Posted on May 01 2021
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Happy May! This month, we're writing about summer roadtrips.
The Map: The First U.S. Highways
At the time of its conception, the U.S. interstate highway system represented freedom. The idea for it was first mentioned in a Bureau of Public Roads report to Congress in 1939—it was the end of the Great Depression, and pressure was building to create a transportation system in the U.S. that could connect the nation. But it wasn’t until President Eisenhower introduced the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 that the project could begin—the Act “served as a catalyst for the System’s development,” according to the Colorado Department of Transportation, because it established a program to fund the new highways.
Below, explore a 1958 map of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, via the Library of Congress.
The Game: Roadtrip Bingo
Bored of the alphabet game? Pass time in the car with roadtrip bingo!
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