2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
In announcing an America the Beautiful initiative in January 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson (D) said: "I want to make sure that the America we see from these major highways is a beautiful America." The cornerstone of the initiative would be the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, which called for control of outdoor advertising, including removal
...
Rambler, T. (2023). How the Highway Beautification Act Became a Law. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75831
Rambler, The. How the Highway Beautification Act Became a Law. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75831.
Rambler, The How the Highway Beautification Act Became a Law. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75831.
The story of Elizabeth Peratrovich, a Native American woman from Alaska who championed the first anti-discrimination law passed in the United States. Peratrovich campaigned for this bill in response to Alaskan businesses discriminating against Native American patrons and the law was successfully passed in February 1945 in Alaska.
Weingroff, R. F. (2023). Who Is Elizabeth Peratrovich? The Story Behind the Country's First Anti-Discrimination Law. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76522
Weingroff, Richard F.. Who Is Elizabeth Peratrovich? The Story Behind the Country's First Anti-Discrimination Law. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76522.
Weingroff, Richard F. Who Is Elizabeth Peratrovich? The Story Behind the Country's First Anti-Discrimination Law. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76522.
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
For those motorists planning to travel the Pennsylvania Turnpike this week, have no fear-it is not abandoned. But there is a 13-mile stretch of the Turnpike, with three tunnels and a travel plaza, east of the Breezewood area, that was bypassed in 1968 and dubbed "The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike." To see what led up to the bypassing of this stre
...
Longfellow, R. (2023). Back in Time The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75665
Longfellow, Rickie. Back in Time The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75665.
Longfellow, Rickie Back in Time The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75665.
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
One of the universal truths is that road construction is dependent on the materials at hand. At one time or another, almost every material common to an area has been tried by road builders. Roads of sand and clay are an example. Sand-clay road construction was one of the common methods of providing a stable road surface in the early 20th century. T
...
Rambler, T. (2023). The Sand-Clay Roads of South Carolina. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75911
Rambler, The. The Sand-Clay Roads of South Carolina. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75911.
Rambler, The The Sand-Clay Roads of South Carolina. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75911.
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
The term Second Battle of New Orleans has also been used to describe the controversy in the 1960's over the Vieux Carré Riverfront Expressway (then I-310). In fact, Richard O. Baumbach, Jr., and William E. Borah described the expressway fight-in which they were active project opponents-in their book, The Second Battle of New Orleans: A History of t
...
Weingroff, R. F. (2023). The Battles of New Orleans - Vieux Carré Riverfront Expressway (I-310). United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75781
Weingroff, Richard F.. The Battles of New Orleans - Vieux Carré Riverfront Expressway (I-310). United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75781.
Weingroff, Richard F. The Battles of New Orleans - Vieux Carré Riverfront Expressway (I-310). United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75781.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
This is 1923 map of the transcontinental trails in the United States showing the best roads, roads distances, and principal cities at the time.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration (2023). Map of the Transcontinental Trails of the USA, 1923. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76528
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Map of the Transcontinental Trails of the USA, 1923. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76528.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration Map of the Transcontinental Trails of the USA, 1923. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76528.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
The U.S. numbering plan was developed in the mid-1920's by the Joint Board on Interstate Highways, which included representatives of the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads (now the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)) and the State highway agencies. The idea was to identify the main interstate roads of the era and give them a number and a distinctive si
...
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration (2023). U.S. 231 – Indiana to Florida: How a Highway Grew. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76524
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. U.S. 231 – Indiana to Florida: How a Highway Grew. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76524.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration U.S. 231 – Indiana to Florida: How a Highway Grew. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76524.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
When the Joint Board on Interstate Highways issued its proposal on the U.S. numbered highway system in October 1925, the report identified the main interstate highways that would be included. U.S. 29 was among them, with the route described as: From Gastonia, North Carolina, to Spartanburg, South Carolina, Greenville, Anderson, Hartwell, Georgia, A
...
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration (2023). U.S. 29 Maryland to Florida. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76545
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. U.S. 29 Maryland to Florida. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76545.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration U.S. 29 Maryland to Florida. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76545.
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
The Rambler has long followed a simple rule: if you have to go outside to write about it, don't write about it. The Rambler violated that rule only once, in June 1989, and this website has decided to blow the whistle on him despite his protests. A junior school class in England had been given the assignment of writing to a celebrity and asking for
...
Rambler, T. (2023). The Rambler Takes a Walk Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 1989. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75904
Rambler, The. The Rambler Takes a Walk Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 1989. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75904.
Rambler, The The Rambler Takes a Walk Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 1989. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75904.
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge carries the Capital Beltway, I-95/495, across the Potomac River. Although President Woodrow Wilson's life was filled with many accomplishments and distinctions, he is not known for links to the Potomac River or for crossing it. So why is the bridge named after him?
Rambler, T. (2023). Ask the Rambler: Why Is the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge Named After Woodrow Wilson?. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75825
Rambler, The. Ask the Rambler: Why Is the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge Named After Woodrow Wilson?. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75825.
Rambler, The Ask the Rambler: Why Is the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge Named After Woodrow Wilson?. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75825.
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
The novelist John Steinbeck and CBS Newscaster Charles Kuralt knew and wrote about roads. Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939, is a classic of road literature; its description of Dust Bowl refugees driving to California along U.S. 66 has given the route an enduring nickname ("The Mother Road"). Kuralt, in his CBS news feature "On the
...
Rambler, T. (2023). John Steinbeck vs Charles Kuralt Who Said It First?. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75837
Rambler, The. John Steinbeck vs Charles Kuralt Who Said It First?. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75837.
Rambler, The John Steinbeck vs Charles Kuralt Who Said It First?. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75837.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
A 1915/1916 map of the stretch of the Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway from Hannibal, Missouri to Jacksonville, Illinois.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration (2023). Hannibal, Mo., to Jacksonville, Ill. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76558
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Hannibal, Mo., to Jacksonville, Ill. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76558.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration Hannibal, Mo., to Jacksonville, Ill. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76558.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
A 1915/1916 map of the stretch of the Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sabetha, Kansas.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration (2023). St. Joseph, Mo., to Sabetha, Kan. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76573
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. St. Joseph, Mo., to Sabetha, Kan. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76573.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration St. Joseph, Mo., to Sabetha, Kan. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76573.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
A 1915/1916 map of the stretch of the Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway from Columbus, Ohio to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration (2023). Columbus, Ohio, to Pittsburg, Pa. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76398
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Columbus, Ohio, to Pittsburg, Pa. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76398.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration Columbus, Ohio, to Pittsburg, Pa. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76398.
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
In transportation, predictions are a common practice at the project level (such as loading over a 20-year design life, expected noise levels, and environmental and air quality impacts) and the theoretical level as experts try to figure out where transportation is headed. (Usually, it isn't.) In this feature, the Highway History page has given the R
...
Rambler, T. (2023). Don't Blame the Future. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75829
Rambler, The. Don't Blame the Future. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75829.
Rambler, The Don't Blame the Future. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75829.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
In July 1988, the FHWA cosponsored a conference called Scenic Byways '88: A National Conference to Map the Future of America's Scenic Roads and Highways. IN preparation for the conference, the FHWA published Scenic Byways as a guide and reference for participants. It contained the following background information.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration (2023). History of Scenic Road Programs. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75822
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. History of Scenic Road Programs. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75822.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration History of Scenic Road Programs. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75822.
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
The National Road, in many places known as Route 40, was built between 1811 and 1834 to reach the western settlements. It was the first federally funded road in U.S. history. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson believed that a trans-Appalachian road was necessary for unifying the young country. In 1806 Congress authorized construction of the roa
...
Longfellow, R. (2023). Back in Time The National Road. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75708
Longfellow, Rickie. Back in Time The National Road. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75708.
Longfellow, Rickie Back in Time The National Road. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75708.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
After reading this article (Where was the First Walk/Don't Walk Sign Installed?), several people commented on the reference to the "scramble," during which all traffic at an intersection is halted so pedestrians can cross in any direction, including diagonally. The readers suggested that Henry A. Barnes, who had been traffic commissioner in Denver,
...
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration (2023). Where Was the First Walk/Don’t Walk Sign Installed? Addendum: The Barnes Dance. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76412
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Where Was the First Walk/Don’t Walk Sign Installed? Addendum: The Barnes Dance. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76412.
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration Where Was the First Walk/Don’t Walk Sign Installed? Addendum: The Barnes Dance. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76412.
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
Many of our Nation's roadways were once dirt and mud paths until the early to mid–1800s. A modern movement at that time called for the building of wooden roads, a great improvement in transportation. These planks-boards-were laid over the roadway on log foundations in various lengths, but most were eight feet long. Built for wagons, the width of th
...
Longfellow, R. (2023). Back in Time Plank Roads. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75758
Longfellow, Rickie. Back in Time Plank Roads. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75758.
Longfellow, Rickie Back in Time Plank Roads. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75758.
2023-06-30
|
FHWA Highway History Website Articles
|
PDF
Canals have a long history of providing drinking water, irrigation, and opportunities for travel. In the United States, canal building began in the 1790s to connect the 16 States to western lands for commerce and families seeking to relocate further west. Packet boats, which provided transportation in the canals, have played an important role in Am
...
Longfellow, R. (2023). Back in Time The Packet Boat-Transportation by Canal. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75757
Longfellow, Rickie. Back in Time The Packet Boat-Transportation by Canal. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75757.
Longfellow, Rickie Back in Time The Packet Boat-Transportation by Canal. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, 2023, ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75757.
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving a Bureau of Transportation
Statistics (BTS)/National Transportation Library (NTL)
Web-based service.
Thank you for visiting.
You are about to access a non-government link outside of
the U.S. Department of Transportation's National
Transportation Library.
Please note: While links to Web sites outside of DOT are
offered for your convenience, when you exit DOT Web sites,
Federal privacy policy and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act (accessibility requirements) no longer apply. In
addition, DOT does not attest to the accuracy, relevance,
timeliness or completeness of information provided by linked
sites. Linking to a Web site does not constitute an
endorsement by DOT of the sponsors of the site or the
products presented on the site. For more information, please
view DOT's Web site linking policy.
To get back to the page you were previously viewing, click
your Cancel button.