Automobiles became an integral part of U.S. culture in the 1920s. There
were about 3 million miles of road in the nation at the start of the
decade, but only 36,000 of those miles were paved. As more and more
cars and trucks used the roads, it became clear that the dirt paths originally built for horses were not going to serve the needs of Americans with
vehicles.
To help create and maintain interstate highways, the Federal
Highway Act was passed in 1921. The law provided federal funding for
the highway system. It was agreed that highways running east to west
would be labeled with even numbers, and those running north to south
with odd numbers.
More than 10,000 miles of road were being paved annually by 1929,
making traveling easier than ever. Family vacations became popular and
led to the establishment of “car camps”—early motels that offered bathrooms facilities and tents for weary travelers. Along with these camps
came roadside diners and gas stations.
In 1943, the National Interregional Highway Committee recommended a 39,000-mile interregional highway system, with a focus on
how such a transportation network would influence urban development.
The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1944 authorized a 40,000-mile interstate highway system connecting major metropolitan areas and industrial centers. Construction was slow, as funding was scarce at the end of World War II (1939–45) and states were in no hurry to divert funds from
other projects. The 1952 Federal-Aid Highway Act was the first law to
specifically designate federal funds for highway construction. Under the
act, a total of $25 million would go to the states if they would match those
funds equally. By 1953, states had constructed nearly 20 percent of the
designated interstate highway system. Little of it was of suitable quality.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969; served 1953–61)
liked the idea of an interstate highway system. In 1954, Congress passed
another Federal-Aid Highway Act, this time authorizing $175 million for
a program that would have the federal government funding 60 percent
and the states funding 40 percent. When that still did not provide adequate funding for the roads, Congress passed the Highway Act in 1956.
The 1956 act called for a thirteen-year project that would result in a
40,300-mile national highway system. Ninety percent of the cost would
come from the federal government, and individual states would be responsible for maintenance costs of their sections of the highways. To
avoid amassing huge debts, Congress created a pay-as-you-go program.
Taxes on gasoline and on truck use, including tire and equipment sales,
established the basis for funding. These taxes went directly to the government and were reimbursed through consumers’ purchases the next year.
The tax revenue raised more than enough for the federal portion of construction expenses each year.
The Highway Act provided more than $1 billion to begin highway
construction and was considered one of the greatest public works programs in American history. By the mid-1990s, more than 40,000 miles
of the interstate system had been built at a cost of $137 billion. The system covers all fifty states as well as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.