The Dec. 26, LA Times had an article by Tom Lewis comparing President Obama's creation of millions of jobs to work on the nation's infrastructure with President Eisenhower's creation of the interstate system in the 1950s.
In 1956, the US interstate system was established due to a lot of push by Eisenhower. He was the first republican to hold the office since Herbert hoover in the early 1930s and there was a mild recession going on.
The Bureau of Public Roads (today's Federal Highway Administration) figured that every federal dollar spent on the project resulted in a half hour of employment. There would be 50 tons of concrete and 20 tons of steel in every mile of pavement.
In 1919, Eisenhower had participated in the Army's transcontinental convoy along the Lincoln Highway which ended up lasting 62 days on horrible roadways. One person termed it a trip "through darkest America in truck and tank." Eisenhower had also seen Hitler's excellent autobahn road system in Germany at the closing of World War II.
More to Come. --RoadDog
RoadDog's RoadLog Blog: Being my travels down those great two lane highways of this nation as well as news I learn about them from media sources. Since I'm also very interested in historic preservation, there will be a lot of that as well.
The Shamrock Court Motel in Sullivan, Missouri. It can be yours for $125,000. Lots of possibilities. Actually, now you're too late. Missouri's Roamin' Rich bought it.
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