What is the history of the interstate?

Question

and how is eisenower involed.

Answer 1

Eiesenhower was presdient when he signed the Federal Highway Act of 1956 that began the interstate highway system. Orgianally is was for national defense purposes, so people could evacuate cities quickly in case of an attack. But eventually the FHA of 1956 changed completely the way we lived. It help bring about the emergence of suburbs, suburban shopping malls, helped move jobs out to the suburbs, contributed significantly to the decline of many american cities and their downtown business districts. It viturally killed most rail transit in the US, both inner city and intra city rail transit. It allowed people to move farther and farther away from the city while still working in the city.

I could go on forever about the effects of the interstate highway system but that's probably more infor than you are looking for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_highway

wikipedia is a decent website to get some general information about.

Answer 2

The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly called the Interstate Highway System, is a network of freeways (also called expressways) in the United States. The Interstate Highway System is a separate system within the larger National Highway System. The entire system, as of 2004, had a total length of 46,837 miles (75,376 km) [1].

While Interstate Highways usually receive substantial federal funding and comply with federal standards, they are owned, built, and operated by the states in which they are located. The only exception is the federally owned Woodrow Wilson Bridge on the Capital Beltway (I-95/I-495).

Interstate Highways in the 48 contiguous states
A rural stretch of Interstate 5 in California, with two lanes in each direction separated by a large grassy median, and with cross-traffic limited to overpasses and underpasses.The system serves all major U.S. cities. Unlike counterparts in most other industrialized countries, many Interstates pass through downtown areas. This has helped to facilitate the emergence of automobile-oriented postwar suburban development patterns, a phenomenon pejoratively named urban sprawl.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_highway

Answer 3

The interstate highway system was modeled after Germany's Autobahn.
Eisenhower from his position as Supreme Commander of all Allied forces in Europe during WW2 had seen first- hand how the Germans could rapidly move men and materials long distances.
When he became President he created the interstate highway system to accomplish a similar goal.
Sadly the one time the US was attacked- by a killer called Katrina- political ineptitude prevented the interstate highway system from fulfilling it's intended purpose.

Answer 4

Most of the US interstate system was built during the 50's and early 60's as a way to move troops and supplies swiftly around the US in case of a foreign occupation, or even a nuclear attack. It was a time they called the "cold war" which meant we built up an arsenal and so did the Soviet Union. The concept of 'mutually assured mass destruction' kept anyone from using those missiles, thankfully.