Little Known Facts About the Interstate Highway System
04-11-2016
Author: in Education
Did you know that if you tell me the number of the Interstate you are on I can tell you whether it runs north and south or east and west? That the side of the sign the smaller sign with the exit number is on will tell you whether the exit is on the left or right? Many RVers drive almost exclusively on the Federal Interstate Highway system without giving much thought as to what it is that is making their travels smoother. Here are some interesting facts about that system; some of them actually might have practical value.
Did you know, for instance, that the system was built in part to increase the country's ability to survive a nuclear attack? In 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The bill created a 41,000-mile “National System of Interstate and Defense Highways.” Today that system is more than 46,000 miles long. And while it has never been used for evacuation from nuclear attack, it has proved the validity of the concept in evacuations from several natural disasters. It is designed so that, if necessary, traffic may be directed to move in all lanes in one direction.
Initial funding for the system came from an increased gasoline tax—from two cents to three cents a gallon that went into a non-divertible Highway Trust Fund. Every state owns the sections within its borders and is responsible for maintaining and enforcing traffic laws in its portion. The section that has claimed “the largest pothole in the country” award is on I-75 outside Detroit. In 1979 the final section of the Canada to Mexico Interstate 5 was dedicated near Stockton, California. In 1986 the final section of the coast-to-coast I-80 (San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey) was dedicated on the western edge of Salt Lake City, Utah, making I-80 the world's first contiguous freeway to span from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean and, at the time, the longest contiguous freeway in the world.. At the dedication it was noted that coincidentally this was only 50 miles from Promontory Summit, where a similar feat was accomplished 120 years before with the laying of the golden spike of the United States' First Transcontinental Railroad.
Initial cost estimate for the interstate system was $25 billion over 12 years; it ended up costing $114 billion, taking 35 years to complete. Estimates for building today to construct a new 2-lane undivided road – about $2-$3 million per mile in rural areas, about $3-5 million in urban areas. To construct a new 4-lane highway — $4-$6 million per mile in rural and suburban areas, $8-$10 million per mile in urban areas.
What are we driving on? On average there is nearly three million tons of concrete in a mile of Interstate. In comparison, there are 6.6 million tons of concrete in the Hoover Dam. . Of course there are many specifications for the construction of the highways. Several urban legends about the system, for instance that it is designed for aircraft landing every ten miles or curves are required every so many miles, are simply not true. For those with more curiosity about the actual specifications, here are the details.
The highest in altitude is 11,158 feet at the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado. The lowest on land is -52 feet in California and underwater -103 feet in Maryland. The heaviest traveled is I-405 in Los Angeles with an estimated 374,000 vehicles per day. Think about that next time you are stuck in heavy traffic! The Longest (east-west): is 3,020.54 miles (I-90) from Boston, Massachusetts, to Seattle, Washington.
Texas is the state with the most interstate miles within its borders, 3,233.45 miles.
How are Interstate Highways numbered?
Although there are exceptions, in general the numbering system for primary routes is, east-west highways are assigned even numbers and north-south highways are assigned odd numbers. Odd route numbers increase from west to east, and even-numbered routes increase from south to north (to avoid confusion with the U.S. Highways, which increase from east to west and north to south), though there are exceptions to both principles in several locations.
Auxiliary Interstate Highways are circumferential, radial, or spur highways that principally serve urban areas. These types of Interstate Highways are given three-digit route numbers, which consist of a single digit prefixed to the two-digit number of its parent Interstate Highway. Spur routes deviate from their parent and do not return; these are given an odd first digit. Circumferential and radial loop routes return to the parent, and are given an even first digit.” A list of Interstate Highways with suffixes such as N and S is available here.
What about mile post markers?
On one- or two-digit Interstates, the mile marker numbering almost always begins at the southern or western state line. If an Interstate originates within a state, the numbering begins from the location where the road begins in the south or west. Exceptions exist for Interstate Highways that used segments of roadway that were built prior to Interstate Highway standards being formalized and were grandfathered into the system.
Exit numbers correspond to Interstate mileage markers in most states. Many northeastern states label exit numbers sequentially, regardless of how many miles have passed between exits. States in which Interstate exits are still numbered sequentially are Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont; as such, five of the main Interstate highways that remain completely within these states (87,88, 89, 91, and 93) have interchanges numbered sequentially along their entire routes.
Next time you really need one, remember, there are more than 1,214 rest areas (http://www.interstaterestareas.com/) , so one is bound to be coming up soon.
No doubt you have learned something interesting about the Interstate Highway system that I have not mentioned here, so please share them with your fellow RVers in the comment section below.
Until next time, walk in beauty and keep it between the ditches,
Russel
Did you know, for instance, that the system was built in part to increase the country's ability to survive a nuclear attack? In 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The bill created a 41,000-mile “National System of Interstate and Defense Highways.” Today that system is more than 46,000 miles long. And while it has never been used for evacuation from nuclear attack, it has proved the validity of the concept in evacuations from several natural disasters. It is designed so that, if necessary, traffic may be directed to move in all lanes in one direction.
Initial funding for the system came from an increased gasoline tax—from two cents to three cents a gallon that went into a non-divertible Highway Trust Fund. Every state owns the sections within its borders and is responsible for maintaining and enforcing traffic laws in its portion. The section that has claimed “the largest pothole in the country” award is on I-75 outside Detroit. In 1979 the final section of the Canada to Mexico Interstate 5 was dedicated near Stockton, California. In 1986 the final section of the coast-to-coast I-80 (San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey) was dedicated on the western edge of Salt Lake City, Utah, making I-80 the world's first contiguous freeway to span from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean and, at the time, the longest contiguous freeway in the world.. At the dedication it was noted that coincidentally this was only 50 miles from Promontory Summit, where a similar feat was accomplished 120 years before with the laying of the golden spike of the United States' First Transcontinental Railroad.
Initial cost estimate for the interstate system was $25 billion over 12 years; it ended up costing $114 billion, taking 35 years to complete. Estimates for building today to construct a new 2-lane undivided road – about $2-$3 million per mile in rural areas, about $3-5 million in urban areas. To construct a new 4-lane highway — $4-$6 million per mile in rural and suburban areas, $8-$10 million per mile in urban areas.
What are we driving on? On average there is nearly three million tons of concrete in a mile of Interstate. In comparison, there are 6.6 million tons of concrete in the Hoover Dam. . Of course there are many specifications for the construction of the highways. Several urban legends about the system, for instance that it is designed for aircraft landing every ten miles or curves are required every so many miles, are simply not true. For those with more curiosity about the actual specifications, here are the details.
The highest in altitude is 11,158 feet at the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado. The lowest on land is -52 feet in California and underwater -103 feet in Maryland. The heaviest traveled is I-405 in Los Angeles with an estimated 374,000 vehicles per day. Think about that next time you are stuck in heavy traffic! The Longest (east-west): is 3,020.54 miles (I-90) from Boston, Massachusetts, to Seattle, Washington.
Texas is the state with the most interstate miles within its borders, 3,233.45 miles.
How are Interstate Highways numbered?
Although there are exceptions, in general the numbering system for primary routes is, east-west highways are assigned even numbers and north-south highways are assigned odd numbers. Odd route numbers increase from west to east, and even-numbered routes increase from south to north (to avoid confusion with the U.S. Highways, which increase from east to west and north to south), though there are exceptions to both principles in several locations.
Auxiliary Interstate Highways are circumferential, radial, or spur highways that principally serve urban areas. These types of Interstate Highways are given three-digit route numbers, which consist of a single digit prefixed to the two-digit number of its parent Interstate Highway. Spur routes deviate from their parent and do not return; these are given an odd first digit. Circumferential and radial loop routes return to the parent, and are given an even first digit.” A list of Interstate Highways with suffixes such as N and S is available here.
What about mile post markers?
On one- or two-digit Interstates, the mile marker numbering almost always begins at the southern or western state line. If an Interstate originates within a state, the numbering begins from the location where the road begins in the south or west. Exceptions exist for Interstate Highways that used segments of roadway that were built prior to Interstate Highway standards being formalized and were grandfathered into the system.
Exit numbers correspond to Interstate mileage markers in most states. Many northeastern states label exit numbers sequentially, regardless of how many miles have passed between exits. States in which Interstate exits are still numbered sequentially are Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont; as such, five of the main Interstate highways that remain completely within these states (87,88, 89, 91, and 93) have interchanges numbered sequentially along their entire routes.
Next time you really need one, remember, there are more than 1,214 rest areas (http://www.interstaterestareas.com/) , so one is bound to be coming up soon.
No doubt you have learned something interesting about the Interstate Highway system that I have not mentioned here, so please share them with your fellow RVers in the comment section below.
Until next time, walk in beauty and keep it between the ditches,
Russel
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Author: Russel Micnhimer
