Once the backbone of the nation’s transportation system, the nation’s aging interstate highways are now overused and worn out, according to a new federal report. And failure to invest billions in modernizing the system will likely lead to more potholes, slower traffic jams, and increased costs to drivers and the nation’s economy.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation creating the interstate highway system in 1956. Since then, it has been “pivotal in shaping and supporting the country’s demographic, spatial, economic, and social development,” according to the study’s authors. But now it is showing its age and the strain of overuse.
The report, “Renewing the National Commitment to the Interstate Highway System: A Foundation for the Future,” was mandated by Congress and produced by the Transportation Research Board, which is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
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