Ottawa's historic connection to the interstate is celebrated         

IDOT welcomes national convoy into Illinois

[JUNE 26, 2006]  OTTAWA -- On Saturday, the Illinois Department of Transportation highlighted the historic connection of a test road site to the national interstate system. Ottawa is home to the original test road site, located adjacent to Interstate 80, just west of the city. The Department of Transportation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the interstate by welcoming to Illinois a national convoy led by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

"America's interstate highway system is one of the most important public works projects in history and an example of what Americans can accomplish when we work together for our common good," said U.S. Sen. Richard J. Durbin. "I can't think of a better place to celebrate the 50th anniversary of America's interstate highway system than Ottawa, Ill."

"It is so important that we recognize and deeply thank the people who worked to make a difference in travel and the economy across the country," said Department of Transportation Secretary Timothy W. Martin. "The original test road site is where hundreds of military personnel spent hours driving and testing the materials to be used in interstate construction. Here we are 50 years later honoring the interstate system -- the number one influence on American cities during the last half of the 20th century that has changed the lives of the American public in countless ways."

Former military personnel drove the test road from 1958 to 1960. The men drove heavily loaded trucks, working nearly 12-hour shifts in driving the test road to determine if this same roadway could one day be an interstate system. Over 17,100,000 miles were logged on the test road.

In 1919, Dwight D. Eisenhower witnessed the need for a national highway system when, as a lieutenant colonel in the Army, he helped staff a coast-to-coast convoy of 81 military vehicles. The journey was a long and often lousy trip -- 62 days of heat, breakdowns, mud, bridgeless river crossings and rough roads. Where bridges did exist, the heavy military vehicles often broke through bridge decks. With 3,251 miles to cover between Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, the convoy set a record pace -- 58 miles a day at about 6 mph. On today's interstate highways, such a trip could be done in less than a week, covering in an hour the distance the 1919 military convoy needed a whole day to traverse.

This June marks the time when federal legislation was signed by President Eisenhower 50 years ago to begin one of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken: the Eisenhower Interstate System.

Former U.S. Rep. Ken Gray of Illinois had a hand in writing the 1956 Federal Highway Act. "The day the 1956 Federal Highway Act was signed was the greatest day in America since the end of World War II," Gray said. "The interstate system has saved millions of lives and paved the way for hundreds of millions of dollars in new development and construction."

One of the most exciting events of the golden anniversary celebration is Illinois' participation in the convoy re-enactment, which will be a return trip of Eisenhower's military cross-country caravan. It will take the 2006 convoy approximately one hour to cover the same number of miles it took the 1919 convoy to cover in one day. The re-enactment of the military convoy is significant in the celebration, showing Eisenhower's dream turned to reality -- a national interstate system. The convoy travels from Ottawa to Tinley Park in Illinois and then heads to Indiana.

For more information regarding the 50th anniversary of the interstate, go to www.il50.com.

[Illinois Department of Transportation news release]

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