In book 4, ‘Terror Incognita’, Vic and friends take a road trip from Beatrice to the Northwest corner of Nebraska for a camp out. I was pretty sure there were no interstate highways but wasn’t sure of the state of roads. Dirt. Almost certain, they were driving on a dirt road. One source stated going twenty miles a day was good travel then. I believe a horse can do that. Here are some interesting facts I discovered.
In the beginning, roads were foot paths. Then wagons and buggies took the same route and they widened to roads. So way back, building roads was no big enterprise, just get enough people riding the same path for awhile and it’s a road. As far back as 1815 there was something called the National Road from Maryland to St Louis to make it easier to migrate to the center of the country but it was dirt and had no official entity to take care of it.
In 1920 there were some cement, brick and gravel roads but mostly in cities. All roads back then were created by the state or more likely the local people of a city or region.
In 1919, Lt. Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower led a convoy from Washington D.C. To San Francisco to spotlight then need for good roads. It took two months and that was too slow. It was a national security issue.
The “first road across America” was the Lincoln Highway which ran from New York to San Francisco. It began as work by local municipalities an companies. Cement companies, for example, poured miles of road to improve local transportation. It was completed in 1923.
There was a Federal Highway Act of 1921 which was funded in 1926 and the federal government officially got in the act. Roads were named “U.S. #” and the system is still used. The Lincoln Highway became part of U.S. 30.
In 1956 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation that began the Interstate Highway system we enjoy today. In 1990, President George Bush signed legislation that renamed the national system of interstate highways the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways.
What about those things we complain about? Who’s to blame? First state to use taxes for road construction was New Jersey in 1891, followed by Massachusetts and Virginia in 1892.
Massachusetts and New York were the first states to collect license fees in 1903.
Not related to roads in 1920, but have you ever wondered how interstate highways are named? Major routes are designated by single- or two-digit numbers. If a route runs north-south, it is given an odd number, and if route a runs east-west, an even number. For north-south routes, numbering conventions begin in the west. Thus I-5 runs north and south along the West Coast, while I-95 runs north and south along the East Coast. For east-west routes, numbers begin in the south.
Next time you think that pot hole is horrible, remember 1920. Now you know why Vic Challenger takes the train. Have any interesting trivia about road you would like to share? Post in comments.
Here are some references if you want to learn more:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Roads.aspx
https://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/
http://www.history.com/topics/interstate-highway-system
http://americanroadmagazine.com/ IF YOU ARE PLANNING A ROAD TRIP you need to check this out. All kinds of great info. They have forums but you need to sign up and be approved to participate. Obviously I did.
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/history.cfm
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/interstate1.html
For exciting adventure reads go with Vic Challenger! Visit us
http://www.vicplanet.com
Here are some photos of the 1919 convoy led by Eisenhower. More photos at
https://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/research/audiovisual/images/1919_convoy.html
Thanks for reading.
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