The Federal Government funded 90% of the National System of Interstate Defense Highways.
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In the United States, the federal government primarily provides funding for interstate roads through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 established the Interstate Highway System, which is a network of highways designed to facilitate interstate travel and commerce. While the federal government sets standards and provides funding, state governments are responsible for the construction, maintenance, and operation of these roads.
The first interstate highway built in the United States was the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, with the initial segment constructed in Missouri. This stretch of highway, known as the Interstate 70, opened in 1956. It was part of a larger initiative to create a nationwide network of highways to improve transportation and enhance national defense.
As of 2006, there were 46,876 miles of roadway in the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways.
The Highway Act of 1956, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, authorized the construction of a 41,000-mile network of interstate highways in the United States. It was aimed at improving the nation's infrastructure for defense and economic purposes, as well as promoting interstate commerce and travel. The act provided for federal funding for 90% of the cost of the interstate construction, with the states responsible for the remaining 10%.
The Interstate Highway System was authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 - popularly known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 - on June 29
Obviously the purpose was to build a system of good interstate highways. National defense- the ability to move military supplies and personnel quickly- played a role in justifying the program.
Basically, that the federal government should serve some functions for ALL of the states (which the states wouldn't be good at doing, independently), such a fight wars, collect taxes for national defense, and interstate functions such as highways, etc.
In 1956 President Dwight Eisenhower initiated a mammoth federally funded program to create a national interstate highway system, later named the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways.
National defense is the job of the federal government.
Hawaii has three interstates - H1, H2, and H3 - which connect important military facilities on the island of Oahu.The real name of the interstate highway system is "The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways", the Defense part of this name means they are intended primarily as Military Highways for the transportation of military equipment and troops in times of war and other emergency. Therefore such highways do not actually have to be "interstate" if they serve a valid "military" purpose. In fact many of the specifications for these highways derive directly from military equipment in the US inventory during the 1950s, when the system was in planning (e.g. the minimum clearance on overpasses comes from the height of the 280mm M65 Atomic Cannon the largest Army artillery piece ever made - in service from 1953 to 1963 it could fire a shell with a 15 kiloton yield about 20 miles).
The main supporter of the Interstate Highway System was President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He recognized the need for a national network of highways for defense and economic efficiency, inspired in part by his experiences with the German autobahn during World War II. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which established the system, was largely championed by his administration, leading to the construction of over 41,000 miles of interstate roads across the United States.