America’s Historic Roads
Puzzle 75 · Building and Remembering the Network · Page 105 in print
The Interstate Highway Act
The 1956 highway legislation provided a federal share of ninety percent for Interstate construction. Revenue from the federal gasoline tax flowed into a Highway Trust Fund to support the program.
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The words
Al Gore
Senator Al Gore Sr., who chaired road hearings in 1955.
Ben West
Nashville mayor who testified about urban road needs.
Civil Defense
Protection and evacuation planning used to justify the network.
Commerce
Trade expanded by greater highway mobility.
Displacement
Loss of homes or businesses along new urban highway routes.
Excise Taxes
Taxes on highway-related products considered for road funding.
Gasoline Tax
Fuel levy that helped finance Interstate construction.
National Archives: Ike’s Interstates at 50 (opens a new tab)
Lake George
New York setting of the governors’ conference.
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Lucius Clay
Retired general who chaired the highway study panel.
National Archives: Ike’s Interstates at 50 (opens a new tab)
Richard Nixon
Vice president who delivered the highway proposal.
National Archives: Ike’s Interstates at 50 (opens a new tab)
Road Standards
Uniform design requirements addressed in the legislation.
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Suburbs
Outlying communities whose growth accompanied highway expansion.
Traffic Jams
Congestion the proposed network was meant to reduce.
National Archives: Ike’s Interstates at 50 (opens a new tab)
Trust Fund
Dedicated highway fund receiving federal fuel-tax revenue.
National Archives: Ike’s Interstates at 50 (opens a new tab)
Wage Rates
Pay standards addressed in the legislation.
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Sources
- Original Intent: Purpose of the Interstate System, 1954–1956Federal Highway Administration
- National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (1956)National Archives
- Ike’s Interstates at 50National Archives