The Politics of the Interstate Highway System

With the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act in 1956, construction began on America's interstate highway system. Regarding this act, many scholars have argued that the legislation was passed merely because of a desire to promote national defense and to facilitate quick transportation between urban centers. This perspective, which has long been corroborated by the federal government, represents a simply apolitical view of highway construction, and one that is based on a functional argument about the necessities of a modern automobile-driven society. Proponents of this reading of the construction of America’s interstate highways site benevolent social causes as another important factor in the movement, such as reversing suburbanization and invigorating blighted urban neighborhoods. This argument for the construction of America’s highways has, however, encountered a good deal of criticism because of its purely apolitical, nonpartisan focus. In fact, the birth interstate highway system in America represents a tug of war between competing interests, each of whom sought to use taxpayer money to advance their own agendas. Infrastructure legislation is often considered policy that is developed without the weight of private interest, and many scholars have attempted to frame the Federal Aid Highway Act in this light. However benevolent government intentions were, the implementation of such a massive program – one that completely changed the fabric of American communities – has clear political undertones. Private interests, especially from the side of local business chambers and the automobile industry, contributed significantly the development of the interstate highway program.


The use of the images wasn't completely explained by the introduction, so here is a quick rundown of how they will be used. The first image shows the sheer size of interstate highway infrastructure and its ability to facilitate the nearby suburban development. The second picture shows the construction of the Route 34 Connector in New Haven and its selected route through one of the city's poorest neighborhoods, and demonstrates the political nature of route placement. This idea is also expressed in the third photo, which is a map of a portion of the New York State interstate system. In the center of the photo is I-88, which is one of the least traveled interstates in the United States, chiefly because it runs only between Albany and Binghamton - cities between which there is not a great deal of traffic. It was constructed under political pressure from a powerful Binghamton Congressman and adds little useful value to the interstate system in New York. The final photo of the construction of I-95 through Richmond, VA demonstrates the destructive power of highways as they cut across cities and, once again, addresses the issue of route placement through poorer neighborhoods.