Up Front

Interstate highway system salute

At a time when hyperbole is par for the course, it’s easy to overstate the significance of events. Such is not the case with the development of the U.S. interstate highway system, clearly one of the most important events of the last half-century in terms of its impact on life as we know it. (See “Consider This” on page 36.)

When President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act on June 29, 1956 that created the nation’s interstate highway system, it’s doubtful that even Ike fully understood the magnitude of the moment. At the time, Eisenhower—the leading proponent of a network of highways connecting the country—was recovering from surgery at Walter Reed Hospital. The High-way Act was one in a stack of bills awaiting his signature. No cameras rolled. No politicians pontificated.

Yet, 50 years later, it’s hard to point to another piece of legislation that has had more far-reaching impact on Americans. The bill literally changed the way people lived by inadvertently creating suburban sprawl and daily commutes through the miracle of the interstate highway system.

More importantly from the trucking industry’s standpoint, the interstate highway system made it faster and cheaper to transport goods around the nation. That’s a development we can all celebrate.