American Highways and Roadside Attractions
Fifty years ago, President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, establishing the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. The interstate highway system stretches almost 50,000 miles, and has absorbed vast quantities of concrete and steel and nearly $129 billion dollars thus far.
It is one of the truly monumental public-works projects ever built. Guests discuss the impact that the interstate system has had on the American economy, landscape, lifestyle and culture.
Guests:
Tom Lewis, English professor at Skidmore College; author of Divided Highways: Building the Interstate Highways—Transforming American Life
Edgar Praus, photographer and founder of The American Highway Project
Jamie Jensen, wrote Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two Lane Highways
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