AAA Says Americans will Kick-Off 50th Anniversary of the Interstate with Busiest Forth of July Travel Weekend Ever

Thursday, July 29, 2006 marks the 50th Anniversary of the Interstate Highway System, which was created in 1956 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act. The Travel Industry Association, which conducts special research for AAA, surveyed 1,500 adults in May 2006 and estimates that 40.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday, a 1.2 percent increase from 2005. Of those travelers, approximately 85 percent traveled by car using the Interstate Highway System. The study also found that the greatest number of Fourth of July auto travelers originated from the Southeast (8.8 million), West (8.5 million), Midwest (6.6 million), Northeast (5.7 million), and then the Great Lakes (4.7 million).

A lot has changed in 50 years: