I must admit that I was surprised to have received as many e-mails as I did about the Eisenhower Interstate System. Apparently it’s something that a lot of readers followed with interest and many wanted more detail. One of the e-mails came from Phil, who, using the Federal Highway Administration’s Web site, provided some of that detail: “The route numbers signify the location and direction of the highways. Odd number routes are north/south, while even numbers are east/west. The value of the number designates the percent of the country that lies west of the north/south routes, or south of the east/west routes. For example, 95 percent of the country is west of I-95, which runs north/south. You mentioned I-70 in your article. Seventy percent of the country is south of this highway. The milepost markers ascend from south to north and from west to east as you travel through each state. A third number is added as a prefix to the route numbers. Even numbers are loops or bypasses. Odd numbers are spurs. I-395 runs into Baltimore City, where it ends. I-195 runs to BWI airport, where it ends.
“Dwight Eisenhower didn’t just get the idea to build the highway system; he saw the importance of internal mobilization to support a war effort. He knew we couldn’t rely on railroads alone because they were too easily compromised by sabotage. The early interstate highways were posted with warning signs stating that the highway would beclosed to civilian traffic in event of a national emergency.”
Thanks, Phil, and thanks to all of you who wrote in. I thought I was the only person who got excited about this kind of stuff, but I was wrong. Maybe it’s because this is one of those things that affects all of us and it’s kind of neat to know how it came about and what all those numbers really mean.
I tend to use the milepost markers religiously when I’m on a long trip, although it’s easier when heading South because you know that you’re counting down to zero. Heading north, you have to know that the Virginia line, or at least the Washington Beltway, is at milepost 172 or that the Maryland line is at milepost 109 or that the end of the New Jersey Turnpike, which is co-signed as I-95, is at 120. It really helps you keep track of how far you’ve gone and how far you have to go. Of course, the main reason for those markers is not to give Steve something to do while driving; they’re to provide information landmarks for rescue personnel heading to the scene of incidents. Maryland has done a good job along I-95 to break those markers down into one-tenth-mile increments, making it easier to pinpoint locations, but there are still a number of states that just put them up every mile.
An interesting counter-argument comes from Martin, who wrote: “Ike Eisenhower must not have been paying attention when he invaded Germany in 1944-45, or he wouldn’t have touted the interstate system as ‘America’s Defense Highway.’ The German autobahns made perfect invasion routes: The tanks and infantry went into Germany on all lanes, while the German prisoners walked back to captivity along the medians.”
Touché.
Questions, comments,random musings? Write to [email protected].
