EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Interstate Highway System-The Myths. President Eisenhower conceived the Interstate System. President Eisenhower supported the Interstate System because he wanted a way of evacuating cities if the United States was attacked by an atomic bomb. Defense was the primary reason for the Interstate System.

Detailed explanation-2: -They were intended to serve several purposes: eliminate traffic congestion; replace what one highway advocate called “undesirable slum areas” with pristine ribbons of concrete; make coast-to-coast transportation more efficient; and make it easy to get out of big cities in case of an atomic attack.

Detailed explanation-3: -As the interstate highway system reduced travel time, people had broader options in residential location. At the same time, lower land prices and increasing affluence made larger dwellings possible, and the size of the average new house has increased by 40 percent over the last quarter century.

Detailed explanation-4: -Why did cars become the dominant form of transportation in the United States? Henry Ford stands next to the Model T. Despite early successes of transportation modes such as railways, streetcars and subways, mass production of automobiles lowered prices, and more roads led many Americans to buy cars.