In the fifty-four years since construction on the interstate highway system began, we have not had the scene (except in a few movies) of cars jamming highways to avoid a nuclear attack.\u00a0 However, we have found that the system provides a much improved capacity for people to leave areas of natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and forest fires.<\/p>\n

Most of the system\u2019s use comes on a daily basis as people and goods move back and forth across the country. During holidays, people enjoy the system so much that they are willing to spend hours in gridlock, as they inch to and from their destinations.<\/p>\n

If we assess the project, there are clear pros and cons:<\/p>\n

Pros and Cons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t

Pros<\/th>	Cons<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1.\tIt stimulated an economy that was still reeling from the Depression as well as the reduction in demand following World War II.<\/td>	1.\tIt was literally the pathway for abandoning our central cities in favor of suburbs. Sprawl became the norm, causing us to use a host of additional resources.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2.\tIt provides tens of thousands of miles for us to use our current choice of transportation, the automobile.<\/td>	2.\tIt has fueled our addiction to petroleum products and while hybrid automobiles are beginning to make a measurable difference, we continue to rely on a non-renewable and environmentally polluting fuel.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3.\tIt paved natural corridors for economic development including some that are currently key to America\u2019s future such as technology and bio-engineering.<\/td>	3.\tFatalities on the road have greatly increased since the system came into existence.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n So, as you lament the presence of the interstate system and how the ribbons of concrete have torn cities apart and polluted our environment, remember that it provided a much needed stimulus for the economy.\u00a0 It\u2019s also a big part of why you can order almost anything in the United States today and receive it tomorrow.<\/p>\n There is an inescapable irony:\u00a0 As the \u201cParty of No\u201d opposes stimulus packages, unemployment benefits, etc., many of its politicians crow to their constituents about the jobs that they have brought to their communities.\u00a0 When is the last time that you heard a Republican praise Dwight Eisenhower for bringing us the interstate highway system?\u00a0 Don\u2019t hold your breath waiting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Franklin Roosevelt gave us the New Deal; Lyndon Johnson gave us the Great Society, and Barack Obama gave us a stimulus package of more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,19,451,128,172,47,241],"tags":[61,558,98,557],"yoast_head":"\n