Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956

A United States law that authorized a 41,000-mile Interstate Highway System and established federal funding for its construction, primarily through fuel taxes.

Highway Trust Fund: A United States federal fund that finances highway and transit programs with revenue from fuel and other excise taxes. The act established this fund to pay the federal share of Interstate construction.
National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1944: A United States law that designated an interstate highway system but did not provide full construction funding. The 1956 act supplied the financing needed to build the system designated in 1944.
Suburbanization in the United States: The growth of residential communities outside American city centers, especially after World War II. New expressways made longer commutes and automobile-oriented suburban growth easier.
Mass transit in the United States: Public transportation systems that move passengers by shared buses, trains, and other collective services in the United States. The act prioritized highway construction over comparable federal investment in urban transit.
Pennsylvania Turnpike: A toll highway in Pennsylvania that opened in 1940 and influenced later American expressway design. Its limited-access design provided a model for features adopted in the Interstate program.
Federal gasoline tax: A federal excise tax imposed on gasoline sold in the United States. Gasoline-tax revenue supplied the principal dedicated funding stream for the act’s highway program.
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944: A United States law that authorized federal aid for highways and designated routes for a national interstate system. Its route designations and federal-aid framework preceded the 1956 construction program.
Urban renewal in the United States: Government-led redevelopment that cleared and rebuilt districts in American cities during the twentieth century. Urban highway projects often demolished established neighborhoods under redevelopment policies.
National Highway System: A United States network of roads designated as important to the nation’s economy, defense, and mobility. The Interstate System is a major component of this broader road network.
Interstate 80: A transcontinental Interstate highway running from the San Francisco Bay Area to the New York metropolitan area. It illustrates the long-distance routes developed under the national program.

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