A Half-Century of Interstates

On June 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which launched the largest roadbuilding program in American history... construction of the Interstate Highway System!!!

Last November, I blogged about Georgia's connection to its glorious history. Please click here to read.

And now, for your reading pleasure, a little history...

Georgia's original interstates were I-16, I-20, I-24, I-59, I-75, I-85, I-95, I-185, I-285, and I-475. These original Georgia interstates were completed in 1979, I-185 being the very last to be completed. From what I remember seeing on one of my dad's old roadmaps from circa 1960, the first stretch of Georgia Interstate to be opened was a portion of I-75 in south Georgia.

Since these original Interstates, Georgia has added even more Interstates as follows:

- I-516 (GA 21 until circa 1990.)
- I-520 (GA 232 until circa 1977.)
- I-575 (Construction began in 1978, completed by 1990.)
- I-675 (Opened in 1988.)
- I-985 (The limited-access portion of GA 365 that was designated with this route number in 1985.)

Interstates 420 (Lakewood Freeway extension from I-75/85 to I-20) and 485 (Stone Mountain Tollway) were proposed for the City of Atlanta, but were ultimately squashed by neighborhood groups. Part of the proposed I-485 route eventually became Freedom Parkway, with the Carter Library being in the middle of what would have been an interchange between it and a proposed GA 400 extension to the southside.

There was also a proposed I-175 that would have run from I-75 in Cordele to Albany, but, alas, Albany would not have its Interstate. Instead, I-175 was scrapped in favor of the "watered-down" Georgia-Florida Parkway (GA 300), whose interchange at I-75 (Exit 99) is where I-175 would have met I-75.

In recent years, Congress has proposed 2 more Interstates for Georgia as follows:

- I-3 (Savannah to Knoxville, via Augusta and the northeast Georgia mountains.)
- I-14 (Alexandria, LA, to Augusta, via Columbus and Macon/Warner Robins.)

Although politicians are promoting the perceived economic benefits of I-3, it is heavily and vehemently opposed by residents of the northeast Georgia mountains, western North Carolina, and eastern Tennessee. See the "STOP I-3" website for details.

I-14 has also been proposed for economic development purposes, but I do not know of any organized oppostion group for this proposal. In any event, it could be years before the first spadeful of dirt is broken for either highway (assuming the Georgia DOT does anything to get these projects on the drawing board in the first place).

I still remember when I-20 dead-ended at GA 5 in Douglas County. At that time, you had to take US 78 into Alabama, where you'd pick up I-20 again via AL 9. When we traveled that particular stretch of I-20 to and from Birmingham last June, I still had a picture in my mind of how it looked when I was a little boy traveling with family to see my maternal relatives in Douglasville. Yes, dear reader, I was destined to be a full-fledged, unrepentant roadgeek... and I'm darn proud of it, y'all!!! :)

Now that I've given you a short history lesson (plus a brief detour down "Memory Lane"), I encourage each of you to mark June 29, 2006, on your calendar and wish the Dwight David Eisenhower Interstate System a happy 50th birthday.

For more information about the Interstate's 50th birthday (including a lot of great history), please visit the official celebration website at the American Association of State Highway and Transporation Officials (AASHTO), www.interstate50th.org.

Thanks for visiting and please come again.