The Superhighway to Everywhere

EXIT 275, INTERSTATE 70, Kan. -- There were no Wal-Marts in 1956, no Ramada Inns or Best Westerns. Cross-country travel most often meant the railroad and only about two-thirds of adult Americans had a driver's license.

But that America began to change on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the law launching a massive federal project that had been his dream for decades: the Interstate Highway System.

Buy This Photo South of the White House stands the Zero Milestone, the end point Thursday for the anniversary caravan. (By Michael Williamson -- The Washington Post) Graphic Reaching Across the States Construction of the Federal Highway Interstate system began in the 1950s. By 1980, the system was mostly complete. Coverage of the Storms The Gulf Coast was hit hard by two massive hurricanes in the fall of 2005. INTERACTIVE MAPS Hurricane Rita  |  Hurricane Katrina MULTIMEDIA • Galleries: After Rita | Katrina Hits • Video: Rita Ashore | A Jazz Return • Panoramas: Aerial Views of Ruin • Complete Multimedia Archive POST COVERAGE • Complete Special Report Who's Blogging? Read what bloggers are saying about this article.