The Federal Interstate Highway System

Toward the end of the 1930s, FDR supported the construction of a national network of toll highways as a way to provide jobs for unemployed workers. Congress commissioned a study by the Bureau of Public Roads, which ultimately recommended the creation of a nontoll system of over 25,000 miles of highways connecting cities across the country.

Despite criticism by some opponents of "big government," public support for a national highway system was considerable. In part, the public's view of the benefits of such a system was shaped by the most popular exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair in New York. Sponsored by auto manufacturer General Motors, the "Futurama" exhibit treated visitors to a 15-minute ride in moving chairs across a model of the United States. Not surprisingly, GM's vision of the future included 14-lane superhighways, with traffic moving along at 100 mph while controlled by radio beams.

The outbreak of World War II forced the federal government to put its plans for a national highway network on hold. However, President Roosevelt recognized that when the war ended, returning American soldiers would need employment opportunities if another economic depression were to be avoided. Once again, he urged Congress to authorize construction of an interstate highway system, which it did under the terms of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944.

Hampered by political battles between urban and rural interests over the system's design and funding, construction of the interstate highway network proceeded slowly. By the time President Eisenhower entered office in January 1953, only one-sixth of the system had been completed. However, Eisenhower's encounter with Germany's famed Autobahns during World War II convinced him of the need for an efficient national highway network. Again, battles over how to pay for the system delayed the project, but in April 1956, Congress finally passed the Federal Highway Act, authorizing construction of a 40,000-mile network of interstate highways.

The federal government picked up 90 percent of the $27 billion tab for construction of the interstate system, which was supposed to be completed in 13 years. Although it eventually took longer to complete and cost considerably more than the initial estimate, the interstate highway system represented a significant expansion of the federal government's role in the national economy, one that forever changed the American landscape.

Together, the united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear -- United States. Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower
February 22, 1955