Real-life Case Study: Government and the Interstate Highway System
Government
The United States did not always have a good network of roads. In the 19th century, when horse-drawn vehicles were dominant, almost all roads were unpaved. Many became rutted and uneven, making travel difficult, slow, and uncomfortable. The push to build a network of smoother roads began in the 1880s—through the efforts of a bicycle club.
President Dwight Eisenhower signs H.R. 8127, known as the Highway Bill, May 06, 1954.
Early Efforts In 1886, a bicycling craze was sweeping the nation. Many American cyclists belonged to the League of American Wheelmen, an organization that wanted smoother roads for cycling. This club was the first to convince Congress to consider building a national highway system. As motor vehicles later became more common, automobile manufacturers, road builders, and gasoline companies took up the crusade for better roads.
State Highways By the early 1900s, Congress began to provide funding to the states to build highways. Each state, however, focused on building highways within its own borders with its own numbering and sign systems—and the highways did not always connect at state borders.
Federal Highways In 1921, the Federal Highway Act got the U.S. government directly involved in highway construction by setting up a system of major highways that connected from state to state, so that drivers could travel between states without ever having to leave a high-speed highway. The government then created a simple system of numbering and marking these interstate highways, to make navigating the system easy. In the 1950s, the Cold War raised concerns about the military's ability to defend the country with existing roads. In 1956, the Federal Aid-Highway Act authorized the construction of 41,000 miles of highways to tie the nation together, creating the interstate highway system we know today.
Today, America's interstate highway system is one of the most important features of the country's infrastructure. It allows people and goods to travel quickly from one part of the country to another, reducing transportation costs and speeding up commerce.
Applying Economic Ideas
- Why was it inefficient to leave highway construction to individual states?
- Why do you think it took Congress so long to authorize funds for highway construction?
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