“Our system of transportation is the greatest of any country in the world”
America is a nation on the go and our highway system is our lifeblood.
Through a century of public investment, we have built a national network of highways
and bridges that connect us to each other and our vast nation.
It moves food from the farm to our table and brings the products we enjoy to our doorstep.
It provides access to jobs, schools, and medical care.
Our highway network is an engine of economic growth and opportunity.
Today the Federal Highway Administration works with State and local governments and other
stakeholders to build, maintain, and improve U.S. roads.
But that wasn’t always the case.
In the early years, many traveled by wagon on roads that were barely passable.
“I remember my granddaddy would go to town and it would take him two days to go.….he
would go and buy the groceries….. load up and go back part of the way and then he would
camp before he would go on home.
It would take him two days to get the month’s supply”
President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 and the nation started
rolling toward better roads.
“ I take great pleasure in signing this bill because it tends to thread various parts
of the country together...”
“The Federal Road Act of 1916 established a partnership between the federal government
and states in providing for transportation services in this country.
Many of the routes that were initially constructed ultimately became those same roads that are
a part of what we now call the National Highway System.”
For the first time roads became a national priority as a way to connect people and facilitate
the movement of goods.
A national network of two-lane paved highways was built and the jobs that were created helped
pull America out of the Great Depression.
Americans suffering from financial hardships were able to work and earn an income.
One of those highways was Route 66, which was completed in 1937.
“Because it went from Chicago to Los Angeles it intersected all of the major transcontinental
highways.
Many other important roads also cut into Route 66, so it became an important road for the
transport of agricultural and industrial products.”
President Dwight D. Eisenhower understood the importance of a National Interstate Highway
system.
“A modern highway system is essential to meet the needs of our growing population,
our expanding economy, and our national security”
He signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which resulted in a system that connected
the nation and border points through a network of highways, bridges and tunnels.
It linked major metropolitan areas, industrial centers and other modes of transportation
and was designed and built to a uniform set of standards.
But transportation became more than just moving people and goods from Point A to Point B.
In the 1960s, concerns for cleaner air and preserving natural landscapes led to a comprehensive
process for planning transportation projects with regard to the surrounding environments.
Public engagement became part of project planning to help identify local and regional transportation
needs.
The St. Louis Arch was built in 1965 but was immediately cut off from the rest of the city
by Interstate 44.
The CityArchRiver Project is reconnecting the Arch and the community.
Public engagement and public-private partnerships were key aspects of the planning process.
“You had a group of people coming together that had very different cultures, historically
had different goals, coming together to really accomplish common goals.
It will be an entirely different experience for the better in terms of getting to work,
getting around the arch grounds.
It doesn’t matter where you’re from, what your background is, everybody
can gather in these spaces and feel welcome and feel excited and feel part of their community.“
While local projects help local economies, the interstate highway system facilitated
the development of a complex freight network in recent years that serves the United States
and the world.
54 million tons of freight move across our nation every day as the highway system connects
the country from north to south, east to west.
Much of that freight comes through multimodal transportation centers.
“The port here has a tremendous impact on the local economy.
Without the highway system there would be a missing link to our entire connectivity
of delivering goods and products, raw materials to our manufacturers, to our storefronts.”
We take for granted that the products we want and need are available at local stores.
“We’re on the road quite a bit, it’s all about getting right to the source.
I get my clams, my oysters, my fish and my lobsters all within about 20 square miles.
When I started this business I was trying to think of how I could make it work and definitely
the highway system is key.”
But what would happen if our current transportation system stopped functioning?
Within days or even hours, assembly lines come to a stop, hospitals run out of essential
supplies, fuel becomes scarce, and grocery stores run out of perishables.
Our highway system is crucial to our economy.
“As a nation, we are becoming more populated and more urbanized; our systems are becoming
more complex and are handling more traffic each day.
It is vital to our economy and the world economy that we keep the nation moving safely and
efficiently.”
A comprehensive systems approach to investing in our transportation system will ensure that
our kids and grandkids receive the benefits of our investment.”
From the earliest days of dusty dirt trails and muddy paths to the superhighways of today,
transportation touches everyone’s life.
Where will tomorrow’s roads take you?