Oldest U.S. Interstate HighwayIn 1940, a 260-km stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between Irwin and Carlise in Pennsylvania, U.S.A., was officially opened to the public as the first American limited-access interstate-type highway. It had been in use earlier by the U.S. Army. It was not called an Interstate Highway at the time. On 29 Jun 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Act of 1956, which established a national System of Interstate and Defense Highways. The Pennsylvania Turnpike became part of that Interstate Highway system. Although it was not newly-constructed as part of the newly established limited-access interstate road network, having opened years before the Federal-Aid Act of 1956, it has been called "The Granddaddy of the Pikes," and could be regarded as the oldest U.S. Interstate.« |
