Interesting new book, reviewed by Elliott Brack: ELLIOTT BRACKS PERSPECTIVE Father of modern highway system may surprise you By ELLIOTT BRACK Editor and publisher GwinnettForum | permalink JAN. 17, 2014 -- Ask about anyone who started the Interstate highway system in the United States, and they will tell you, Dwight Eisenhower. After all, thats what the many signs along the transcontinental highway say, dont they? Brack After all, one national website says: The Federal Highway Administration invites you to explore this Web site devoted to the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways. From the start on June 29, 1956, the Eisenhower Interstate System has been known as the Greatest Public Works Project in History. On this Web site, you will find information about the history of the Eisenhower Interstate System and how it affects each of our lives daily, not just as a means of travel, but as a part of our culture and the American way of life. The not-always-reliable Wikipedia adds: The network has since been extended, and as of 2010, it had a total length of 47,182 miles, making it the worlds second longest after Chinas. As of 2010, about one- quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country use the Interstate system. The cost of construction has been estimated at $425 billion (in 2006 dollars). But InfoPlease gives even more information of a slightly different nature: The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1938 was the first serious attempt to develop a national roadway system. Under the auspices of the Bureau of Public Roads, the goal of this act was to study the feasibility of a toll-financed system of three east-west and three north-south superhighways. From this study, officials found out this system could not be self-supporting. They advocated for a 26,700-mile network instead. Congress passed further legislation in the form of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944. The act chartered a National System of Interstate Highways and expanded the network to 40,000 miles. Soon state highway agencies and the Department of Defense planned nationwide routes. No specific funds were authorized for construction, however, making progress slow. • Read more: Interstate History: origin and creation of the American highway So the official sites say Eisenhower is the father of the Interstates. But remember: Those signs were erected when Republicans controlled the Congress. The identity of the person behind the Interstates may surprise you, that is, according to English author ( and now American citizen) Simon Winchester. In his book, The Men Who United the States, Winchester argues that the lowly official behind the modern highway system was an Iowa engineer by the name of Thomas McDonald, working in concert with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And the year was 1937. McDonald graduated in engineering from Iowa State, and on graduation was picked to head a state commission to study the states roads. He soon paved 500 of the 1,000 miles of highways in Iowa, and got notice from Washington. McDonald In 1919, McDonald was picked to head the Bureau of Public Roads, a post he would hold for 34 years. He designated federal numbers for highways across state lines, and produced a prodigious road paving program, financed by the federal government. Winchester says that eventually McDonald and Roosevelt met to discuss major highway improvements to meet the increasing traffic. The president...picked up a crayon and drew six broad lines on the map. Three crossed the country coast to coast and three more ran up and down...border to border. That was in 1937, and it would be nearly 20 years later before real Interstate road- building would begin. Granted, General Eisenhower recognized the need for the improved major roadways, and had recognized this even in 1919. But the real early original idea was done by an almost forgotten Iowa road builder, working with FDR.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 14:26:50 +0000
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