Eisenhower's 'autobahn' at 50

Christian Science Monitor ^ | June 28, 2006 | Editorial

[CondorFlight]

Very few presidents can claim to have that sort of impact on the day to day lives of Americans 50 years after they completed their work.

(And most would not be as unassuming as Eisenhower was about it)

[PAR35]

and $50 billion to build as envisioned, the 62 routes took nearly a halfcentury to finish and, in today's dollars, cost $425 billion.

So the project came in slightly under the projected cost.

Not bad, when you factor in the environmental delays and costs, the addition of routes not contemplated when the project was initiated, and political meddling in the routes.

[Cousin Eddie]

$425 billion...cheap at 10x the price. One of the best investments that the government has ever made. We would not have anywhere near the economy that we have today without the Interstate system. Kudos to Ike.

[Paleo Conservative]

BARF ALERT!

[cloud8]

Futurama '39

[weegee]

Little did he know what 46,876 miles of expressways would do.

Yes, they would give the federal government a bargaining chip into setting things like "national" drinking age...

[newgeezer]

Unless I'm mistaken, the original name was the Interstate Defense Highway System, and it was justified on defense grounds. (Back then, I guess Federal spending needed justification.)

[Terpfen]

We would not have anywhere near the economy that we have today without the Interstate system.

Transport was one of the only things about war Ike understood.

[newgeezer]

We would not have anywhere near the economy that we have today without the Interstate system.

Imagine the utopia we'd be living in if our wonderful Federal government would have done the same for our rail system.

[Aquinasfan]

The roads killed the railways. It's surprising to me that the railways couldn't effectively lobby Congress to kill the highway system.

I hate mass transit and love highways, but I can see an argument against suburban sprawl and fuel inefficiencies. I'm interested in the argument.

[Inspectorette]

Very few presidents can claim to have that sort of impact on the day to day lives of Americans 50 years after they completed their work.

Well, ten years from now, LBJ will be evilly grinning from his grave as he contemplates the impact his "Great Society" and "War on Poverty" have had on the day to day loves of law-abiding, tax-paying Americans.

[goldstategop]

Liberals hate the automobile and the freeway. I consider both a boon to American culture, empowering and liberating individuals and families like nothing else the world has seen. If you ask me, we need to get even more miles of Interstate highways built!

(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")

[HIDEK6]

the Interstate fully transformed Americans into a car-centric, oil-guzzling, and pollution-spewing people.

Uh, OK, now I get it.

[cloud8]

Futurama II (1964)

[shield]

bttt

[Mr. Jeeves]

I expect half the replies will be variations of "The Interstate Highway System created the biggest economic boom in American history" and the other half will be variations of "The Interstate Highway System let them damnyankees into my state!" ;)

[Mr. Lucky]

Too bad there wasn't an internet 60 years ago so that Freepers could have pointed out to the Supreme Allied Commander how little he knew.

[cloud8]

LA 2006

[Joe Boucher]

The interstate system is quite possibly the greatest achievement in history. Never has transportation and the exchange of goods and services been as easy, anywhere, anytime.
It allows America to move like nowhere else ever.