Newswise — The interstate turned 50 this year, and whether it triggers road rage or wanderlust, this elegant web of concrete and asphalt has made an indelible mark on the American psyche.
The half-century mark is a good time to reflect on the interstate system and, while planning for the future, avoid the missteps of the past.
Dr. Bruce Seely, professor and chair of the Department of Social Sciences at Michigan Technological University, can speak on the tumultuous history of the world's greatest road system.
The interstate, inspired by America's love of the automobile, does its job so well in part because politicians handed it over to highway engineers, Seely says.
However, the engineers did not foresee the social, economic and political consequences often blamed on the interstate, such as sprawl, paralyzing traffic jams and the death of downtown business districts.
As a result, politicians wrenched back control in the 1960s, with predicable results: federal highway dollars are funneled more and more to legislators' pet pork-barrel projects, such as Alaska's two famous $450 million bridges to nowhere, and less and less to programs that respond to national priorities.
Seely has addressed the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission at the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, DC. The commission is charged with reporting back to Congress by July 1, 2007, with recommendations on funding and developing the nation's surface transportation networks.
Seely also contributed to a podcast developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers, entitled "Happy Birthday to the Interstate System."
It can be found at http://www.asce.org/podcasts/ .
For more information, see http://www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/news/media_relations/502/
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