COMPLETION OF INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM AND SUBSEQUENT NEEDS

With the Interstate System mileage nearing completion, there is opportunity and reason for new major legislative, administrative, and public thrust to lay the groundwork for transportation needs of the future. The article discusses these aspects, and points out that highway traffic is now risen to the status of a major concern together with increased user charges and changes in the allocation of funds. It is shown how the nation's highway program now demands vision and a sense of the future similar to that of the 1950s. The need is indicated for the ability to anticipate the effects of changes such as the changing location of transportation demands, changing magnitude of transportation demands, and changing institutional responsiveness. It is imperative to assess both the current and future challenges to the highway systems, and prepare to meet them with a program of the magnitude of the Interstate Highway Program.