IDOT welcomes national convoy to Tinley Park         

[JUNE 26, 2006]  TINLEY PARK -- Recognizing Illinois as a major transportation center in the country, the Illinois Department of Transportation welcomed a national convoy of transportation officials to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the interstate highway system. The convoy represents members of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials, who are recreating Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1919 military cross-country caravan that went from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco, Calif. The interstate system was created on June 29, 1956, when President Eisenhower signed the Federal Highway Act.

"On behalf of the citizens of the state of Illinois, we are proud to be a part of a historical event that was such a major influence on Americans from across the country," said Department of Transportation Secretary Timothy W. Martin. "The interstate system has changed the lives of the American people and stimulated development around the country."

Eisenhower's signature on the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 marked the end of a decades-long debate about how to develop and fund a modern national highway system and launched the largest public works project in American history.

Today's system of interstate highways is made up of an interconnected network of 46,726 miles of divided "superhighways." The interstates serve as the backbone of the network of highways, roads and streets that make up the majority of our ground transportation system.

The state of Illinois is a key transportation center within the United States for trucking and other commercial traffic flow, and there are more than 2,000 miles of interstate highway throughout the Land of Lincoln. Illinois ranks third in the nation in interstate miles, with only the Texas mileage of 3,233.45 and California's 2,455.74 ranking ahead of Illinois' 2,169.53. In Illinois, over 29 percent of all travel is done on the interstates and over 60 percent of all truck travel.

The Illinois Department of Transportation's commemoration of the historic anniversary focuses on three themes that the department views as profound, positive effects of the interstate system on the lives of Illinois residents:

• Freedom: Enhanced freedom of movement.

• Safety: Important improvements in highway safety.

• Progress: Increased opportunities for a higher quality of life made possible by progress and economic growth.

Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation partnered with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to create a traveling exhibit for the celebration. The concept, called "Roadside Conversations: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Stories," was designed by a team from the College of Fine and Applied Arts. The design is installed in an Airstream trailer that features an array of large flat-panel TVs showing images and short interviews with ordinary people recounting their stories of highway travel in the United States.

The interstate system has transformed the nation and the economy by allowing Americans to travel within a few days' drive of practically everyone else in the nation, altering people's willingness to travel and the way they schedule their time. It has also changed the way people and freight are transported, has facilitated international trade, and turned trucks into rolling warehouses.

The coast-to-coast anniversary convoy began in San Francisco on June 15 and will cross the Interstate 80 corridor to end in Washington, D.C., on June 29. This route is similar to the one taken in 1919 by Eisenhower as a young soldier with a cross-country military convoy. The difficult journey took months, and Eisenhower became a good-roads advocate, prompting the approval of the interstate system by Congress.

[Illinois Department of Transportation news release]

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