This week is the 65th anniversary of the Federal Highway Act.

[JohnnyRingo]

With the overwhelming cooperation of Congress, Dwight D Eisenhower signed the bill in 1956 that would criss cross the US with an interstate system that was globally unrivaled. A 14 year old Mitch McConnell called it "Ike's boondoggle", suggesting a four lane dirt road compromise.

This Day In History: Congress Approves The Federal Highway Act
It remains President Eisenhower's greatest domestic achievement.
Elizabeth Blackstock

President Dwight D. Eisenhower had firsthand experience with how tough it could be to cross the United States when he took part in the Army’s first-ever transcontinental motor convoy back in 1919. During the second World War, he realized how effective the German transport network was due to the well-maintained autobahn. So, on June 26, 1956, Congress approved the Federal Highway Act, which Eisenhower had used his presidency to campaign for.
/Snip/
This act allocated more than $30 billion for the construction of 41,000 miles of public interstate highways, which was the first and only project of that scale to be coordinated by the United States. In his State of the Union address that year, Eisenhower called for a “modern, interstate highwau system.” Later, Rep. George H. Fallon revised a transit bill he’d introduced with the intention of creating a domestic defense system via these roadways.

Basically, this new proposal said that tens of thousands of miles of interstate and defense highways would be built over the period of 13 years. The federal government would do the bulk of payment, contributing 90 percent or $24.8 billion to the overall costs of the project. And it would do so by raising the gas tax and imposing highway user taxes.

The bill was passed by the Senate with a vote of 89 to one. The only senator, Russell Long, voted no because he opposed the increase of taxes. Eisenhower signed the bill into law three days later, and construction began almost immediately.

continued here via Jalopnik:
https://jalopnik.com/this-day-in-history-congress-approves-the-federal-high-1847174389

As an aside, it was Lady Bird Johnson who's Beautify America Campaign 10 years later banned billboard advertising from those interstate highways.

Today is also the date in 1985 that Route 66 was decertified. Because of the interstates.

[patphil]

1. It transformed America.

It accelerated the use of automobiles as the main means of transportation. People could easily drive anywhere, and they did.
We became a mobile people. Millions of us went out each year to discover America.
This expanded commerce all along the interstates, and created millions of jobs.
The unfortunate side effect was the dramatic reduction in rail usage for travel.
But then, each big shift in consciousness has its plus and minus.

[abqtommy]

2. Some short stretches of Route 66 are still around, Like Central here in Albuquerque. It's good

to remember that the Germans were the first to have Fun Fun Fun On the Autobahn. We got our Kicks
On Route 66 later.

[vercetti2021]

3. Our route 66

Is a street now with lots of local shops, coffee and music shops. Basically the only liberal area in Amarillo.

[abqtommy]

4. Here in Albuquerque Central has always been a street but it always was and remains route 66.