Accessibility links
Highway System at 50 Follow NPR coverage of the golden anniversary of federal legislation that sparked an economic and travel revolution -- and also led to some unanticipated consequences, for good and ill.
thumbnail
Special Series

Highway System at 50

Follow coverage of the anniversary of legislation that sparked an economic and travel revolution.

Thursday

Visions of America's Transportation Future

On the golden anniversary of the the interstate highway system, planners are asking what the next 50 years will bring -- and there are signs the system will be bigger, faster and even more efficient. But critics say alternative travel modes are being ignored.

Visions of America's Transportation Future

Listen
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5521245/5521249" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Highways Change the Face of America

The interstate highway system is the result of the largest earth-moving project in human history -- so large that it's been called the "51st state." The system accelerated suburban development, changed shipping, leisure travel and American culture as a whole.

Highways Change the Face of America

Listen
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5520404/5520405" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Tuned into Driving Along in Our Automobiles

The interstates have had a profound effect on our culture. They affect where we live, what we eat and most definitely the sounds we listen to when we get our motors running and head out on the highway.

Tuned into Driving Along in Our Automobiles

Listen
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5518261/5518262" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

A Road System's Unintended Consequences

Without our interstate highway system, the United States would have far fewer suburbs, fewer fast-food joints, and "just-in-time" production would be all but unknown in America. The second of a four-part series explores how the vast road system has changed America, for good or ill.

A Road System's Unintended Consequences

Listen
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5515361/5515362" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Connecting the Coasts: A Road Revolution

This week marks the 50th anniversary of legislation that created the nation's interstate highway system. It couldn't come at a better time for America -- drivers were growing frustrated by the lack of roads and the congestion in the cities.

Connecting the Coasts: A Road Revolution

Listen
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5511734/5511735" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript