Eisenhower Criticizes the Expansion of the Interstate Highway Program Beyond His Original Vision (1960)

Date: April 8, 1960

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Presidency, The Interstate Highway System

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Papers as President, DDE Diary Series, Box 49, Staff Notes – April 1960 (2); NAID #16857659

This April 8, 1960 memorandum records an April 6 meeting between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and senior officials reviewing the progress and future of the Interstate Highway Program. General John S. Bragdon presented an interim report recommending changes intended to control the program’s growing costs. He estimated that revised construction criteria could save at least $5 billion, while allowing tolls on portions of the Interstate could save another $3 billion. Bragdon also recommended limiting the system to 39,300 miles and seeking congressional authorization for toll roads.

Much of the meeting focused on Eisenhower’s dissatisfaction with how the Interstate program had developed. The president recalled that Congress had been shown the 1955 “Yellow Book,” which illustrated proposed Interstate routes through urban areas. Eisenhower was told that cities had been promised significant highway construction because urban residents contributed heavily to federal highway revenues. He acknowledged that these urban routes had helped persuade Congress to approve the Interstate Highway Act.

Eisenhower nevertheless insisted that the extensive construction of Interstate highways through congested urban areas conflicted with his original concept. He stated that he had never envisioned using the program to create an extensive network of highways inside cities and expressed frustration that officials had allowed the program to develop in that direction without adequately informing him. Federal Highway Administrator Bertram Tallamy responded that urban Interstate planning predated the Eisenhower administration, although Eisenhower emphasized that his proposed national highway program had been fundamentally different from earlier plans.

The meeting ended with Eisenhower reiterating his disappointment that the program had evolved in ways he believed were contrary to his wishes. He also expressed concern that public works programs could become “grabbags” for federal funds, explaining why he had ordered an independent review of the highway program.

The document provides a revealing look at Eisenhower’s personal vision for the Interstate Highway System and his frustration with its expansion into urban highway construction, demonstrating that the system ultimately developed in ways its most famous presidential advocate had not fully intended.