Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956
President Eisenhower signed the law creating the interstate highway system, funded by a federal gas tax. It sparked the largest public works program in American history.
Construction of 41,000 miles of highways began, transforming travel and commerce.
Set a precedent for using federal user fees to fund major infrastructure, a model the FAA's Airport Improvement Program follows.
Shows how federal grants have long driven large-scale infrastructure projects, a pattern DFW relies on for its modernization.
