The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, which has been called the most ambitious public works project built since the Roman Empire, is the most critical link in the nation’s transportation system. The Interstate Highway System turns 65 this year.
- The Interstate Highway System, which includes 2.6% of all roadway lane miles in the United States., carries 26% of the nation’s vehicle travel.
- The 48,482-mile Interstate Highway System includes 10 transcontinental routes and highways varying in length from 18 miles to more than 3,000 miles.
- Since funding of the Interstate system was approved in 1956 to 2019, annual vehicle miles of travel (VMT) in the U.S. increased by 427%, from 626 billion miles driven, to approximately 3.3 trillion miles driven.
- From 1956 to 2019, the number of vehicles in the nation increased by 324%, from 65 million vehicles to 276 million vehicles. The nation’s population increased by 96%, from 168 million to 329 million during this time.
According to the Transportation Research Board (TRB), a division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the Interstate Highway System has a persistent and growing backlog of physical and operational deficiencies as a result of age, heavy use and deferred reinvestment, and is in need of major reconstruction and modernization.
“On June 29, 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower and other national leaders realized a vision for America,” said American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) President and CEO Dave Bauer. “The president signed the law creating the Interstate Highway System. Its positive impacts on national and state economies, our quality of life and personal mobility have greatly surpassed expectations. Today, the Interstates are at the age where many Americans choose to retire. It is no surprise that the overburdened 48,000-mile network needs a renewed federal commitment to remain healthy and viable for the future.
“House and Senate leaders are simultaneously working on a historic infrastructure package and a multi-year highway and public transit reauthorization bill,” Bauer continued. “We urge Congress and the Biden administration to keep working this summer until they complete action on a final measure. The desired outcome is a long-term investment plan to ensure Eisenhower’s grand vision of a national transportation network anchored by the Interstates remains the backbone of a competitive U.S. economy and a major achievement of American democracy.”