Recently, I took a road trip from Florida to Indiana. Every time I travel along the Interstate in the United States, I think about President Dwight D. Eisenhower. President Eisenhower "was influenced by his experiences as a young Army officer crossing the country in the 1919 Army Convoy on the Lincoln Highway, the first road across America."1 As President, he "championed (the) formation"1 of the Interstate Highway System, commonly known as the Interstate. "As of 2006, the system has a total length of 46,876 miles (75,440 km) 2, making it both the largest highway system in the world and the largest public works project in history.3
Throughout my life, my family and I have used the Interstate for business and pleasure and I always marvel at the system’s efficiency and ease of use. Even those who are directionally challenged should find the system easy to use. Even numbered highways run east and west while odd numbered highways run north and south. All of the main highways use two digit numbers. Three digit numbers indicate highways that are supplemental to one of the main highways. I-465, which circles the city of Indianapolis, is a good example of this. I taught my grandson Josh about the Interstate system while we were on a trip when he was a young boy.
I love to travel by car and the Interstate Highway System makes it so much easier and enjoyable. Not only is the system so easy to use, Motels, restaurants, and shopping plazas follow the Interstates making traveling more convenient and relaxing.
1 Wikiepdia-The Free Encyclopdia, the "Interstate Highway System".
2 Interstate FAQ (Question #3)". Federal Highway Administration. 2006. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/faq.htm#question3. Retrieved March 4, 2009.
3 Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center. "The Year of the Interstate". Federal Highway Administration. http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/06jan/01.htm. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
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