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 historic legislation that created the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways and the Federal Highway Trust Fund, the 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.
