Page 32 - ATR 2 2020 digital

— — — SPECIAL SERIES ON HIGHWAY DOLLARS AND SENSE — — —

Mythbusting and Life Saving on

the Essentiality of Open Roads

By Bethany May the 1950s when the threat of an Interstate and Defense Highways Act,

Managing Editor atomic bomb was never far from any but defense wasn’t the primary purpose.
American’s mind. Evacuating the cit- Highways would better people’s lives
Ed. note: In November 2020, Arkansas ies in the event of a nuclear attack not just in emergency situations, but in
voters will have the power to decide if wouldn’t be efficient on the country’s everyday life.
the state should keep collecting a half- current roads; a smooth way out in
cent sales tax in order to raise over $205 emergencies was necessary. ARKANSAS ROADS
million annually for state highways and This wasn’t the reason that the In the Encyclopedia of Arkansas,
bridges, plus an additional $43 million country needed to fund the construc- Robert Scoggin of the Arkansas
each for counties and cities. In each issue tion of a well-connected series of high- State Highway and Transportation
leading up to the election, we’ll be covering ways. It was just a perk. Department, traced our current roads
the potential impact of that decision. We The real reason the Federal Aid back as far as Native American trails.
encourage you to educate yourself before Highway Act of 1956 was passed was The infrastructure in the state began
you vote and to help educate your friends, civilian needs. Americans lives would be with military roads. When Arkansas
family, neighbors and coworkers who will better when the economic development was just a territory, military roads
th
help Arkansas make critical choices about was supported by infrastructure that con- moved troops in the mid-19 century.
our state’s infrastructure. nected producers to consumers. People One of the most famous roads sup-
would be better off with safer roads to ported by the U.S. Army connected
A MYTH travel. Citizens could be better connected Memphis to Little Rock, allowing trav-
It’s a popular misconception that to people and places farther and farther elers to cross the swamps in eastern
the driving force behind the Interstate from their homes, growing their commu- Arkansas in the 1820s.
Highway System was civil defense. nities beyond their backyards. Public roads followed. They were
Pres. Dwight Eisenhower was The largest public works proj- paths built by citizens in townships, so
lobbying for a highway proposal in ect may be known as the National farmers could get their goods to a store

32 Issue 2 2020 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT