I have always been a great admirer of the interstate highway system in the USA. I would go so far as to say it is one of the wonders of the modern world, and one day in the future, long after we have run out of oil, it will be admired by people from who travel to the USA (in oxcarts) just to walk along sections of this system, in awe of what primitive peoples had accomplished.This system of roads was built mostly after World War 2, and it is the biggest public works project in the history of the world. President Eisenhower introduced the bill and it was passed in 1956, called the "Federal Aid Highway Act". There was not much debate on this bill, at least not by today's norms. For example, almost nobody complained about the debt load that the government was taking on. Also, very few people were made aware ahead of time that the government was going to decide exactly where the roads went, and that many towns would die as a result of being bypassed by the opening of the new roads. No one understood that there would be what you could even call a "Death Panel" that would make decisions about which towns would be served, and which would not. And there was literally no debate about whether illegal aliens would be able to drive their cars on this road system undetected. Also, many trucks would be scrapped if they did not conform to the standard height and length determined by the federal bureaucrats. But more than that, it was never once mentioned that Hitler had basically invented the idea of a national highways system, called the Autobahn, and Eisenhower was so impressed with it as he travelled through Germany, that he decided that the USA should build it's own.
Why did no-one ever question the Federal Highway Act before it was passed? Why did nobody threaten to filibuster it? Why did nobody call it socialism? Well for one thing, the big carmakers were lobbying for it. Lots of people were going to get jobs from it, even though those were Government jobs, not private sector. And even though the jobs were just temporary, until the roads were completed.
Looking back on the "Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways" as it was officially named, nobody, even today, ever comments on it negatively. And yet it has led to a huge increase in oil consumption, to the point that the USA is no longer self sufficient in oil. It led to the dismantling of some of the national railway system, which is a far more fuel efficient way to transport goods long distances. And thousands of people have died in traffic accidents on it.
But what I like about it is that it allows me to travel great distances by car or motorcycle, assured of being able to find gas stations, restaurants and motels along the way. In fact the only real complaints I hear about it are that it prevents people from seeing the "real" America as they travel around. Which is actually similar to the argument if you take the plane from NY to LA. Of course it's true, but if you really want to see America, just get off the road. Any time, any where.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_highway_system
Footnote for Canada. Yay for us! Canada has a smaller freeway system than the USA, but it is busier. Specifically on the 401 through Toronto, the average daily traffic flow is 425,000 (measured in 2004). While the busiest on the Interstate System in the USA is 390,000 vehicles per day: I-405 in Los Angeles, California, (estimated in 2006) Highway 401 has 12-20 lanes through Pickering to Mississauga and this is thought to be the world's longest continuous stretch of highway having 12 or more lanes.
In contrast to the US system, this particular Canadian highway is actually an obstacle to traffic movement, and it is amazing to me that people keep using it in spite of the frequent slowdowns, even at 3:00 AM.
http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/topic/11058-Torontos-401-Busiest-Freeway-North/
Picture: Me and the BMW on Interstate 10 New Mexico. Returning from my trip to Baja Mexico. I know I should not be fiddling with my camera while driving, but I had slowed down to 100 kph, to take a picture of the two bikes ahead of me.
'Picture a field of dirt, piled knee high, that covers an area the size of Connecticut, or imagine a concrete sidewalk extending a million miles into space.'
ReplyDeleteThat's how Tom Lewis introduces the Interstate Highway System in his book, Divided Highways. Lewis' book is a competent history of the System, although one should not expect much in the way of critical content.
The 'National System of Interstate and Defense Highways' owes much of its existence to Cold War paranoia. In fact, as a child, I was freaked out by illustrations in LIFE magazine of the proposed bomb shelters to be constructed under highway overpasses.
In fact, the Interstate System has turned out to be more a curse than a blessing. As well as the distortions in the transportation system you mention, that explosion of (supposedly) high-speed highways is largely responsible for the urban sprawl and inner city decay we now see.
Without these ubiquitous high-capacity transportation corridors urban evolution in North America would have been much closer to the European models (Autobahns notwithstanding ;-)
Rising energy costs (and shortages) will now force us to move towards more of a Smart Growth model, as the 50 year disaster precipitated by the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act' reveals its bankruptcy.