Eisenhower's 'autobahn' at 50

Christian Science Monitor ^ | June 28, 2006 | Editorial

[Inspectorette]

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

Could it be because The Big Three (Ford, GM, Chrysler) bribed, er, lobbied Congress more effectively to promote the highway system? (You could probably throw in U.S. Steel, along with Goodyear, B. F. Goodrich, etc.)

[doctor noe]

"...the original name was the Interstate Defense Highway System, and it was justified on defense grounds."

This is precisely why the Interstate system was proposed...for defense purposes, so that we could easily move our forces across the continent in the event of an invasion.

[Terpfen]

Were there an internet 60 years ago, we would've found out about the circumstances of Falaise, Ardennes, and the general stalemate of autumn 1944 much sooner.

So, you're right.

[HIDEK6]

60 years ago it was 1946.

[Graybeard58]

so that we could easily move our forces across the continent in the event of an invasion.

We are being invaded.

[PsyOp]

Quotations about cars and those who love them (or hate them).

Movie/TV Quotes About Cars and Driving....

[Freeper]

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

The original plan was to only have 7 roads - - - - three east - west and four north south. The Isystem is required to have one out of every five miles to be straight so that in a time of war we may have airports taken out but we would be able to use the Isystem as runways.
They did the same thing in Switzerland and originally used rubber poles as dividers of the opposite lanes so they could be pulled up and the road used as runways for aircraft.

[oyez]

As the world's largest public-works project, the Interstate fully transformed Americans into a car-centric, oil-guzzling, and pollution-spewing people.

I stopped reading right there. The writer killed the article. So much for an objective piece.

[RS]

Bet the last 1% cost half that total.

[futurekentuckylawyer]

Finished last year?

Then why are there still signs along the Cumberland/Western Kentucky Parkway in KY that say "Future Home of I-66"?

[Freeper]

. . . . and in the beginning the novelty of the Isystem was such that familys in Penn would drive out and park in the 12-20 foot medians on Sunday afternoon and have a picnic lunch . . . . checkered table cloth on the ground and everything.

[Terpfen]

Yes, I know. Finding out about the events I described took decades.

[Cincinatus]

As the world's largest public-works project, the Interstate fully transformed Americans into a car-centric, oil-guzzling, and pollution-spewing people.

And created unprecedented personal freedom of movement and wealth.

But the hoi polloi aren't supposed to have such; they should just humbly submit to the ideas and notions of their betters, like editorial writers.

[ansel12]

How many of you remember the massive imminent domain battles it caused?

It seems like my childhood was filled with stories of little old ladies or old men holding off the bulldozers with a shotgun.

If my memory is correct there was a sympathetic tone to the press coverage then, of these individuals, we knew they had to go, but we were respectful of their stubbornness and old fashioned property beliefs, and regretful of what we had to impose on them.

[billbears]

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.

Or the fact that it could have been done by private industry much cheaper. What was one of Eisenhower's ridiculous claims? To transport the military more quickly? Have to hand it to politicians of both stripes. Looking for a way to waste taxpayer dollars tie it to defense or some other form of nationalism. Heck, I'm suprised we've never been told the boondoggle International Space Station was for collecting intelligence for a possible invasion from Neptune...

[ElkGroveDan]

I spent much of my young adult years just zipping around the Interstate system soaking up this great nation's beautiful countryside.

I can't find the words to express what a wonder it is to be able to zip from state to state, this way or that on a whim. Those experiences helped me build a great love for America and her people far more than I could have passing my time in one city and commuting 9-5, like I do now.

The liberating freedom created by the interstate highway system is by far the greatest gift we have given ourselves as a nation.

[camas]

i believe FDR had more to do with killing the railroads then the highways did

[Abathar]

I was thinking the same thing, we have been given notice that when I-69 comes through our town I have to give up my business building to it.

[billbears]

The liberating freedom created by the interstate highway system is by far the greatest gift we have given ourselves as a nation.

Not sure how you can call giving the opening for the federal government to intervene into what are clearly state issues (drinking age, seat belt laws, etc) as a 'gift'. On top of that having to pay and repay for shoddy workmanship done half ass by construction crews that know they're working off the government's dime. Gift? More like yet another curse laid upon us by the national government

[Inspectorette]

I definitely agree with you that the Interstate system is liberating - if you're in a hurry to get from Point A to Point B.

Having said that, we've driven the I-5 from San Diego all the way to Blaine, Washington, and with some exceptions, notably the magnificient Siskiyou Mountains, it's dull and boring.

When we have the time, we much prefer to take Highway 1 and US-101 so as to enjoy the gorgeous California and Oregon coasts.

I also remember back in the Fifties before the Mass. Turnpike and New York Thruway were built, taking the old Route 20 through small-town America from Massachusetts to Indiana. It was a simpler and slower time.

(Maybe I just want to slow the clock now that I'm getting old ;-)