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How The Military Influenced The Creation Of The US Interstate System
America’s highways were designed for tanks
In 1919, after witnessing years of bloody warfare in Europe, the United States Army returned home with a newfound appreciation for good roads. After months of watching horses get slaughtered by the millions, and rudimentary tanks and trucks getting bogged down in muddy holes and washed out trenches, the army was now privy to the fact that in times of war, roads were king. In order to survey the state of American roads, in the case of war, an expedition was launched that saw an army convoy cross the nation from coast to coast. The expedition left from Washington, DC and rumbled all the way to central San Francisco.
What the army found dismayed them.
The 3,200-mile trek took a full 62 days. That figures out to just 51.6 miles per day. The convoy faced numerous problems. The roads were in poor condition, pitted with holes and ruts. Many of the roads were two-laned and prone to clogging. Many bridges were not large enough or strong enough to hold the tanks and trucks in the convoy. Breakdowns were common due to broken axles from the potholes. When the convoy reached the Western half of the United States, it faced a new problem: dust, sand, and dirt. These small particles entered the 1919 engines and caused all…
