts of PA "Interstate" pre-dates 1950's

[good soldier svejk]

The same is more or less true of most of the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut, which first opened in 1938. Most of the on and off-ramps have been lengthened and straightened, and a couple of big highway interchanges added where new roads sprung up, but the road itself hasn't changed in my lifetime. Believe me, the new ramps were necessary. The old ones were all decreasing radius blind curves dumping right into traffic with no runoff room. The Exit 27 Southbound onramp (technically on the Hutchinson Parkway, but essentially demarcating the border between the two as well as between NY and CT) was literally a 90 degree spur two car lengths long with a stop sign at the highway. It hit the highway right after an overpass with no visibility so there was no way to see if cars were coming. You just stopped your car perpendicular to the road, checked that there was nobody under the bridge at that moment, punched it and crossed your fingers. Another feature which has just recently changed is the Sikorsky Bridge over the Housatonic River. This engineering marvel did not previously support pavement. Instead its surface was an open steel grate. I'm not kidding. Riding a motorcycle over this in the rain with a passenger was perhaps the scariest thing a human being could undertake. But to be fair, at least half of this structure was part of the Wilbur Cross Parkway, not the Merritt (the WC, the Merritt and the Hutch were all Rt. 15 and shared an exit numbering scheme). The road itself is exactly the same size and shape as when it opened. It retains its rural charm scores of unique and beautiful overpasses.