Interstates Turn 50 today

[RoadDog]

There was an article in the April 22nd Wichita Eagle about the 50th anniversary of the interstates in Kansas. An eight mile section of I-70 between Valencia and Maple Hill roads west of Topeka was the first in the US to be completed, five months after the Federal Highway Act of 1956 became law.

The article went into a lot of detail about the planned motor convoy which will be retracing, in reverse, Col. Eisenhower's historic 1919 trip across the US on Lincoln Highway. This showed how bad our road system was. It will be in Eisenhower's hometown of Abilene, Kansas, June 21st to 23rd. Quite a few festivities are planned in his honor.

The article also went into some detail on why Missouri and Pennsylvania also claim to be the first with interstates. I have actually seen signs on I-70 by St. Charles, Mo., claiming that this is the first interstate. Pennsylvania bases its claim on the 1940 Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Check it out:

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/14403452.htm

Keep on Down that Four Lane (or more) Interstate. --RoadDog

[RoadDog]

Tomorrow, the 29th marks the 50th birthday of the US Interstate System. Actually, this is the second birthday, as some marked the introduction of the bill back in January as the first. Others will say this August when work on the first stretch began will also be the date.

A convoy has been travelling across the US on interstates from San Francisco and will arrive in Washington, DC tomorrow as well. The original one crossed from DC to SF in 1919 and went along the Lincoln Highway. It's leader, Dwight Eisenhower found that the country's road system at the time was not up to it.

I came across one of the best articles I've ever read in the June 25th Baltimore Sun. It is titled " Shaping America, mile by mile" and was written by Stephanie Shapiro.

This is a very balanced treatment, giving both the good and the bad about interstates. I'll briefly give some of the points here.

The bad:
1. It's right of way destroyed portions of cities and even some small towns
(example Glenrio, Tx)
2. "..pushed much of the country's richly varied landscape off the map..."
3. its uniformity
4. Money was diverted from other roads for the interstates
5. The urban exodus

The good:
1. Above all else, the nation's highways are safer
2. The US "is a much more unified country, politically and culturally"
3. The rise of the trucking industry
4. The impact and responding growth of some US cities since the 60s'
5. The growth of Edge Cities

You can check it out at the newspaper. Go to the title search

I did get part of the url:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opi...1,1337486.stor...

If someone can get it up, that would be great.

Keep on Down that MultiLane Superslab. --RoadDog

[PNW Judy]

Article by Stephanie Shapiro

I haven't had a chance to read it yet but it looks interesting. Enjoy!