Before the Interstate Highway System, a patchwork of country roads and trails connected the four corners of the United States. Today, one of the most recognizable highways in San Bernardino County is Interstate 10, the fourth largest interstate in the nation. It stretches more than 2,400 miles from Santa Monica to Jacksonville, Florida. In California, the 10 freeway leaves the greater Los Angeles region about 70 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and enters the desert through the San Gorgonio Pass.
The concept for a national interstate network was first outlined in a 1939 report to Congress titled “Toll Roads and Free Roads.” By 1945, the number of registered automobiles in the United States had grown to more than 15 million. After taking office in January 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower made improving the nation’s highways one of his goals during his first term.
As a lieutenant colonel in the Army in 1919, Eisenhower accompanied a military convoy across the United States and saw the poor condition of our nation’s roads. The trip took over 60 days. Later, during World War II, Germany’s Autobahn highway network reinforced his belief that the United States needed first-class roads.
As a result, Eisenhower formed internal committees to study the proposal, enlisted governors from across the country to offer suggestions, and met with members of Congress to promote the plan. He signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 on June 29, 1956, launching construction of the Interstate Highway System that we know today.
The Interstate Highway System was officially completed in 1992. According to the 1991 Interstate Cost Estimate report to Congress, construction of the system cost $128.9 billion and took more than 35 years to complete.
States own and operate the interstates and establish requirements, such as speed limits. They are also responsible for enforcement.
The information in this historical feature was originally part of a video series produced by the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk’s office.
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