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Alabama Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Eisenhower Interstate System
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On June 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the federal legislation that authorized creation of the U.S. Interstate Highway System. This year, we are beginning a yearlong celebration of this unparalleled engineering achievement. The 46,508 miles of superhighways that resulted transformed our nation and economy. It’s a symbol of freedom and a tribute to human ingenuity.
The Alabama Department of Transportation is joining with other state departments of transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and other transportation stakeholders to commemorate the Interstate System’s golden anniversary.
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Too often taken for granted, the Interstate System is responsible for dramatically improving our mobility, highway safety, quality of life and commerce. This commemorative Web site was designed specifically to share information about the history of our interstate building era, offer educational resources, highlight national and state celebratory activities, and engage citizens in the celebration. |
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Interstate System Turns 50 This Year
By Joe McInnes, Transportation Director
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the federal law that brought America its unparalleled Interstate Highway System. This 46,508-mile web of superhighways – including nearly 1,000 miles in Alabama – has transformed our nation and our economy. It is a symbol of freedom and a tribute to human ingenuity. There is nothing else like it in the world.
June 29, 2006, is the anniversary of the day 50 years ago when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed federal legislation to begin the largest single engineering and construction project ever undertaken: the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways. In scale, it is far larger than the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, the Aquaducts of Rome, and the Suez and Panama canals. The Suez Canal required removing about 100 million cubic yards of earth, the Panama Canal, 262 million cubic yards. Road builders across the United States moved over 42 billion cubic yards in the first 10 years of interstate construction.
The Interstate Highway System was initially conceived out of the Good Roads Movement and as a military defense highway system. Its superior design – featuring wide, relatively straight, controlled-access roadways – provided a safer and more efficient network of highways that increased mobility among the traveling public. And yet somehow, the system has come to be taken for granted. An increasing percentage of Americans cannot remember a time without an interstate highway. And many Americans no longer experience it as the “open road,” as population and economic growth has outstripped system capacity, and heavy use has led to congestion in many areas.
In Alabama, we’re engaged in an unprecedented expansion and overhaul of our portion of the interstate system through a two-year, $250 million rehabilitation and resurfacing program, various expansion projects along I-65 and I-20, construction of Future I-22, and a corridor study to extend I-85 from Montgomery to I-20/59 near the Mississippi state line. We’re working hard to improve our interstate system for the next 50 years.
Throughout this year, you’ll be hearing more about activities to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Interstate Highway System. Our interstate highways would still be a dream without the dedicated work of the state and national public officials, engineers and road builders who blazed the trails that transformed Alabama and the nation.
The Alabama Department of Transportation’s Interstate Commemorative Vehicle
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