TTI celebrates 50 years of interstate highways

TxDOT engineers in the 1960s look over a model and blueprint of the I-35 and U.S. Hwy. 290 interchange in Austin. (Photo courtesy of the TxDOT Library.)

When the National Defense Highway Act was passed in 1956, no state had a greater stake in its success or could anticipate greater benefits from the new interstate highway system than Texas. As the largest state in the lower 48, anything that improved travel times across vast distances was welcomed, and the fact that these new roads were also going to be safer and smoother only increased their value and importance.

With more than 2,905 miles of the system’s total 40,000 miles initially scheduled to be built in Texas, interstate highways would significantly influence the population growth and the dramatic shifts in the state’s economy that began in the mid-1950s. By that time, Texas had the advantage of an already excellent system of state highways and a state Highway Department composed of visionary, well-trained engineers ready to take on the challenge of merging the new interstate highways with the existing road system. Texas’ interstate highways did more than facilitate travel across the state’s many miles. They also reshaped the appearance and improved the efficiency of transportation systems within Texas cities, affecting how and where they grew as well as their economic future.

The success of the interstate system in Texas is a tribute to thousands of dedicated engineers, planners and builders who worked together to create a highway system that would serve the people of Texas well. Above all, it’s a story of how this massive federal public works project—the largest ever seen in the United States—affected a state, its people and its economy.

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