The Evolution Of President Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System

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American demand for petroleum began to grow in the beginning of the twentieth century. The national population was increasing at a rate of five million people per year, global fuel prices were consistent and low, and expansive suburbs were being developed to house the growing urban workforce. These trends greatly encouraged personal vehicle use, and the creation of President Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System in 1956 enabled these cities and suburbs to be seamlessly connected. Before the highway’s creation, people were limited in how far they could travel, and more than seventy-five percent of the roads in America were in poor condition. Within the first year of the highway’s construction, however, American’s were buying an average of

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