Throughout its nearly 60 year history, the Interstate Highway System has served the United States of America far beyond its original goals. From its original purposes of uniting the country and aiding defense to the more mundane, (but equally important)such as ferrying goods across the country, the Interstate Highway System has firmly entrenched itself as one of the greatest feats of engineering the world has ever known. Record setting bridges, tunnels, and length of pavement have all been made by the vast expanse of the IHS FACT. As Dwight D. Eisenhower, then president, stated “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” (http://todayinsci.com/Events/Transport/HighwayInterstate-Quotations.htm 22 Feb 1955)
The story of the Interstate Highway System begins with several false starts. The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 granted $75 million dollars to states based on population and the distance of roads constructed. The policy was left dead in the water with the outbreak of the Great War. In 1921, with the so-called “Phipps Act”, the bill was resurrected, and paid for the planning of “interstate routes” across the country by General John J. Pershing. This “Pershing Map” would later serve as a guideline for a large portion of the IHS.
The Transcontinental Motor Convoy of 1919 followed one of these routes. Crippled by frequent breakdowns, lack of conformity in vehicles, and inexperienced members, at last, it reached the West Coast. Among the soldiers in the convoy was Lt. Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower, who recorded the entire event. The lack of sufficient roads put the United St...
... middle of paper ...
...ernment instituted the Federal Aid Highway Act 1976. This allotted $175 million to the processes of "for resurfacing, restoring, and rehabilitating those lanes on the Interstate System which have been in use for more than five years and which are not on toll roads." (-http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/intmaint.cfm) Initially set at a 90-10 rate of Federal to state funding, the projects were gradually moved to a more manageable 75-25 rate of funding. Known as 3R needs of the Interstate, resurfacing, restoring and rehabilitating. A fourth ‘R’ was added in 1981 with the introduction of reconstruction. Reconstruction was vitally important to improving those roads which had long ago fallen into disrepair. Bridges, tunnels, and the vast system itself were influenced heavily by the 1981 Act by allowing Federal funding to also remove and replace items where necessary.
In The Folklore of the Freeway: Space, Culture, and Identity in Postwar Los Angeles, Eric Avila discusses the history of the construction of the freeway in Los Angeles and the effects that this transformation had on communities of color. The construction of the freeway further increased the contrast between white space and non whitespace as white people moved toward the suburbs and communities of color were displaced to the inner city metropolitan areas. Avila explains that the impact of the freeways was not only economic, but also physical. The construction entailed immense destruction and displacement among inner-city communities. Boyle Heights, for example, experienced one-tenth of its population being displaced by the freeways. What I found
Recorded during 1980 a total of 87.2% of American homes owned at least one vehicle, while 51.5% of Americans owned more than one vehicle.[2] The increasing amount of sales resulted in an increase in the amount of cars that were on the road. The large amount of cars made the time of traveling from one destination to another longer than it was when not as many vehicles were on the road. Reducing the amount of time it took to travel lead to the idea of the highway system in 1938.[4] The extensive process of figuring out where the highways should lay and how they should be created did not allow the building process to begin until 1956.[4] Besides reducing the amount of time that it took to travel to each destination the highway system will
When construction takes place, it is usually way before it is actually needed. Of course it is helping prevent dangerous and fatal occurrences but for the most part some of these changes can wait. Instead of spending so much money on our transportation category we should be putting more into education. “The money that the Federal Budget gives for education covers college aid loans, special education programs, free lunch to students in need, anti-discrimination efforts, research, and special programs” (Document D). Education is one of the most important things a person can have. ”
After 1830, the construction of railroads and macadam turnpikes began to bring improved transportation facilities to come American communities, but the transportation revolution did not affect most rural roads until the twentieth century. Antebellum investors, public and private,...
army out of harms way. The author briefly discusses the troubles at Kip’s Bay and Fort Washington.
Airmen: An Illustrated History: 1939-1949.” Oct. 2012. Vol. 65 Issue 4, pg. 316-319. 4p. Ebsco Host. Tucker, Phillip Thomas, 1953. Web.2014.
The Trans Canada Highway had faced many challenges and criticism through the thirteen years it took to construct. The most common criticism it had faced was whether it reinforced the unity and national pride it was sent out to make. There are different viewpoints from political, personal and economical levels that challenge and support the implementation of the highway. Although there were many different challenges, the highway did support a unique unity that was specific to Canada. The Trans Canada Highway helped Canada unite as one and emerge through a symbol that supported Canadian nationalism.
Harvey Parnell once said that “[at] one time public roads in Arkansas were so bad that the wild geese, honking southward, would go around them.” In 1927, Parnell, as Lieutenant Governor, helped get the legislation for the Martineau Road Plan passed in the State Legislature. This legislation dealt with the improvement of the state highway system. Parnell also proposed the building of roads in the rural areas connecting outlying communities with the main state highway. Parnell, and Martineau before him, worked to make sure that the new highway system would not be paid for by personal property taxes but by the taxes on gasoline and vehicle licenses. This way the people paying for the new highway would be the people who actually use it. As ...
Railroads first appeared around the 1830’s, and helped the ideas of Manifest Destiny and Westward expansion; however, these were weak and didn’t connect as far as people needed, thus causing them to be forced to take more dangerous routes. On January 17th, 1848, a proposal was sent to Congress by Asa Whitney to approve and provide federal funding...
ISBN 0-87021-562-0. Cressman, Robert J.; et al. d. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. "A Glorious page in our history", Adm. Chester Nimitz, 1942: the Battle of Midway, 4–6 June 1942. Missoula, Mont. -. Pictorial Histories Pub.
The Texas Department of Transportation has, for Fiscal Year 2006, a budget of $7,732,365,130.00.1 This sounds like a substantial sum, seeing as how the previous year’s budget was almost $2 billion dollars less. It is not a substantial sum, however; or, at least, not substantial enough.
Leahy, Stephen M. "The Historical Battle over Dispatching American Troops." USA Today (Farmingdale). July 1999: 10-12. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 07 May. 2014.
During the reconstruction of America after the Civil War, the government allocated land grants and premiums to encourage work on the railroads, which proved effective. However, such incentives led to a questionable quality of work. Land donations and loans offered to both companies would eventually become profitable with the addition of railroad tracks running through, and the la...
The Transcontinental railroad could be defined as the most monumental change in America in the 19th century. The railroad played a significant role in westward expansion and on the growth and development of the American economy (Gillon p.653). However, the construction of the transcontinental railroad may not have occurred if not for the generous support of the federal government. The federal government provided land grants and financial subsidies to railroad companies to ensure the construction. The transcontinental railroad contributed to the formation of industry and the market economy in America and forever altered the American lifestyle.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Works eventually came up with a plan that called for an elevated highway 1.5 miles long through the heart of downtown Boston, accompanied by an Inner Belt that wrapped around downtown Boston to the west. In 1948 City and State officials approved a master plan, construction commenced in 1950. As soon as construction had started it became quite clear that the supposedly revolutionary highway had major flaws.