Happy 50th Birthday, Interstate Highway System

Today is the (generally accepted) 50th anniversary of the Interstate Highway System. I say "generally accepted" beacause — and this is how we know that it's a creature of government — June 29, 1956 is the date that President Eisenhower signed the legislation that created the system. And that's the date we celebrate as its birthday. Ah, Government!

In case you couldn't tell, I'm a "Limited Government" man. I think our governments (all levels) do far too many things. (For a list of the things our Federal government is supposed to do, please see Article I, Section 8 of our Constitution.) National highways, however, are indeed a Federal responsibility. And while few things governments do are done well, the Interstate Highway System is pretty decent; a standardized system of highways allowing us to travel between states without difficulty. Just by the numerical designation of the road you can tell if it runs North-South or East-West, if it's a loop, or if it's a spur. It's a commonly accepted infrastructure element now, but a radical idea at it's start.

Here's an "Interstate Density Map", or a map of interstate highways over time. And here's an analysis of what the system has meant to the country (written back in 1996, for the 40th birthday).