Summer 1996· Vol. 60· No. 1

Featuring developments in federal highway policies, programs and research technology
Go to the Public Roads Web site

• Federal Aid Road Act of 1916: Building the Foundation
  by Richard F. Weingroff
  The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 established the federal-aid highway program that transformed America's roads from alternately dusty and muddy trails to the most advanced and comprehensive road network in the world.
  - A Progressive Leader - Logan Waller Page
  - Father of Good Roads in the U.S. Senate - Sen. John Hollis Bankhead
  - President Woodrow Wilson - Motorist Extraordinaire
  
  
• From 1916 to 1939: The Federal-State Partnership at Work
  by Richard F. Weingroff
  The period following World War I and through the 1920s was a golden age for road building, and although the federal-aid highway program felt the impact of the Great Depression in the 1930s, it was during this decade that the master plan for a system of interregional highways was developed.
  - Man of the Century - Thomas H. MacDonald
  - The Concept Man - Herbert S. Fairbank
  
  
• Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956: Creating the Interstate System
  by Richard F. Weingroff
  This article explains the development of the interstate network from the initial master plan of 1939 to the 1956 act that created the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways.
  - The Inside Man - Francis V. Du Pont
  - Steady Hand in Control - Charles D. "Cap" Curtiss
  - Agent of Change - Francis C. "Frank" Turner
  - Co-author of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 - Sen. Albert Gore, Sr.
  - Co-author of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 - Rep. George H. Fallon
  - The Highway Trust Fund
  - The Last Piece of the Puzzle - Rep. Hale Boggs
  - The Catalyst Who Changed America - President Dwight David Eisenhower
  - The Edge City
  
  
• Three States Claim First Interstate Highway
  by Richard F. Weingroff
  Whether Missouri, Kansas, or Pennsylvania should be credited with the first interstate highway depends on how "first" is defined.

• Poetry of the Open Road
  by Tamara Broberg
  Poets have long recognized the parallels between roads and life and have used roads in both the literal and metaphorical senses to express their insights to our culture.

• Artists Look at Roads
  by Richard F. Weingroff
  Art, as well as movies and poetry, is another form of cultural expression that "captures" the omnipresence of roads in our surroundings.

• Local Government Highway Finance Trends, 1984-1993
  by Leonard S. Goldberg
  This article gives a brief historical overview of local government highway finance trends from 1921 to 1983, takes a closer look at the data from 1984 to 1993, and illustrates the important role played by local governments in the arena of public sector highway financing.

• Engineering Marvels
  by Richard F. Weingroff
  The Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways has been called one of the "Seven Wonders of the United States." This article discusses a few of the extraordinary sections of the system.

• Atlanta to Showcase ITS Traveler Information
  by David F. Williams
  The Traveler Information Showcase in Atlanta this summer is a $14 million partnership of federal, state, and local agencies and the private sector to provide the most complex, integrated transportation management and travel information system in the United States.

• Condition and Performance of the Interstate System - After 40 Years
  by Clifford M. Comeau
  The interstate system has been incredibly successful. Consequently, the reliability of the system and the preservation of its physical assets are key policy and programmatic concerns for the entire transportation community.

• Road Movies
  by Richard F. Weingroff
  Roads are so much a part of our lives that it is natural that automobiles and highways have played significant roles in hundreds of movies. This is a partial listing of films in which highway travel plays a prominent part.

Editor's Notes
Along the Road
New Research
Contact Us@

Please share your ideas! We are continuously soliciting direct input and feedback from our readers. Please send your comments about the articles and information presented in this on-line version of Public Roads, as well as your suggestions for new or follow-on articles. You are our partner in an information exchange.

You can share your ideas and opinions by contacting the editor at Public Roads, Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, Attention: HRD-10, 6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101-2296, or via Internet to Martha Soneira.

Please provide your telephone number and Internet address. Letters should be less than 250 words. Public Roads reserves the right to determine which letters to the editor will be published and to edit all published letters.

Last Updated: 8/12/96

Return to the Public Roads Web site

TFHRC Home | FHWA Home | Feedback United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration