Elsewhere I’ve written a three part series on Minnesota’s Trunk Highway System. Now it’s time to visit topics that were skipped as outside the main story arc, or that were deserving of separate articles. One of these is the story of our interstate system.
The Dawn of the Dream
As late as 1919 Lt. colonel Eisenhower had indescribable difficulty on his cross country road trip trip. He was part of a military convoy from Washington, DC to San Francisco. The endeavor took 62 days, and eventually trucks started getting stuck on a daily basis for hours at a time. (Today the total driving time is 41 hours). Here’s some photos from the Eisenhower Presidential Library.
By the end of the trip there was no question in Eisenhower and the other participants minds that the federal government needed to be involved in transcontinental highways, and that’s what happened. The federal government did get involved in funding, setting standards, and a US branded highway system. Within two decades you could drive just about everywhere on pavement, and the biggest impairment to mobility wasn’t intractable mud, but traffic signals and traffic congestion. Road advocates started to dream big- of a national system of high quality highways. The idea was to provide a sink for government programs labor, ease civilian congestion, and facilitate military transportation
Toll Roads and Free Roads
With the development of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the 1930s the idea for a national system of tollways was tossed around. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1938, approved June 8, 1938 commissioned a national study by the US Bureau of Public Roads, predecessor agency of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
The Chief of the Bureau of Public Roads is hereby directed to investigate and make a report of his findings and recommend to the Congress not later than February 1, 1939, with respect to the feasibility of funding, and cost of, superhighways not exceeding three in number, running in a general direction from the eastern to the western portion of the United States, and not exceeding three in number, running in a general direction from the northern to the southern portion of the United States, including the feasibility of a toll system on such roads
The report “Toll Roads and Free Roads” was presented April 27, 1939 to Congress. Here’s a map from the document.
Here’s another map with proposed widths, I’ve highlighted the four-lane sections to make it legible. Four lanes were considered justified at 1500 daily vehicles predicted by 1960.
And proposed cross section. Lane widths are the 12 feet standard that’s still in effect today, but look at how close those trees are to the road.
The study found the proposed system wouldn’t come even close paying for itself, being $1.7 billion short over the next 30 years (costs of $2,964,896,936, revenues $1,154,236,525) . Besides being ridiculously precise, we now know those numbers are ridiculous in general. Not even 1500 vehicles a day in western Ohio? They didn’t realize how much induced demand (or as I prefer to call it, latent economic activity) there was waiting to be realized with high quality roads. Although in my opinion it would have been unfortunate to have a system of tollways, it wouldn’t be so unfeasible as was presented. But having presented that, and on the theory that the report should be constructive as well as negative, a proposal for a more extensive system of free highways was made.
Reading the report it should also be clear freeways were envisioned in the cities from the very beginning. They were called “connecting routes”- not yet an integral part of the system. And there seems to have been a different amount of emphasis on them at different times and by different people, Eisenhower himself clearly envisioned something more along the lines of the Autobahns which did not go into the cities. The early technical distinction, the idea that the Autobahns were the prototype, and Eisenhower’s vision are likely where the myth that “we weren’t originally going to build freeways into the cities” came about. But this picture of a proposed “connecting route” should make it clear what was envisioned.
In the end Eisenhower was overruled by the FHWA. It was felt that a system that didn’t serve the people with cars that lived in or needed to travel to the city was a poor model for America’s future.
The War Years and After
Soon after war came to the U.S, and our priorities shifted away from building up our infrastructure. The idea never died though, and planning for a national system continued. On April 14, 1941, Roosevelt appointed a National Interregional Highway Committee to study the need for a limited system of national inter-state highways. The report was substantially completed in 1941 but with the war going on there was no hurry to make the final revisions and wasn’t finally submitted to Congress until Jan 12 1944 (this report doesn’t seem to be available online).
The report recommended a 39,000 mile system. This wouldn’t have been all freeway or even all divided highway. Cross roads were allowed where the daily traffic was under 5000 vehicles, or basically just about anywhere in the country. A single carriageway was allowed with traffic under 3000. Amid the debate in Congress was the issue of the name, previously it had been known at the “Express” or “Interregional” system. But Reps. Hugh Peterson (D-Georgia) and Leon H. Gavin (R-Pennsylvania) particularity disliked the term “Interregional”. It implied a country broken down into regions and de-emphasized the transcontinental nature of the highways. The name “Interstate” came with the formal legislation to establish the system, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944 that was passed on Dec 20, 1944. Here’s some illustrations from the report:
The Federal Highway Act provided 50% federal funding for and established the system. Since we had other things to spend money on at the time, actual appropriations under the act were to come later. As it turns out they never did. President Truman worried the program would be inflationary and over-tax the construction industry, and his focus was more on housing programs. Another issue was that more rural states balked at only 50% federal funding. But planning continued on paper.
Note the I-29 between Fargo and Sioux Falls didn’t exist, it was a late addition to the system. Other than that the Midwest is identical to what was built. Here’s a 1951 map in the Twin Cities from the “Yellow Book”, which showed proposed intra-city routings.
You’ll notice what became I-35W was intended to be along closer to Lyndale Ave. as opposed to halfway between Nicollet Ave. and Portland Ave. As noted in Part 1 of a History of Minnesota’s Trunk Highways, Minneapolis business interests wanted the main trunk highway to the south to be along Lyndale Ave rather than Cedar or anywhere else, so there may have been some continuity of thought here.
The route of what became I-94 was the subject of much discussion. The diagonal to the northwest was moved to be along the river. What is now Bottineau Blvd had been the main highway out of town since the auto trail days. But due to Minneapolis’s dream of building a vast industrial powerhouse with the St Anthony Falls locks and Upper Harbor Terminal the city wanted the freeway to directly serve those. In downtown Minneapolis a routing along Washington Ave was shown, putting it there was still under discussion into the 1950s. Between the cities the routing along University that’s shown is the one that got built, but there were alternative proposals. It would have been better to build it in the railroad corridor, but University Ave business interests and the desire for synergy with urban renewal dictated otherwise.
The Dream Becomes A Reality
With the change of administration, the interstates had a champion. Eisenhower saw how much easier the interstates made military operations in Germany, here’s a famous photograph the U.S. army entering Germany over four lanes of smooth concrete instead of muck and mire, as well as the utility the had for civilians.
Although legislation failed in 1955, it succeeded in the following year and the 1956 Federal Highway act was passed in June 29, 1956. It formalized the name as the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, and much more importantly it provided for 90% federal funding for a 41,000 mile system. This is also where the concept of the entire system being full freeway standard was cemented. Though I-90 in Montana does not justify a freeway based on traffic volume, it does from a standpoint of having a consistent national system, and reducing long-haul motorist fatigue. Two lane interstates for volumes under 3000 were still allowed per the 1944 standard for a while, and in fact a number of two lane interstates got built in the western states and were not twinned until the 1980s.
The original concept was to maintain the existing numbering system with US designated highways, in 1957 came the idea for a separate numbering and branding for the system. Here’s a map of the numbers.
State employees were invited to submit designs for the shield. Quite popular were cutout “I”s, and also eagle motifs. Here’s a couple of photo-shopped submissions And here’s a submission by a Minnesota Department of Highways employee. Minnesota at the time was just phasing out it’s star in a circle route markers, and at triangle in a circle is a civil defense symbol. The triangle was also supposed represent the highways spanning the U.S. and touching Mexico and Canada.
The final design was a combination of a submission from Texas (which had the same basic shape and format but black and white and “I” instead of spelling out “Interstate”), with the red, white, and blue of the submissions from Missouri and North Carolina. I have no problems with the design selected. A shield motif has been associated with the federal government, and the design is distinctive yet legible and easily reproducible.
The Late 1950s: The Building Begins
With the passing of the Interstate Highway Act in 1956, and planning completed, the only thing left was to actually turn loose bulldozers and get to work. An obvious question is “What was the first interstate?”. There’s no clear answer due to the overlap between “non-interstate” and “interstate” since the interstates were more an evolution
The MN 100 Beltway was established in 1933 in the southern metro and in 1942 in the northern metro (See “A History of Minnesota’s Trunk Highways, Part Two) “. The plan was to eventually build it as an expressway all around the metro. Most of the development occurred on the western leg, and the interstate went farther west. But the old Lyndale Ave overpass and the old eastbound I-694 Mississippi River Bridge were incorporated into the interstate system. The Lyndale Ave overpass lasted until a few years ago, while the I-694 bridge was replaced in 1988.
Another early section was Interstate 35W in Bloomington and Richfield, opened as an interstate but was planned before then. As such it opened with two at-grade crossings, at 58th Street and 73rd Street. The one at 73rd street was closed early on, but the one at 58th remains as an artifact on the bypassed stub that’s now MN 121.
One thing to look for in Bloomington: The original art deco-like elements on the 94th Street overpass. There were six original local street crossings of this section, of which the 94th Street overpass is the last one that hasn’t been razed or dramatically altered. As such it’s now considered historic, and when it came time to rehabilitate the bridge, they raised but kept the original beams, and kept the original railing (supplemented with chain link to meet modern safety standards.)
Another contender for the first interstate would be the the Austin Bypass. The Minnesota Highway Department- one of the predecessor agencies to MnDOT- newsletters awarded it the title of “Minnesota’s first freeway”. Although planned before the Interstate Act Minnesota Highways it was clear it was meant to be part of the system.
Despite these pre-existing elements, the Minnesota Department of Highways awarded the title of the “first interstate” to I-35 around Medford, opened to traffic by late 1958. Here’s the ribbon cutting with a number of dignitaries. Coincidentally this was later the site of Minnesota’s first roundabout.
A photo from the 1959 Official Highway Map. The original concrete remains today, buried under a layer of asphalt
The Wakota and Minnesota River Bridges also opened by 1960. Both were planned pre-interstate but opened as part of the system. Here’s the front page of the Minnesota Highways Magazine (and internal newsletter of Minnesota Department of Highways) showcasing the Minnesota River Bridge. Also note the star in the circle. Although this was abandoned as the highway marker design by the late 1950s, it remained the logo of the agency until it was folded into MnDOT in 1976.
The 1960s
The 1960s were the zenith of interstate construction. Commenting on specific projects would be vast and thus pointless, so instead here’s a few of my favorite vintage pictures from Minnesota Highways
By the end of the decade you could drive from the Twin Cities to Duluth on freeway, and almost to Fargo on freeway and expressway. Just 40 years prior the milestone was to be able to do that on paved roads
The 1970s through the 1980s
Rapid construction continued into the early 1970s, Here’s another picture I like, this was actually an alteration to the just built I-35W. Jersey barriers and high pressure sodium vapor lighting had just been invented, and was retrofitted to I-35W.
Another major milestone was the Lowry Tunnel.
Then in 1975 came a law commonly called the “Freeway Moratorium”. Although not an actual moratorium, it placed severe restrictions on what could be built in several key corridors. Some of the key points:
- Construction of the I-35E corridor as a parkway, provided it did not connect to I-94, allowed.
- Construction of up to six lanes on I-394 allowed
- Construction of up to six lanes on Hiawatha allowed
- Dartmouth interchange work not allowed
- Construction of I-335 as a parkway, was allowed
The moratorium had mixed results with respect to the interstates.
- The Dartmouth interchange (I’ve not seen a layout but apparently a system interchange to directly connect I-94 with University Ave) was cancelled entirely. The city of Minneapolis was always more enthusiastic about this one than the Minnesota Department of Highways
- I-335 was cancelled. A later conception (added in 1964), it got pushed well into the NIMBY area and it seems the MDH lost interest in pushing to build it. In it’s final proposal it would easily have been the least useful of our urban interstates.
- The current design of I-35E through St. Paul has only four lanes with an arbitrary 45 mph speed limit and truck ban, and a now decrepit planter in the middle, as compromise in exchange for allowing a connection to I-94.
- I-394 was built with the legislative limit of six through lanes. That’s why the the 3rd lane in each direction originally ended on either side of Penn Ave for no good reason. MnDOT seems to have anticipated the public outcry about this, so they built the shoulder extra wide under the overpass. Eventually a compromise was reached where they could re-stripe it for a through lane in exchange for doing an asphalt overlay to cut down on the road noise.
In Greater Minnesota, the last of the rural sections were finished. I-90 (with very low traffic volumes) and I-94 from the Twin Cities to St Cloud (where a four lane expressway already existed) both went through expensive farmland and seemed to be lower priorities.
Something to notice on I-90 if you travel in the area- look for the gold tinted cement slab at the Blue Earth Rest Area (they’ve now done an asphalt overlay on the road, but left the slab uncovered on the shoulder.) This was the last slab poured on I-90 in Minnesota, and in fact the last slab poured between Boston and Coeur d’Alene, ID.
One thing noteworthy about I-94: It got built a lot farther from St. Cloud than was originally intended. Note the fine red dashed line in the map below. It’s possible they didn’t want local traffic in St. Cloud mixing with through traffic, but although it took a generation, the city of St. Cloud has reached the freeway anyway.
It might have been better just to acknowledge the inevitable and build it closer and with capacity for local traffic, like was done at Fargo-Moorhead. The way it was built both encouraged very low density growth, made it useless for people in the dense part of the city, and ultimately didn’t prevent the problem.
The final section of interstate to be completed in Minnesota was I-35 in downtown Duluth, opened 1992. With the freeway caps it demonstrates the right way to build a freeway. It allowed people that had no interest in taking their cars through the downtown area while at the same time the tunnels add new parkland to connect the downtown to the waterfront. It’s fortunate it was saved to last, as a more typical elevated freeway was originally planned.
A Symbol of Freedom
Finally, let me share a picture of one of my favorite signs. After 6 hours of driving through the Minnesota and Iowa countryside, with two hours to go to my destination south of Galesburg, I saw it at the Illinois border. I reflected on the freedom cars , interstates, and highways in general give us as Americans. Freedom to travel wherever I choose. Freedom from stoplights, crossroads and to not be limited to going only where rail stations happen to be. And freedom from the bandits, crooked government officials looking for a bribe, and internal border controls that exist in other countries.
As far back as 1823 the United States Supreme Court ruled the right to travel was a fundamental constitutional right, and even the Magna Carta addressed the issue in 1215.
Today the interstate system has been successful at promoting freedom beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. The original proposal for toll roads envisioned 4.5 billion vehicle miles traveled. Today, with less than three times the population, the interstates carry 805 billion.
