Highways: transporting our economy

The engineering marvel of the twentieth century that i spent more time learning about was the highway system of the United States. It was a fascinating learning experience. prior to the development of the interstate artery system the united states relied most heavily on train transportation for any shipping and transportation. The roads at the start of the twentieth century were poorly made at best. the lack of proper pavement and care for the roads made transport via roads very costly, in terms of time and other resources. the article stated: "it was cheaper to ship fruit by rail from California to an urban market in the East than to deliver it by wagon from a farm 15 miles away". Economically speaking this is couldn't continue.
The united states involvement in WWI ushered rapid change in the highway system. The military transported a lot of things via trucks along roads and trashed the existing roads. as a result the standard of thickness for concrete increased.

Later President Roosevelt started in motion his vision of a massive 40,000 mile artery. his idea was shot down by congress. but President Eisenhower was able to adjust his vision somewhat and help to bring forth the modern Interstate system we know now. "In 1954 Eisenhower appointed an advisory committee, chaired by his wartime colleague General Lucius Clay, to establish consensus among the many parties to the nation's road-building program. It took 2 years, but the quiet diplomacy and technical expertise of the committee's executive secretary, a Bureau of Public Roads engineer named Frank Turner, ultimately helped steer legislation through the political shoals in both the House and the Senate. In 1956 Eisenhower signed into law the act initiating the epic enterprise known as the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. It called for the federal government to pay $25 billion—90 percent of the estimated total cost-toward building limited-access expressways that would crisscross the nation and speed traffic through and around cities." The result w
The effects on human kind can be summed up by the following statement: "and by the 1990s cars, trucks, and buses were traveling half a trillion miles a year on the interstates—a good deal more safely than on other U.S. roads" The ability to transport that many people and that many goods around a country safely and quickly is essential to economic growth. The increased availability of transportation lowered transaction costs for businesses and the government. The infrastructure was really a foundation for economic growth. Just imagine if you were only able to go half as fast on the roads with 50percent greater chance of break down. how much would that slow production overall? greatly. So the effects today remain the same. Such a vast system of safe and fast transportation allows our countries economic growth to be sustained. Also i would say that such a system increases the overall satisfaction of a countries citizens. With happier citizens, productivity increases. the effects of the highway system truly are endless.