4 TR NEWS 244 MAY–JUNE 2006 Defense Highways. System ofInterstateand Options fortheNational Project PanelonFuture Research Program Cooperative Highway of theNational History Committeeand ber oftheTransportation Houghton. Heisamem- Technological University, Sciences atMichigan Department ofSocial of History andchairsthe The authorisProfessor EERTN H INTERSTATE’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY THE CELEBRATING O but instructive. System iscomplicated behind theInterstateHighway things wouldturnout.Tracing thehistoricalprocess selecting amongthealternativesdidnotknowhow span ofalmost20years.Thosewhowere involvedin made bymanyindividualsandorganizations overa States. the United onward overhowtopayforhighwayconstructionin provoked contentiousdebatesfrom thelate1940s minated aprocess thatbeganinthe1930sand signature cul- state Highwaysystem.Eisenhower’s bill, however, wasnotthebeginningofInter- U.S.-numbered system. that linkedcitiesandlarger townsand formed the roads highways comprised 3percent ofthenation’s each stateselectedforitsshare offederal aid.Primary roads andsecondary limited mileageofprimary that “sevenpercent system,”the focused onthenation’s level. After1921,thesejointstate andfederalefforts technical andadministrativecapacityatthestate esteemedreputation. contributed totheagency’s Donald, BPRchieffrom 1919to1953,shared inand aspectofhighwayconstruction. ThomasH.Mac- every tation astheunrivaledsource oftechnical expertise on Federal HighwayAdministration—hasenjoyedarepu- first astheBureau ofPublicRoads(BPR)andnowasthe that endures today. the states,resulting inthefederal-statepartnership highway program shared authorityandfundingwith tem grounded infederalism.Thisfederal-aid way networkin1916,creating anadministrativesys- Congress firstprovided fundsforanationalhigh- Grounded inFederalism BRUCE E.SEELY Process the Historical Tracing TO BE CAME INTERSTATESYSTEM HOW THE The 1956legislationwastheproduct ofchoices MacDonald andBPRfostered thedevelopmentof The federalagencythathasoverseenthisprogram— Interstate andDefenseHighways.This System of the fundingofNational Eisenhower signedabillauthorizing n June29,1956,President DwightD. continued despitetheDepression, asattestedbya highway system.TheAmericanfascinationwithcars to respond toalternativeconceptionsofthenation’s cated duringthe1930sandallowedBPRengineers urging.western stateshadorganized atBPR’s surveys motorists’ desires andtravelbehavior. By1930,11 tounderstand use origin–destinationsurveys they were countingvehiclesandurging thestatesto benefits ofundamagedfreight shipments,butsoon planners emphasizedthevalueoftimesavedand developed aplanningmethodology. Initiallythe County, Illinois,engineersandeconomistsslowly most acutewassecondary. of where thedemandforroad improvements was the economicvalueofbetterroads; gainingasense concernwasdetermining and limited—theirprimary construction. Theiroutlook,however, wasnarrow engineers begandevelopingapproaches toplanroad to improve thisbasicruralroad network,federal Even asBPRandstatehighwaydepartments worked Planning Methodology framework forstatewide highwayplanningsurveys. the BPRDivisionofInformationand createdthe century.” Hisdeputy, H.S.Fairbank( towering figureofroadtransportation inthe20th (BPR) Chieffrom1919to1953,has beencalled“the Thomas H.MacDonald( Highway planningefforts becamemore sophisti- Beginning in1922Cleveland,Ohio,andCook left ), BureauofPublicRoads right

), headedup

: FHWA : S OURCE TR NEWS 244 MAY–JUNE 2006 5 Road building—here, I War with a World surplus, chain-driven distributor—was a frequent work-relief project during the Great Depression.

PHOTO: AASHTO The first Transcontinental Motor The first Transcontinental At Ease. Toll Roads and Free Toll PAST PRELUDE— Army consisted of 81 motorized Convoy of 1919 from east to crossed the United States vehicles that world record pace, traveling west. The convoy set a San D.C., to 3,251 miles from Washington, 5 days behind schedule. Francisco in 62 days, only 6 miles per hour, The average speed was The of 58 miles per day. progressing an average U.S. 30, now Highway, convoy followed the Lincoln miles of dirt roads, wheel which included 1,800 mountain trails. Lt. Col. paths, desert sands, and participated in the convoy Dwight D. Eisenhower “The old convoy…started Corps observer. as a Tank two-lane highways, but me thinking about good, the wisdom of broader Germany…made me see Eisenhower wrote in his ribbons across the land,” 1967 memoir,

SOURCE: DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER LIBRARY refuted the toll financing plan and the routes refuted From these data, BPR concluded that toll-based these data, BPR concluded From Fairbank’s a map for a 26,000-mile prepared staff funds be that more This finding led BPR to urge Intellectual Foundation D. Roosevelt, a road Franklin In 1937, President enthusiast, asked BPR to study the congressional became a landmark document The report proposals. in American highway history. Roads required every to implement a statewide highway state required planning survey using Fairbank’s manuals to record authorized use of federal- comparable data. Congress aid funds for the surveys, and by 1938, the surveys views of highway use. generating detailed were press- not only would fail to address superhighways toll but would generate insufficient needs ing traffic the bonds. to pay off revenue system that could be constructed under federal-aid roads. mechanisms, earning the designation of free The highway planning survey data indicated that the in and near cities. highway needs were most pressing The idea did not appeal to allocated to urban roads. proposed in the various bills but was more charita- bills but was more in the various proposed high- ble to the concept of a system of high-standard nation’s had to fit the however, ways. Those roads, to waste. too scarce were highway needs—resources Fairbank tested the approach in Michigan, where Fairbank tested the approach Several congressmen were attracted by the con- were Several congressmen The goal was to put people to work, not to meet most federal and state highway Not surprisingly, MacDonald’s deputy, H. sys- S. Fairbank, proposed MacDonald’s deputy, data and designed tematic ways of collecting traffic the first forms. IBM produced reporting standard automatic vehicle counters. had established 598 traffic the Highway Department counting stations by 1929. Beginning in 1936, BPR Counting Traffic Road projects dominated work-relief efforts. But some efforts. work-relief dominated Road projects kind of road. on a different spending money favored autobahns, launched on the German The vision drew an by Hitler in 1933 to employ workers and promote captured German roads The automobile culture. attention in the United among States, especially builders. highway engineers and road as a cept of a national system of advanced highways Most of the plans—such as one measure. work-relief J. Buell advanced by Representative Snyder of Penn- east–west high- sylvania in 1938—called for three to be paid for roads ways and five or six north–south by user tolls. by bonds that would be retired needs. specific traffic Several plans envisioned a the authority that would undertake national road construction. To disliked these plans and their premises. officials demands traffic that failed to meet real them, roads wasteful. The next generation of BPR planning were an enormous volume of data to activities provided this argument. support Envisioning a National System steady increase in gasoline tax receipts, the only tax receipts, in gasoline steady increase decline dur- that did not source state-level revenue ing the decade. 6 TR NEWS 244 MAY–JUNE 2006 roadways. traffic onmultilevel developments withurban also projectedhigh-rise highway interchanges,it complicated high-speed dramatic and World’s Fair featured exhibit atthe1939 Geddes’ Futurama Although NormanBel changed, butnotthedataanalysis. alter thatsectionofthereport; theintroduction was of urbanhighways.ThePresident directed BPRto Roosevelt, however, whofeared theenormouscosts Deal planner. Alabama BibbGraves;andRexford Tugwell, aNew highway engineerC.H.Purcell; formergovernorof State HighwayOfficials; California Association of missioner ofMichiganandpresident oftheAmerican Bartholomew; G. Donald Kennedy, highwaycom- Resources PlanningBoard; cityplannerHarland who hadjustfinishedchairingtheNational report—the committeeincludedFrederic Delano, secretary—and authorofthe eventuallyprimary Chaired by MacDonaldwithFairbankascommittee Interregional Committee explore details more thoroughly. a NationalInterregional HighwayCommitteeto of excitement generatedbythefairandrelease asm forBelGeddes’conceptionandactedonthe level ofhighways. that theFuturamainspired publicsupport foranew ertheless, statehighwayengineersacknowledged more careful engineeringapproach.with BPR’s Nev- an interloperanddismissivelycontrastedhisdesigns miles-per-hour speeds. Futurama showed12-lanesuperhighways and120- in NewYork. mostpopularexhibit, Perhaps thefair’s pavilionatthe1939–1940World’s Fair eral Motors’s Geddes’ fancifulprojection of1960sroads forGen- with anotherroad visionofthetime,NormanBel This response helpsexplainthepopularfascination Futurama Effect pay apremium forspeedandconvenience. extension oftheroad, demonstratingawillingnessto Motorists andtruckersalmostimmediatelyurged failure, butthetollreceipts exceededexpectations. experts predicted theproject wouldprove afinancial near Pittsburgh. pike from Carlisle,nearHarrisburg, westtoIrwin, vania in1939beganconstructingamodernturn- Public Works Administration,officials inPennsyl- during thelate1930s.Backedbyloansfrom the circulating alternativemodelsforhighwayprojects Individual membersofCongress were notalone in Models Alternative tual foundationfortheInterstatesystem. Free Roads Toll RoadsandFree Roads President Roosevelt shared the public’s enthusi- President Rooseveltshared thepublic’s BPR andMacDonalddisparagedBelGeddesas Echoing theirusualanalysisoftollhighways,BPR , released in1939,provided theintellec- . In1941,heappointed Toll Roadsand Interstate roads inandaround cities. routes, postponingthedesignationof5,200miles had released amapofthebasiclocationrural BPR engineersandstatehighwaydepartment leaders specifically designatedforthenewroads, by1947 Although thelegislationfailedtoprovide funds primary, secondary, andruralfederal-aidsystems. System of40,000milestotheexisting state Highway eral-Aid HighwayActof1944,whichaddedanInter- 1944report shapedtheFed- 75:25. Thecommittee’s alter thefederal-aidmatchingratiofrom 50:50to to about48,400miles. road inlengthfrom systemscenariosvarying 34,000 mation from andlaidoutthree theplanningsurveys committee assembledanenormousamountofinfor- the warmightbringareturn totheDepression. The the committeewasmotivatedbyfearsthatendof general problem oflimited statefinancespersisted. lion—for theInterstatenetwork in1952,butthe for more funds.Congress addedapittance—$25mil- secondary, urban,andinterstatenetworksallargued ment onhowtoproceed. Proponents ofruraland hearings in1948,1950,and1952 produced noagree- instead debatedaboutroad funding.Contentious the Korean conflictslowedconstructionprograms. and shortages ofsomeroad-building materialsduring was allthestatescouldmatch.Thepostwarinflation 1950, Congress decidedthat$450millionperyear Interstates wouldnothavehelped,andin1949 pending the1949appropriation. More moneyfor $500 millioninlate1947—enoughtojustifysus- volume ofunspentfederal-aidallocationsreached match fortheiradditionalfederal-aiddollars,andthe money wasnottheanswerformanystates. priations in1944to$500millionperyear, butmore Congress hadincreased thesizeoffederal-aidappro- lack ofdesignatedfundsforInterstateconstruction. project. Theproblem wentmuchdeeperthanthe Coasts couldstatesafford tolaunchanInterstate war togetacargosomeplace.” States iswaitingforthecloseof one intheUnited 1949. AsMacDonaldhadpredicted in1944,“Every- from 31millionto44.7between1945and 1946 through 1952,andvehicleregistrations jumped numbers ofvehicle-mileswere postedeachyearfrom chagrin ofpoliticians,motorists,andtruckers.Record but postwarroad constructionstarted slowly, tothe With theendofwar, traffic andtravelincreased, Postwar Traffic Boom Postwar worriesalsoprompted thesuggestionto The warinitiallyslowedtheirwork,butby1943 Under pressure toaddress the problem, Congress Many statesstruggledtoprovide therequired 50:50 Yet onlyinisolatedspotsontheEastorWest S Congress was stymied by the magnitude of the prob- OURCE lem and by the costs of the answers. : P ENNSYLVANIA States Take Action During this stalemate, a handful of states with strong DOT highway departments attempted to attack the prob- lem on their own. California worked on Los Ange- les freeways; Robert Moses expanded the Long Island parkways; officials in Chicago and Detroit launched urban expressways. North Carolina was typical of many states that attempted to improve interstate routes using primary road funds. Several Eastern and Midwestern states emulated Pennsylvania and created toll-financed rural toll roads. Maine acted first, followed in rapid succession by New Hampshire, Maryland, West Vir- ginia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Jersey, New structed by the federal government, not under fed- Cars line up at the Blue York, Indiana, and Illinois. eral-aid principles, because the Interstates had Mountain Interchange at By October 1953, 762 route miles of toll highways national importance and because efficiencies could the opening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, were open, with another 1,100 miles under con- be achieved. October 1, 1940. Billed as struction in 11 states. These roads improved service The advisers wanted the roads to be self-liquidat- the “road of the future,” for long-distance travelers but did not address ing, collecting tolls to repay bonds. Toll receipts from the turnpike has been municipal problems. State planners deliberately heavily used routes would offset losses elsewhere; incorporated into routed the high-speed highways around, not into, such transfers were not possible under the federal-aid Interstates 70 and 76. urban areas. principle. As BPR had predicted, some roads did not pay for The economists hoped to use highway construc- themselves—for example, in West Virginia and Okla- tion as a counter-cyclical economic tool, subordi- homa. In short, toll roads were not a universal solu- nating the road program to the state of the economy. tion for building better highways for the increasing They wanted Interstate roads to bypass, not enter, numbers of drivers. cities. Like Roosevelt, Eisenhower and his aides feared the costs of urban road construction. The Administration Responds The answers had to come from the political arena, New Rationale and President Eisenhower deserves the credit for In 1954, Congress had increased road appropriations starting that process. In his memoirs, Eisenhower to $875 million, with $175 million for Interstate reported a sense of urgency for several reasons, highways, but the structural financial problems including the wave of traffic. The 10 million new remained. In July, Eisenhower arranged to deliver a vehicles registered between 1952 and 1955 more speech to the governors but was unable to make it than equaled the total number of vehicles in Britain because of a death in the family; Vice President and France. At the same time, governors were press- Richard Nixon substituted. The speech did not cover ing for changes, such as removing the federal gas tax all of the administration’s discussions but created a so that states could gain revenue. stir by proposing to spend $5 billion a year for 10 S

Although the Korean conflict dominated their OURCE

agenda, Eisenhower’s domestic staff started studying : AASHTO the highway problem in late 1953 and early 1954. Treasury Secretary George M. Humphrey, Undersec- TR NEWS 244 MAY–JUNE 2006 retary of Commerce for Transportation Robert Mur- ray, and Commerce Secretary Sinclair Weeks were involved, but Arthur Burns, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, was most influential in shaping these studies. General John Bragdon was assigned to explore highway plans based on premises different from those of the federal-aid system. The presidential advisers believed that Interstate roads should be con- 7 8 TR NEWS 244 MAY–JUNE 2006 the proposedsystem. to apagewithmapof Beck. Eisenhowerpoints William Roberts,andDave Steve Bechtel,SloanColt, D. Clay, FrankTurner, 1955: ( network, January11, interstate highway financing anational recommendations on their reportand President Eisenhowerwith Committee present Members oftheClay left toright ) Lucius Interstate program thatwould cost$25billionover that hadasitscenterpieceafederally constructed of whichroads tobuildandhowpay forthem. words, thecommitteefacedcontinuing problem pressed toretain thefederal-aidapproach. Inother groupsory from the highwaycommunitythat time supporter ofMacDonald,waspart ofanadvi- Safety Foundation,aswellaclosefriendandlong- mobile ChamberofCommerce andtheAutomotive example, PykeJohnson,formerdirector oftheAuto- goals.For endorse someoftheadministration’s officials androad supporters were unwillingto ered input from allconcernedparties. Mosthighway The committeequicklyreviewed optionsandgath- Continuing Problems retary, andBPRprovided staff support. cis Turner, aBPRengineer, wasnamedexecutivesec- Colt, andAllisChalmersCEOWilliam Roberts. Fran- President DaveBeck,Bankers’TrustSloan President Stephen Bechtel,TeamstersFrancisco engineer Union colleague LuciusClay.San Othermembersincluded way Program, chaired byformergeneralandwartime CommitteeonaNationalHigh- appointed anAdvisory but itaddedpoliticalmomentum. states hadnoeffect ontheroads’ designorlocation, the ColdWar. ThisnewrationaleforurbanInter- erful publicrelations appealduringtheearlyyearsof cations oftheseroads, raisinganargument withpow- between cities. years onhighways,mostlyforInterstateroutes Clay’s group produced areportClay’s 1955 byJanuary After thewell-received speech,Eisenhower The speechalsoalludedtothecivildefenseimpli- government. gram withtheirphilosophicalabhorrence ofbig lenge ofreconciling the staggeringcostofthepro- Republicans alsohadissues,includingthechal- justbeforevictory apresidential electionyear. But Senate, were noteagertogiveEisenhoweramajor partisan politics.Democrats,whocontrolled the hower andtheClayCommitteeproposed. changing thefederal-aidhighwayprogram asEisen- ers inbothparties proved evenmore resistant to warded thereport toCongress inlateFebruary, lead- ideas.ButwhenEisenhowerfor- administration’s failure toendorseallthe thinking forthecommittee’s urban roads. so-called ABCsystemofprimary, secondary, and ity. Thefederal-aidprogram wastocontinueforthe asthetechnicalauthor- finances, withBPRserving ation ofaNationalHighwayAuthoritytodealwith 10 years,paidforbybondsandtolls.Theyurged cre- prospects foraroad billlookedbrighter, mainly Yet asthelegislativeseason dawnedfor1956,the Brighter Prospects road supporters dashed. positive note,1955endedwith thehopesofmany the newroads. Althoughtheyearhadstarted ona tions, tire producers, andotherswhowere topayfor opposition from theoilindustry, truckingassocia- to partisan challenges,thebillsreceived adamant Clay billsuffered anevenworsedefeat.Inaddition committee chairshaddonesincethe1910s. relying onfederalagencyexpertise asHouseRoads Turneron theassistanceofBPR’s indraftingthebill, posed shiftingthematchingratioto90:10.Hedrew dedicated informallytotheproject. Fallonalsopro- increased usertaxes—especiallyongasoline—tobe System ofInterstateandDefenseHighways,with port, soheintroduced abilltocreate theNational plancould winsup- alsodoubtedClay’s of Maryland plan andtheneasilypassedtheGore billinMay1955. Senate rejectedrequirement theClay of75:25.The Interstate construction,withanadjustedmatching posed adding$10billiontothefederal-aidprogram for refused tosupport abondfinancingplan,Gore pro- Virginia, powerful chairoftheFinanceCommittee, ByrdSenator Harry of highway legislation.Because from theHouse,whichbyprecedent firstconsidered nessee chosenottowaitfortheClaybillemerge Senator Albert Gore ofTen-Amid theseconcerns, Legislative Proposals Several factorswere atplay, includingtraditional “horseandbuggy” Bragdon bitterlyblamedBPR’s Fallon’s billfailed towinamajority,Fallon’s althoughthe On theHouseside,Representative George Fallon TR NEWS 244 MAY–JUNE 2006 9 Bragdon was not completely wrong in blaming not completely wrong Bragdon was were the engineers’ efforts The consequences of of this action Among the most unexpected results On August 2, 1956, Missouri became the first state to award a contract with the new the Missouri State Interstate construction funding. Of three contracts signed that day, Highway Commission first authorized a contract for work on U.S. Route 66—now Interstate 44—in Laclede County; the other contracts were for work on U.S. 40—now St. Louis and for another section of the highway Expressway—in I-70, the Mark Twain started August 13. Work in St. Charles County. BPR for overturning the new vision crafted by Eisen- the new BPR for overturning dogged persistence, the hower appointees. Through during the that emerged engineering-based visions fruition. 1930s finally came to planned and unin- both positive and detrimental, and administrative structure tended. The funding place in 1956 advanced con- they helped put in pol- from much of the process struction by removing contentious question of itics—especially the and speed. of efficiency funding—in the interest to building of popular resistance was the emergence of cities, parks, and areas and through into roads allowed because the process scenic beauty—in part engineers little public input. This eventually caused to lose in the state and federal highway bureaucracy their position of primacy over highway construction in the United States. After 1956, highway engineers policy never again would dominate the highway scene as they had. shape an approach to road construction that reflected construction to road shape an approach the agency’s ideals. long-held BPR had been working on several technical stud- BPR had been working in the In 1956, the political discussions resumed Committee chair Hale House Appropriations The Senate debated the new bill, concerned Shaping the Approach political dis- end of a decade of rancorous the With the mas- priorities and fiscal policy, course about road began. BPR engineers construction program sive road unobtrusively guid- had played their traditional role, ing the development of highway policy by providing They had worked with the pivotal technical expertise. with the leaders of both parties, the Congressional Clay committee, and with the administration, helping ies of financing needs, toll roads, and the costs of and the toll roads, ies of financing needs, and the of Congress the requests at utility relocation 1954. This willingness to turn administration since for over to the highway engineers thorny problems confidence that the continuing reflected resolution members many elected representatives—especially the tech- committees—felt toward of the two road at BPR. The reports experts nical and nonpartisan many of the sticking points that helped remove in Congress. highway program a larger confronted House, because the Gore’sSenate had approved a revised bill. In the House, Fallon reintroduced for con- bill, calling for $24.8 billion over 13 years 40,000 struction of an Interstate system of about for these miles. The federal–state matching ratio be 90:10. The bill also included addi- would roads federal- tional funds for all other components of the network. aid road to the Boggs of Louisiana added a key provision that all new tax funding mechanism by requiring Fund. These tax go into a Highway Trust revenue would accumulate in the fund to meet revenues that assurance, the construction expenses. With House passed the bill on April 27. about the cost, but passed its version after Byrd amendments controlling successfully introduced joint the trust fund. A from expenditures worked until June 25 to House–Senate conference Eisenhower signed President an agreement. reach Reed at Walter in a room the bill without fanfare he was being treated where Army Medical Center, for ileitis. because the truckers and the tire and oil industries had and truckers and the tire because the addition, on new taxes. In their stance reconsidered on the program- its first information BPR had issued the Interstate system, urban sections of ming of the Book” with its crude the famous “Yellow releasing than 5,000 miles in metropol- outlines for more route and This added immediacy to the situation itan areas. districts could Congressional meant that many more of the legislation. effect now see the immediate