Roads
By 1912, most large cities had
decent roads, some were even
paved. Property owners were
taxed to help pay for the
improvements. Outside the
cities, however, was a very
different story. Less than ten
percent of rural roads had an
“improved” surface: gravel,
brick, shells, oiled earth, etc.
Most rural roads were little
more than muddy trails that
were impassable in bad
weather. With railroads
dominating interstate
transportation, roadways were
primarily of local interest and
considered a luxury, something
used mostly by wealthy people
in their automobiles.
Nebraska railroad crossing, 1920s
Copyright © National Council on Economic Education
Photo: Nebraska Department of Roads
President Woodrow
Wilson’s Lincoln Highway
Association Card.,1913
Lincoln Highway – The First Transcontinental Highway
As interest in automobiles grew and became affordable to more people, citizens
began to call for better roads. Carl Fisher, a manufacturer of the headlights used on
most early cars and an auto racer, dreamed of a coast‐to‐coast paved highway. With
friends from the auto industry, In 1913, Fisher established the Lincoln Highway
Association to collect private contributions for an improved highway that would be
available for use free of tolls. The Association marked out a route and funded sample
stretches of pavement called “seedling miles” to encourage local governments to
build the rest. The route was fully paved in the 1930s. Stretching from New York City
to San Francisco, it is now the same general corridor as Interstate 80.
Painting: Federal Highway Administration
Copyright © National Council on Economic Education
Membership Card: T the Smithsonian Institution
One year after the Lincoln
Highway Association was
formed; Fisher started
promoting a second highway
to connect the Midwest to the
South. The Dixie Highway is a
network of interconnected
paved roads versus a single
highway that extended from
Montreal, Canada to Miami,
Florida. Individuals,
businesses as well as local and
state governments, funded it.
Fisher believed the two
projects would demonstrate
the value of highways to the
nation’s agriculture and
business.
Dixie Highway
Copyright © National Council on Economic Education
Map: Western Kentucky University
The first highway project completed under the 1916 Federal Aid
Road Act extended 2.55 miles from Albany to Richmond, California.
At about the same time, the federal government was starting to recognize
the importance of improved roads to the national economy. In 1916,
Congress allocated millions of dollars to improving roads in rural areas.
States were asked to match these funds. The result was a highway building
boom across the nation.
Copyright © National Council on Economic Education
Painting: Federal Highway Administration
Army convoy, 1919
Even the military got involved! The U.S. Army decided to organize a convoy
of motor vehicles that would travel from Washington, DC to San Francisco
during the summer of 1919, one purpose of the trip was to highlight the
inadequacy of the nation’s roads. Take a virtual trip to learn more about the
road conditions of the time and the challenges presented to the military on
the cross‐country trip.
§
§
§
§
How many days did the trip take?
How many days do you think the trip would take today?
How many miles per hour was the convoy able to travel?
How fast do people drive today in your neighborhood? On the
highway?
Copyright © National Council on Economic Education
Photo:: Library of Congress
Army convoy, 1919
Even the military got involved! The U.S. Army decided to organize a convoy
of motor vehicles that would travel from Washington, DC to San Francisco
during the summer of 1919, one purpose of the trip was to highlight the
inadequacy of the nation’s roads. Take a virtual trip to learn more about the
road conditions of the time and the challenges presented to the military on
the cross‐country trip.
§ How many days did the trip take? 62 days
§ How many days do you think the trip would take today? About 2 days
driving nonstop
§ How many miles per hour was the convoy able to travel? 6 miles per
hour
§ How fast do people drive today in your neighborhood? On the
highway?
Copyright © National Council on Economic Education
Photo: Library of Congress
Building a concrete highway in 1930
During the 1920s and 1930s, the federal funding for improving rural roads
increased. By 1935, more than a third of rural roads were surfaced, and
many were paved with concrete and asphalt for motor traffic. Urban
improvements remained the responsibility of the states and cities.
Politicians debated and engineers studied the idea of linking America’s
cities by a system of high‐speed national highways with access limited to a
few interchange points. The system would support national defense and
economic growth. With America on the verge of joining the war in Europe,
however, the time for a massive highway program had not arrived.
Copyright © National Council on Economic Education
Photo: Federal Highway Administration
Celebrating the first project funded
by the 1956 Highway Act
Artist's conception of interstate highway
standards approved in 1945.
After World War II, many factories supplying wartime needs switched to
the production of automobiles. But roads built in the 1930's were
inadequate for the faster, wider cars of the 1950's. There was also the
number of cars on the road, nearly 50 million! Roads were widened,
straightened, and divided. But it was not enough. President Eisenhower
signed the 1956 Federal‐Aid Highway Act authorizing construction of a
highway system with uniform design that would accommodate traffic for
the next 20 years.
Copyright © National Council on Economic Education
Photos: Federal Highway Administration
Current map of the National Highway System
The system was designed for speeds of up to 70 miles per hour and to
reach every city with a population of more than 100,000. Access to the
system would be limited to interchanges identified in the original plan or
later approved by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The federal
government was to provide 90 percent of the funding, mostly from
gasoline taxes, and each state would provide the rest. Essentially
completed by 1980, this interactive map shows what the system looked
like before, during and after construction
Copyright © National Council on Economic Education