Was President Eisenhower really surprised to discover that the Interstate System included urban freeways?
The urban freeways were an important element of the Interstate System from its unveiling in the 1939 report to Congress: Toll Roads and Free Roads. During congressional hearings in 1955 and 1956, Mayors and municipal associations testified in favor of the Interstate System because of the benefits the cities expected to receive from urban highway segments. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads had published General Location of National System of Interstate Highways in September 1955 with 100 pages of maps showing the urban Interstates. This publication—known as the Yellow Book because of the color of its cover—was distributed to the Members of Congress as well as State highway agencies and city governments. However, President Eisenhower was not aware of the urban highway segments. His model for the Interstate System had been Germany’s autobahn: the rural highway network he had seen during and after World War II. In the summer of 1959, rumor has it that he discovered the existence of
