Federal-Aid Highway Act And Highway Revenue Act Of 1956 And Interstate Highway Construction

The modern highway system of the United States is called "Dwight Eisenhower Interstate and National Defense Highway System".This project is praised as the most developed highway system in the world.As early as the 19th century,the construction of national highways has been started,but the capital needed for construction has always been an important factor that has troubled the development of national highways.It was not until 1916 that the first Federal Aid Road Act was passed,which officially started the legislative tradition of the United States' federal government funding for highway construction.In the whole legislative process,the most important one was the Federal Aid Highway Act signed into effect by President Eisenhower in 1956.It puts forward the new expressway and built in the past the national highway,state and county highway combined into a system,at the same time on the issue of construction funds,on the one hand to carry on the tradition of federal aid,on the other hand creatively put forward the project of the highway trust fund,ensure that the system can be completed smoothly.And for the follow-up maintenance problems also provides a source of funds.Despite several twists and turns in the proposal process,the bill was finally passed in June 1956 with the unremitting efforts of the Eisenhower administration.In prior to the construction of the Interstate highway system,the construction department of the uniform standard,plus the federal and state aid money is enough,the highway construction project progress smoothly,but due to the highway route in the middle of the construction of choose to harm the interests of low-income groups,ethnic minorities,damage to the environment caused the opposition from environmentalists,and produce the construction budget problems such as insufficient funds,the construction of the interstate highway system was stagnant.Until the 1970s,Nixon proposed the public transportation system,the bill was revised to adapt to the current traffic conditions,and the interstate highway again entered the period of rapid construction.It can be said that the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 laid a legal foundation for the smooth completion of the interstate highway system in the United States,and most of the subsequent bills followed the fund allocation and tax plan of the act,which was a milestone in the history of federal aid highway legislation.The construction of the interstate highway system in the United States has exerted an important and far-reaching influence on the American politics,economy and society.