History of the Eisenhower Interstate System

On June 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The Act authorized 41,000 miles of interstate highways, making it the largest public works project in U.S. history at the time.

Today, we are proud to celebrate 70 years of the Interstate Highway System that has brought our coasts together, transformed our economy, and made the great American road trip a reality. Join us as we reflect on 70 years of unprecedented connection, innovation, and progress across all fifty states with highlights of our history!

Eisenhower and a group of men of the U.S. Army's first transcontinental convoy standing next to a truck, which is pulling a trailer with a small Renault tank.

During World War I, Dwight D. Eisenhower was frustrated that he never made it to Europe, despite many requests for the assignment. Instead, one of his assignments was to found a separate armored unit known as the Tank Corps based in Gettysburg, PA. Thinking his military career was over, he volunteered for the U.S. Army’s first transcontinental convoy (July to September 1919) to accompany a small Renault tank. His experience on the convoy helped him understand the need for better roads, while his experiences on Germany’s autobahn expressway network convinced him of the need for “broader ribbons across the land.”

Source: Eisenhower Presidential Library and FHWA

Black and white picture of President Eisenhower speaking behind podium at White House Conference on Traffic Safety. February 17, 1954

On February 17, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed the White House Conference on Highway Safety. He said that “when any particular activity in the United States takes 38,000 American lives in one year, it becomes a national problem of the first importance.”

Source: Eisenhower Presidential Library and FHWA

General Lucius D. Clay on the left shows President Eisenhower a map of the Interstate System in A Ten-Year National Highway Program.

January 1955 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower reviews plans for financing the Interstate System with General Lucius Clay. General Clay headed the President’s committee for working out the funding details. Although Congress did not adopt the General’s plan, another plan adopted in 1956 helped get the Interstate Highway Program underway.

Source: Eisenhower Presidential Library and FHWA

President Eisenhower sitting signing a document with a group of men in suits are gathered around him.

On January 11, 1955, President Eisenhower met with his Advisory Committee on a National Highway Program (the Clay Committee) to discuss A Ten-Year National Highway Program, which included a plan for financing the Interstate System. Left to right: General Lucius D. Clay, Francis C. Turner of the BPR, Steve Bechtel of Bechtel Corporation, Sloan Colt of Bankers’ Trust Company, Bill Roberts of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, and Dave Beck of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Source: Eisenhower Presidential Library and FHWA

Three men are standing together in a ceremony, John A. Volpe to the left, President Eisenhower holding the Bible in the center, and Administratrive Officer Frank K. Sanderson to the right administering the oath of office to Volpe as the first Federal Highway Adminstrator.

At the White House, President Eisenhower holds the Bible while Administrative Officer Frank K. Sanderson (right) administers the oath of office to John A. Volpe (left) as the first Federal Highway Administrator on October 22, 1956. “You’re now part of the family here,” the President told Volpe. The President added that he had worked hard to launch the highway program and was “anxious for it to move into high gear.” This is the only time a President attended the swearing-in of a Federal Highway Administrator.

Source: Eisenhower Presidential Library and FHWA

Four men in suits are standing to the sides of the Eisenhower Interstate System sign.

“The standard road sign for the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, designed by FHWA and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, was unveiled in a ceremony on Capitol Hill on July 29, 1993. Left to right: Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) of the House Surface Transportation Subcommittee, John Eisenhower (President Eisenhower’s son), Federal Highway Administrator Rodney E. Slater, and Chairman Norman Y. Mineta (D-CA) of the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation.”

Source: Eisenhower Presidential Library and FHWA