Building National Defense Interstate Highways 1961
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- Опубліковано 7 жов 2024
- The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways (commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, Interstate Freeway System, Interstate System, or simply the Interstate) is a network of controlled-access highways that forms a part of the National Highway System of the United States. The system is named for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who championed its formation. Construction was authorized by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, and the original portion was completed 35 years later, although some urban routes were cancelled and never built. The network has since been extended and, as of 2013, it had a total length of 47,856 miles (77,017 km).[2] As of 2013, about one-quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country use the Interstate system.[3] In 2006, the cost of construction was estimated at about $425 billion[4] (equivalent to $511 billion in 2015.
Built with the backing of C. E. Wilson who before becoming Eisenhower's secretary of Defense had been the President of General Motors. In his new position he pushed for the development of a national highway system much like the German autobahns.
Not only would this allow American tanks to travel freely if we were invaded by say -- Mexico or Canada (being sarcastic here) but it would stimulate auto sales as people ditched trains and buses and head out on the highway in their Chevrolets. This was very much like what the DuPonts (the family that owned GM, did after WWI) and they wanted to see it happen again but on a grander scale.
S544
I remember taking many family trips when I was a kid in the early 1960s and you would get on the Interstate and drive 50 or 60 miles at 70 mph and you would have to get off and spend 2 1/2 hours driving 30 or 40 miles on bumper to bumper 2 lane roads before you came to another section of finished Interstate HWY. When we were on the two-lane roads, you didn't ask dad any questions or make any requests and it better be real quiet in the back seat area.
That was the case in the more rural states in the early to mid 70s as well. Or you found yourself driving on one finished side of the interstate while the opposing lanes were still under construction. When we got on the two lane roads and if the weather was bad? No talking at all.
instaBlaster.
Rest areas: one of the finest travel features ever. America's bladders thank you!
Most young people have no perspective on the massive permanent changes the Interstates brought to American life. I was a kid when they came into being, and they were at first always just two lanes in each direction- even the city belts. I had to travel a few years back the roads between Florida and Indiana which we did several times on vacations when I was young, and it boggles my mind- I was emotionally disturbed by the massive changes, especially when I though about what changes the next 40 or 50 years might bring to life.
I remember long trips on the interstate with my family as a kid. "Dad, I gotta go to the bathroom!" "Tie a knot in it, kid! We ain't stopping!"
mark jones - bad daddy
Are you kidding me? 😂😂
My old man would finish drinking the beer he had between his legs and hand the empty can to me and say “here ya go kid” “fill it up” 🤷♂️
lol - remember when the STATONWAGON was what the SUV of TODAY was?
iGROWyourBiz wish it still was. My mom had a Black Country Squire with wood paneling and burgundy vinyl interior. It was 1990. I miss wagons
We take for granted how important and convenient this huge undertaking was. Visit a country that doesn’t have a highway system like ours. Then you will realize it. God bless America.
China's highways are not surpassing American Interstate system. Yes it was modeled after it, but the American interstate system was modeled after the German Autobahns.
And now we can even repair or pave like 2 miles of highway in a few months it seems
A friend of mine told me that it took them 21 years to repave and widen a 12-mile stretch of interstate 10 in southern Alabama
@@Neely26tv It took more than 5 years to redo a bridge across a creek in Palo Alto. The creek was less than 100 feet across.
@@hardlyb that's sad but yet in the 1930s and the same timeframe they built the massive Golden gate bridge not counting the foundations the actual bridge the stowers cables and rode dick only took four years so what has happened and back then we didn't have the technologies that we do now
"82 feet of pavement per vehicle!" Also notice how deserted the highways were on 1961.
They were crowded on weekends and holidays.
that's because back then people actually went to work or stayed home during the week unlight today people will just jump in a vehicle and drive hundreds of miles for nothing
@@Neely26tv but , What fun it is to drive around and see the USA
They should've captioned EVERY last stretch of rural interstate in this old vid back then for future (present) generations to see exactly how rural some now suburban areas were; I was surprised to learn exactly how rural St. Charles County, Missouri used to be even less than 40 years ago, let alone SIXTY...
There was the original explosive start of the suburbs in the 40s and 50s, which was before I was born. I think the next really huge push started in the late 80s and has pretty much continued to now, except that many regions slowed during the recent recession. I was driving in the 80s and have watched so much open space get plowed under. It's sad to me because I remember a lot of beautiful areas that are simply no more.
Go to Historic Aerials and see the changes...not just in St Charles County Missouri...but just about anywhere.
It's a different region of the country, but there is a website containing photos of northern Dallas County, TX from the 50s and early 60s that are amazing - places that have been very densely built up for over 40 years were open farmland back then. Amazing.
13:35 The I-80/N-31 Gretna Interchange with the standard sign tree instead of the Big Green Sign. In 1961 I-80 was somewhat completed between Lincoln and west Omaha with part of I-280 (now I-680) too. I-80 is now 6 lanes, and an outlet mall and some other things are now at the interchange. N-31 is four lanes to Elkhorn, which was annexed by Omaha in 2005 but kept its identity and zip code. Omaha in the 50s didn't go west of 72nd Street and Lincoln was only half as big as it is now (250K).
I forgot to mention that the state highway shield was diamond-shaped until around 1970.
I like how the film is a presentation of the Portland Cement Company. No doubt that they got a goodly share of the work for building the highways. And that NOT a slam against the company.
Actually it was a presentation of the Portland Cement Association, a non-profit organization that promotes the use of cement. Numerous local companies across the country provided the materials for the construction of the highway. Inspectors were always on site to make sure materials were up to standard.
Alas much of the original concrete pavement fell victim to alkali silica reactions, spalling, attacks by salt and other issues. Most has been covered by asphalt today.
@@MaxStax1 That explains why so many of the shots in this film focused on the pavement, even when the narrator was talking about guard rails, bridges and rest areas.
To bad We "forgot" how to make "natural cement".
There was alot of controversy at the time ( before my time) of building an interstate between Boston and small town New Hampshire and Vermont. Citizens were worried that the interstates would bring Crime, Drugs and other vices out of the Cities to the Small Towns! It would be the subject of many a debate at Local Barber Shops, Beauty Parlors and Supermarket Aisles. In the end, the Highways brought tourist dollars out of the Cities to the Ski Areas, Lakes and other tourist attractions in our small States. It was more of a benefit, than a problem. Now the trend seems to be getting off the interstates and taking the Main Streets and Backroads of these places.
Its crazy that in 15 years they built so much highway back then. Now as an example, there is a 5 mile stretch of freeway they have been working on for a year and still not even half way done. Take note how they give progress reports and tell the public how much payroll is? Good luck getting that today!
Because the government uses a corrupt system of “my buddy owns a company”
Where government ordained contractors take as long as possible to groom the most money.
A common sight before the days of PCV valves - a dark, oily film down the center of each lane of traffic from all the oil mist being discharged from crankcase breather pipes. Not to mention unburned blowby gases.
Interesting to notice after you commented that!
And a hazard well known to motorcyclists!
And oil leaks.
Blowby is mostly burned exhaust gas. Try to light it, it wont and usualy it does Not soil the roads. I drive a car with a blowby tube since 1988 almost daily, untouched 370k miles 383 cubic inch engine, my driveway is not contaminated in any way.
Good content people don't even thank about all of this and were grateful
Brought a breath of new life to some places and the death of a way of life to others
At 12:45, that section of I-40 in Albuquerque looks almost the same today with the drainage ditch channel running down the middle of the Interstate from San Mateo to Eubank. In the video, it looks like we are looking east on I-40 just before the Eubank interchange. Of course, the rest of the area around the road has changed dramatically, the road is now 4 lanes each way and there's a sprawling city all around it at the point.
11:45 I90 Belvidere Oasis near the Chrysler plant in northern IL. I remember stopping there several times in the early 90s when I was younger before they re did everything and it looked exactly like that. Crazy to see it just after being built.
Nice, thanks for the timestamp! I take this interstate to get to Chicago.
Just to expand a 3 mile 4 (n/s) lane section of freeway to 8 lanes now takes 5 years, in California.
Old Timer: Back in my day we threw parties on the highway. Everybody who was anybody was there.
This was the time in America history when every single American was happy.24 hours a day.Just listen to that cheerful background music that proves the point
Thank God to the men and women who build the us highway and defense system I like going to California Nevada Arizona Utah and Texas and New Mexico on vacation
8:25 tell that to I-10 in West Texas, I-40 west of Amarillo, I-40 west of Albuquerque, and I-40 near the North Carolina Welcome Center that leads off into The Woods!!!
Eisenhower was very impressed by the Autobahn that HItler had built in Germany, and wanted America to have as fine a system of highways
Military logistics and deployment played a factor. Trying to stay short , As an example I 95 can be used to move troops and supplies to the entire east coast . In the USA civil war most large battles were with in reach of rail roads or major rivers It is hard even in modern times to supply an army by truck with dirt ( mud) ( icey) roads over any great distance Example Germans on the Russian front
I remember on I 95 in the south kids were riding bicycles an the interstate. The days when kids used to sleep or ride on the back window desks. I guess there parents did grow up with trains where it was customary to walk around in a moving vehicle . Off topic the steering wheel knobs that would break ribs in minor collisions
And the potholes of tommarow!
During WWII, flatbed trucks carrying military vehicles were hampered by 90-degree curves and low overpasses on the state highways. So one rationale for the interstates was to provide long, straight stretches and minimum 14-foot clearance.
I'm still a kid but I so badly wish to live in the year 1961
look at how far the interstate system has come today
Unfortunately a lot of communities and people were forced out of their homes while these roads being built, then a lot of mom and pop businesses that went under after they opened . When the North Way on I 87 open the local paper had a picture of a local sitting in a rocking chair on RT 9.
thanks
These men loved America........
Car makers killed the RR. Unforgivable.
They killed the trolley services as well in the cities and surronding areas. GM was totally responsible for the replacement of streetcars for the Bus.
Do a search for GM and busses and trolleys, and you'll find some interesting documentaries regarding this matter.
They built the Interstates because railroads were already unacceptably slow for most passengers west of the Appalachians. I can remember my grandmother talking about taking the train after WW2 to the nearest big city-which was about 40 miles away. You had to get to the train station, then the train would stop at every wide spot in the road in case anybody wanted to get on or off, then once you got there, take some other form of transportation to get where you wanted to go. Figure 2 1/2 hours one way for a 40 miles trip. Then, whenever it was time to go home, you had to reverse the process. It was basically a day trip. From where I live (in the same city as my grandmother did) I can get from my front door to any place in that city in an hour.
Trains work where they make sense-I've used them quite a bit on the East Coast and in Europe. But they're not a one size fits all solution.
@@almostfm A train does not go to every ones house or stop at the store on the way home from work A car does not need a time table etc
I avoid the endless parade of trucks on the interstates as much as possible. This is much easier in the eastern U.S. and Midwest, where hard-surfaced roads parallel the interstates and pass through small towns, where actual people can be seen going about their daily business and offering aid and conversation to passersby.
Woah look at i75 it was a bumpkin highway it only had 4 lanes ( 2 per side) now it has around 10-16 or so I'm not exactly sure but I know all the highways around the Atlanta metropolitan area are about that big
Lucas Fernandez Yeah definitely!!! 285 is probably about as bad if not as worse than 75. And,what about 85? 85 traffic through Atlanta is horrible.
I remember when I85 north stopped at Lagrange GA. To get to Atlanta, you have to pick up highway 29. I made that trip a couple of times when I was 17 to see a girl friend in Atlanta. The growth of Atlanta since that time has far surpassed what the interstate system was designed for. Atlanta now needs a bypass to bypass the bypass. HA!!! That was 1970/71.
More lanes is dumb. Build public transportation instead of lanes.
When 285 was finished in 1969, it was 4 lanes all the way around. So they immediately started to add more lanes as soon as it was completed. That went on for the next 30 plus years
Wonder if this "closed circuit camera" system will ever catch on?
I doubt it. I've driven down the Lodge Freeway recently, and it's still congested, so that closed-circuit TV stuff must not work!
And now they're choked with 18-wheelers who drive like they own the highways, trying to pass one another on uphills, dropping down to 40MPH and backing up the auto traffic for a good mile...
Well stop buying stuff .and there will be less trucks on the road.
To me the future kind of sucks because I believed back in the day was so cool
cool Americana
I wish Canada had Interstates, they are well designed.
Most provinces have some expressways. Ontario and Quebec have the most.
Canada does not have a federal highway system like the US does.
reverse thrust TransCanada is a federal-like highway, but not exclusively expressway.
Canadians will just smoke weed now and not worry about it. Went from hosers to tokers.
Canada doesn't have the population and major centers worth building such an expensive network of highways. Ontario and Quebec have a network, but in the southern portion. Up north it's pretty much empty and low population.
Those wonderful new highways were not as safe as the narrator claims - there still weren't adequate medial barriers, nor were those huge overpass support pillars protected in any way. Run a little bit off the road at high speed and plow into one of those, and your car is a crumpled mass of metal and you are bloody meat.
The 58 -64 gm x framed cars were not particularly safe. But those fins and cat eye tail lights sure were good looking. This was before roller bearings in the front hubs so the ball bearings had to be greased regularly.
Actually they were safe, compared to what they had befor, two lane roads. That is until cars got more horsepower, and people got use to the interstates and speed picked up
Did they just expand those lanes to 4 lanes?
The intro is cursed
I wonder what the process to get a driver's license was like back then?
Send away from on packs of matches or in the back of comic books . Just sign a paper saying you are old enough and send 99 cents
Where's the video on our interstate high speed rail system?
It wasnt for national defense, just a sales pitch.
Yeah, that was understood with a nudge and a wink back then, but it was a popular idea with postwar America, so they called them "defense highways" to give them constitutional authority. But it put the last nails in the coffin of passenger railroading.
"Jaws" theme at 6:46!
1:15 Where is (was) this bridge?
Judging by the call letters on the microphones, it's in Canada somewhere!
@@SmokeyGoodness It's a small AM station in Altona, Manitoba, more than 100 miles from the North Dakota border. It's been around since the late '50s so it's possible it could have been at a highway opening, but why would it be at this one, and why would its microphone be the most prominent? I can only guess that CFAM was an acronym for something else, maybe a California something or a Colorado something, that had a role in the staging of this ceremony on some American highway. Or maybe the C in CFAM stood for cement and the mic was put there by some trade organization.
What is that machine called at 4:42 ?
Funniest part of the whole thing is to realize that if you drive on 75, don't ever drive the speed limit because no one will be behind you. Driving the speed limit will get everyone pissed at you because no one does. Except me because I can't afford a ticket.
I know it's just a minor part of the video, but the contiguous US outline at 5:44 looks so horrible 😆 What happened to Michigan's thump and upper peninsula? The iconic shape of Texas and the whole US-Mexican border outline is nearly gone.
That is mid-century modern illustration - the mod amoeba shape
And so it was completed.....47 years late!
I don't think it ever has been completed. I must have missed the news story. I've been cruising the Interstates repeatedly over the last 2.5 years, and there are a lot of sections I could say would be better if they turned them back to dirt.
@@andyharman3022 The completion of the Big Dig supposedly marked the completion of the original Interstate system. There are still pieces of the original plan never built because of the anti-progress/NIMBY types, especially in urban areas. Maybe someday...
the only way he could get it approved .so true today. bring troops home lots of army corp work needed in usa. its got to happen.
Still is the biggest free land highways. As China's is mostly toll.
And China mostly copied our system.
🤪 now it takes 10 times longer
How are the interstates used for defense... I can’t find a video or even an article. What’s the whole story here
That was the justification for building the interstates like what had been done in Germany prior to WWII. The goal was to have a national highway system that could support the movement of tanks and other military equipment. Eisenhower remembered the autobahn and thought it was a good idea. Wasn't clear who would be attacking us but the roads were built. It was a boon to transportation. Which was the real idea.
King Rose Archives thanks bro
The Interstate Highway system is one of the reasons the world is in turmoil today. America started relying more and more on the automobile which needed fuel. So we foisted ourselves onto the Middle East. And that hasn't turned out so well.
Agreed. The RR could have moved troops better than the interstate but having both is ok.
Well it had to be Vietnam going to attack , that was where the threat was coming from . . . . . and now the Defense Highways are in place for the threat from the Middle East . .
and no I 24 in them days
Lot of white '59 Chevys around then.
0 years before potholes b.p.
2:40
Fallout 76
mother nature no how to drive
10:00 Irving Park Rd and Keeler Ave exit. Bwahahahahah!! How many cars do you see at this time of day when the sun is up and the weather is good. Three, maybe four cars? God help you if you're driving I-94 (or I-90) if you're going to see a Cubs game. Plan extra time for your drive. Like at least a day. The entire city of Chicago needs at least eight lanes, each direction, if they were to going to replicate this scene today. And this is a very conservative estimate. Chicago traffic on the interstates that pass through the city, as well as Cook County, are a nightmare. Always under construction, or always congested, or Both! Pathetic!!!
Bwahahaha!!!!!
I've been driving through Chicago for 29 years, and can't recall when I ever got through without construction somewhere. Some zones have been rebuilt twice in that time. But I must say, if you're smart in using Google Maps or other Nav programs, you can avoid major backups.
Yep, grew up in Roselle and worked in the river north area, and you are correct.
Driving on 90 eastbound to the Eisenhower is a pain in the ass lol.
I used to live not far from that exit in North Center. I was surprised to see the Kennedy so wide open back then.
Yes and built with the money the government stole from Social Security.
Yes. The Federal Government currently owes the Social Security Trust Fund $2.85 Trillion Dollars. That’s $2,850,000,000,000.
Actually Joe, you are correct about the government "stealing" from the trust fund. However that started in 1980 under Reagan. Back when this film was made, the government actually used the gasoline tax to build these highways. This is how government should work, but as you pointed out, we're a long, long way from how things used to be.
Take your pick about what money was stolen from SS to pay for whatever overspent program. The Federal governments finances and accounting are all a big fraud anyway.
lol - remember when the STATONWAGON was what the SUV of TODAY was?
iGROWyourBiz I like to annoy SUV owners by telling them they have a "nice station wagon".
And pick-up trucks were rare.