History of the Freeway System

The history of the freeway system in the United States is not just a story of roads; it is a story of growth as a nation and our ongoing love affair with automobiles. The highways and freeways that crisscross America are as much a part of our national consciousness as the automobile that made them necessary, and American freeways have been immortalized in movies and songs for decades.

The Early Freeways
In the early days of the automobile, roads were planned, built and maintained by local and state governments. The old roads used by horse-drawn carts were paved to create roads that were better on automobile tires, and many of these roads were widened so that drivers could get where they needed to go at high speeds. These larger roads meant for long distance automobile trips were called auto trails and were maintained by private organizations. These auto trail organizations built roads and put up signs so that travelers knew where they were going, but these organizations would often lay roads based on which towns could give them money and gave names to roads instead of numbers.

In response to the often confusing auto trails, many states began building highways to connect major cities. Wisconsin was the first state that begin numbering the roads in its freeway system in 1918, and six states in formed the New England Interstate Routes in 1922. Two Federal Highway Acts, in 1916 and 1921, gave money to state governments in order to improve their freeway systems. However, a large scale interstate freeway system was slow to develop.

The first roadway to cross the nation was the old Lincoln Highway. Known as “Main Street Across America,” the Lincoln Highway connected the east and west coasts and ran through thirteen different states, from Times Square in New York City, New York all the way to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, California. The length of the highway was first measured in 1913 at 3,389 miles, and by removing bypasses and loops, the highway shrunk to just over 3,000 miles by 1924. In 1919, President Dwight D. Eisenhower rode along the Lincoln Highway with the Army when he was an officer. Later, he would champion a new interstate highways system because of these experiences.

Numbered Highways Are Born
In 1925, with cars becoming increasingly popular and many drivers demanding easy access to different states, the US Federal government created the Joint Board on Interstate Highways (a part of the American Association of State Highway Officials). This board began developing a system for numbering the highways we know today. The numbering system was approved in 1926, and the board also developed the shield symbol for signs that is still in use today.

Over the next two decades, the American freeway system underwent a few minor changes, with some routes being absorbed by larger routes or eliminated altogether. Alternate highways or routes were sometimes designated “alternate,” but they were also named by a direction and given a new number. Many new routes were added as population increased and many people bought new cars. Eisenhower also was very impressed by the German Autobahn system that he saw during World War II, and he spearheaded a new campaign to improve America’s freeway system after the war.

The Interstate Highways We Know Today
In 1956, the Federal Highway Act got together the funds to create the great American freeway system we know and love. All the interstate highways were renumbered according to a new system, a process that took several decades to complete. New freeways were also built to connect growing cities across several states. The last highway to be completed during this phase of freeway system construction was US 12 in Idaho in 1962.

Another milestone in the history of the freeway system in the United States was the creation of the National Highway System in 1995. This system includes both the old Interstate Highway System and other state freeways. The roads included in the system were chosen because they were important to the nation in terms of mobility of citizens, defense of the country and the economy.

If you love the history of the freeway system and want to experience it firsthand in your vehicle, you will need good car insurance. You can get auto insurance online by entering your information to get a free quote. With low cost and high quality car insurance on your side, you can drive on America’s freeways and see the sights without having to worry about your car or your money.