Federal Aid To Highway Act Of 1956

The Federal Aid to Highway Act of 1956 and How It Impacted American Transportation Policy
Bradley R. Graham
TLMT311 D001 - Introduction to Transportation Management
American Public University Systems
Professor David Patton

The Federal Aid to Highway Act of 1956 and How It Impacted American Transportation Policy
During the 1950’s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower recognized the need for an intercontinental highway system. President Eisenhower’s support of the Federal Aid to Highway Act was, in large part, due to his experiences in the Army. The things that he experienced during his participation in the Transcontinental Motor Convoy of 1919, a 2 month convoy from Washington D.C. to San Francisco California, coupled with his observations
(Dilger, 2003) His statement was completely accurate because, at that time, it was the largest American public works program ever created. President Eisenhower and Congress supported this act because it created an interstate system that would not only be a catalyst for economic growth, but it would also provide the military with an efficient means of transporting troops across the country. President Eisenhower personally experienced the need for the military to have an efficient route for transporting troops across the country when he participated in the Transcontinental Motor Convey of 1919. The convoy traveled from Washington D.C. to San Francisco, California in an effort to show the need for better highways. (Dilger, 2003) The dramatic increase in the use of automobiles after World War II led to a huge increase in traffic congestion across the United Sates. The Federal Aid to Highway Act laid out plans for multiple east-west and north-south interstates, making the country accessible by automobiles and decreasing traffic
This change led to the creation of the United States Highway Trust Fund. “The Highway Trust Fund was expected to collect an estimated $14.8 billion over the program’s 16 year construction period from a three cents per gallon excise tax on gasoline, diesel and special motor fuels; a nine cents per pound excise tax on inner tubes; an eight cents per pound excise tax on automobile tubes; a three cents per pound excise tax on tire retreads; half of the 10 percent manufacturer’s tax on trucks, buses, and truck trailers; and a $1.50 per pound weight fee on trucks and buses, excluding local transit vehicles weighing over 26,000 pounds.” (Dilger, 2003, pgs. 20-21) This tax structure placed the funding of the interstates squarely on the shoulders of the people who use the interstates. A huge benefit of the Highway Trust Fund is that it was designed to raise the funds without the use of tolls. After construction, the public preferred to use the toll free roads that their tax dollars paid for rather than using privately owned toll roads. In the years to come, this led to the closure of numerous tolls roads across the