In August 1973, the U.S. Congress designated a cross-country stretch of interstate as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway in tribute to President Eisenhower's early recognition of the need for a national network of highways to enhance the mobility of a growing nation. His dream originated in 1919 on an Army convoy from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco, California, a journey that took 62 days. On June 29, 1956, President Eisenhower signed the legislation that created the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways and the Federal Highway Trust Fund, a pay-as-you-go mechanism through which U.S. motorists funded the construction and upkeep of the U.S. highway system. Today, that system stands as a legacy of safety and mobility that has brought Americans closer together.