The Simple Genius of the Interstate Highway System

Writing by Sam Denby
Research by Sam Denby and Tristan Purdy
Editing by Alexander Williard
Animation by Josh Sherrington
Sound by Graham Haerther
Thumbnail by Simon Buckmaster

Select footage courtesy the AP Archive

[grimftl]

My dad used to say, "The interstate is incredible. You can drive non-stop from the Atlantic to the Pacific and not see a damned thing."

[.]

For comparison, Pete Kostelnick ran across America on foot with a world record time of 42 days, 6 hours, 30 minutes from San Francisco's City Hall to New York's City Hall in 2016.

[IBeforeAExceptAfterK]

It's funny how back in 1919, trains were considered the dominant form of transport, with roads in desperate need of improved infrastructure. Now it's the opposite.

[charlespletzke]

Fun fact: the interstates are numbered so that even numbers are west-east running and odd run north-south. Three digit interstates are loops for a given interstate. The lower number interstates are further south and/or west (i5 runs in the west coast states whereas i95 runs east coast states).

[meowmeowbobo]

I like how the highest ranking military officer in one of the greatest war mankind has fought and his conclusion was: "Man, infrastructure is really important"

[daviddavis]

People: You can’t put a price on a human life!!!

US Department of Transportation: $11.7 million

[kinggator]

Fun fact: the I-5 was built through the Central Valley instead of along California's Pacific Coast so that it was less likely to be targeted in a naval/aircraft bombardment.

[Ragingcap]

Eisenhower gets seldom recognition for what he did for science in america...he was a visionary....father of NASA...father of interstate

[noumanintown]

That Eisenhower reveal was fantastic. What a legend.

[grahamturner]

Fun fact about the Interstates: On occasion, they were also used to experiment other things. The main one I know of the I-19, which was an experiment to see if America could convert to the Metric system. I was on it recently just to see it, and apparently, it's not too different from other Interstates, but most distance-related stuff is in meters/kilometers instead of miles. Exit numbers are based on the distance in kilometers (e.g. exit 101 is probably the last exit going north before you get to the I-10, even though the highway is only 62 miles long) and instead of mile markers, you get kilometer markers. The only thing that isn't in metric is speed limit signs, which are in miles per hour.

[randomguy]

Fun fact: Interstate 95 is the most recently completed interstate, having been completed in 2018 with the completion of the I-95/Penn Turnpike Interchange Project in Bristol, PA.

[crazycoasterboi]

Another cool thing: they have long sweeping turns so you need to pay more attention and it’s harder to doze off. Every 5-10 miles though, they have a long straight section which is there in case the military needs to set up an emergency air base. There’s thousands of potential spots to turn into a runway all around the country. Brilliant design. Also, the interstates in West Virginia have parts that don’t comply with the regulations because they were built before the regulations came out and it would take too much work and money to change it.

[acaciasiobhan]

“A 7-hour trip from DC to Maryland”

Me, a Marylander: Did you just say SEVEN HOURS FROM DC TO MAR- you know what, that makes perfect sense and is still quite accurate

[jackbates]

It's a shame we didn't take more from the Autobahn network, not going through city centers, allowing for no speed limits where practical, actually adhering to lane discipline, etc...

[Fools_Requiem]

That 12 mile run through the Rockies on I-70 is by far my favorite stretch of freeway and I've been on a lot.

The next big infrastructure project has to be the upgrade to railways and the addition of high speed rail.

[SvdSinner]

You forgot to mention one important part of Eisenhower's life: His wife Maime was born and raise only about a mile from the Lincoln Highway. She fully understood how much of a lifeline having a trough road was to her upbringing.

[Vanalovan]

“Oregon has no major export ports.”
Shots fired PORTland!

[dominicmariano]

My father is a former military logistics specialist. He always told me that Ike's plan for the interstate system was to connect military bases, but also serve as emergency runways. This is really obvious on Oahu, where the interstates all terminate at military bases, and the section of H-1 near the airport is clearly engineered to accommodate landing a C-130 or C-17 cargo plane.

[Thrifty]

I-95 had this strange discontinuity near Philadelphia. You would drive up I-95, then turn south in this sort of upside down U. You are shunted over to I-295, then cross into New Jersey on I-195 and rejoin 95 on the New Jersey turnpike.

They fixed this pretty recently --- fall 2018. I don't remember exactly how, but now I-95 connects to the Pennsylvania turnpike.

[dennisg.]

This is one of my favorite videos you have done. People take out interstate for granted. It really wasn't all that long ago that they even existed. Late 1950's is nothing compared to others. Eisenhower was the man of his time!