I'll bet none of you can imagine what is turning 100 next year. No, not Abe Vigoda, I think he left us some time ago. I am talking about the original "interstate" highway system in America.
(insert Ogre yelling NERD!!!) Yeah I know, I'm not changing my stripes anytime soon.
That aside, this system of highways is still among us. I can name at least one U.S. highway in pretty much any place I have lived. In Berks County, U.S. 22, 222, and 422; In Detroit metro, U.S. 12 and 24; in Wilmington N.C., U.S. 17, 74, 76, 421, and 117; in Sonoma County,CA, U.S. 101; and in good ol Las Vegas, we have U.S. 93 and 95!
And in that system, we have some classics, most notably U.S. 66. It is not formally with us anymore, but we road enthisiasts know where to find it when we need it and want it.
Now, I have a particular fondness for this old system, which has seen many changes over time, had old numbers (like 66) retired, or certain road stretches renumbered. The system deserves a celebration.
With all that said, I must take a little side trip to the more modern interstate system, the one that is red, white, and blue in its shielding deisgn and created by President Eisenhower in 1956. The original design of that system has also undergone changes and expansions...and it keeps expanding!
I have to wonder why. I can see where cases of congestion on 2-lane highways might demand a freeway bypass in some places, but I am seeing expansions where none are really necessary, North Carolina in particular. That state has been trying to create I 73, an eastern leg of I 74, and a southern leg of I 87 that will never connect to its New York parent. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you view it), I 73 will likely stay in NC due to Virginia having no desire to build it on their turf. Perhaps it will just go to Myrtle Beach if South Carolina gets funding.
That's ok, though, there are eastern and western legs of I 76, 84, and 86. But it does go to show that there are periods where some states go freeway crazy. Illinois has probably the most even though one or two seem unnecessary when you look back. Texas is getting into it now with I 2 and 14.
To me, the dumbest Interstate was 99 in Pennsylvania, an obvious case of freeway building just to leave a personal legacy for better or worse.
The reason I bring up the newer system is that I wonder why it is necessary to expand on that one when the older system still gets freeway upgrades here and there. For instance, U.S. 220 could have been upgraded instead of 99 being created.
At any rate, I will be visiting some of these old classics here and there in the next year and a half...or longer, and see what each one brings to the national culture.
