The first digit of a three-digit interstate tips you off to its purpose. Paul metro area the other is I-35E and I-35W, which move through Dallas and Fort Worth, respectively. One is I-35E and I-35W in Minneapolis-St. Just two interstates split as they move through major cities.
For example, I-99 didn't receive its interstate designation until 1998, and it lies west of I-95 in eastern Pennsylvania. There are some rare exceptions to this pattern, in cases where stretches of road were added after the first framework was already in place. The easternmost interstate is I-95, running on the East Coast, from Houlton, Maine, to Miami. There are now 46,876 miles (75,439 kilometers) of roadway with the interstate designation.Ĭonstruction began in 1956 in Missouri on what's now named I-70, but the system as a whole wasn't completed until 1992, when crews finished a devilishly difficult stretch in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado, where you'll find 40 bridges and viaducts on a single 12-mile (19-kilometer) stretch.įor north-south interstates, numbering begins in the west, starting with I-5, parallel to the West Coast. With no at-grade crossings (that is, intersections), the system used overpasses and underpasses to allow for seamless, stop-free, high-speed travel. President Eisenhower had served as the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces during World War II in Europe, and he'd witnessed the importance of Germany's Autobahn network, which allowed for speedy transportation throughout the country.Īnother, more ominous selling point? The quick evacuation of cities that suffered potential atomic attacks.Īnd of course, the system was touted as a way for all Americans to travel with fewer traffic jams and more efficient routes. One of the main purposes of the interstate system was national defense. It authorized the construction of about 41,000 miles (65,983 kilometers) of highways, stretching across the country from east to west and north to south. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, and the project was approved by Congress through the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956. The formal name for these roadways is The Dwight D.
But for starters, let's find out how the Interstate Highway System began.
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