The Piscataqua River Bridge on Interstate 95 literally joins the States of Maine and New Hampshire. It fits gracefully into its environment and provides convenience, safety, and savings in travel time for the motorist.
The Federal-aid legislation in 1934 had authorized the use of Federal-aid highway funds for planning purposes, and continuing statewide highway planning surveys were initiated in 1935 under the guidance and leadership of the Bureau of Public Roads. From these studies came a wealth of factual information which, for the first time, permitted some definition and measurement of highway transportation and its problems and made possible highway planning based on knowledge rather than guesswork.
A Study of Toll Roads Versus Free Roads
With this data to draw on, the Congress in 1938 requested the Bureau of Public Roads to study the feasibility of a toll financed system of three east–west and three north–south superhighways. The resulting comprehensive study made by Public Roads in cooperation with the State highway departments was reported to Congress in 1939 in the landmark publication Toll Roads and Free Roads.
This study demonstrated that the suggested 14,000-mile toll road system would be far from self-supporting. Seeking more than a negative recommendation, the study explored and documented the need for a system of interregional superhighways, with connections through and around cities. A 26,700-mile nontoll network was proposed, with the recommendation that the Federal Government share the construction cost at more than the traditional 50 percent Federal-aid rate.
The Interregional Highways Study
To pursue this concept, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed a National Interregional Highway Committee in 1941. Thomas H. MacDonald, Commissioner of Public Roads, became the Committee’s chairman ; its secretary was Herbert S. Fairbank, Deputy Commissioner for Research in the Public Roads Administration.
Through them, the resources and assistance of the Public Roads Administration and the States were made available to the Interregional Highway Committee. Then, in 1943, in the midst of World War II, Congress requested Public Roads to make a study of the need for a nationwide expressway system. The Committee and Public Roads presented their report, Interregional Highways, to Congress in 1944.
