The Eisenhower Interstate System (Building America: Then and Now)

Examines the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 which resulted in the construction of more than forty thousand miles of interconnected highways across all states, discussing the history of road construction in the United states and some of the controversies.

The Eisenhower Freeway system is treated in this book as a great engineering marvel. Little is told about how the construction of freeways in the United States destroyed the railroads by undermining their freight traffic base, nor how the freeways set our Nation on a course to become the energy gluttons of the planet, consuming fossil fuels like there was no tomorrow. The book tells nothing of the self dealing that went on to win the passage of the "Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956", where a cabal of lobbyists, oil companies, road contractors, trucking companies, tire manufactures and other auto parts suppliers, community leaders, real estate speculators, and other members of the "highway gang" all combined forces to push legislation through for which they had direct and indirect personal benefit from…. this would likely be frowned upon today. The freeway system has increased our dependence on foreign oil greatly, and is a lasting legacy to Dwight Eisenhower, a 5 star general who helped win World War II with assistance through the Herculean efforts of the railroads and waterways. However, these two tranport modes were "kicked to the side" by Eisenhower because of his "admiration for the German autobahn." The US freeway system today is operating on subsidies from the US Treasury- the federal motor fuel tax has not been raised since 1993 and taxpayers are subsidizing the long haul, heavy axle trucking industry to compete with more energy efficient waterways and rails. This is an example of the worst kind of meddlesome government interference in the market place, and another example of a government program with counter-intuitive effects.