The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921, also called the Phipps Act (, ), sponsored by Sen. Lawrence C. Phipps (R) of Colorado, defined the Federal Aid Road program to develop an immense national highway system. The plan was crafted by the head of the National Highway Commission,

Thomas Harris MacDonald Thomas Harris "Chief" MacDonald (July 23, 1881 – April 7, 1957) was an American civil engineer and politician with tremendous influence in building the American Interstate Highway System. He served as chief of the Iowa State Highway Commissi ...

and was the first coherent plan for the nation's future roads. President Warren Harding signed the act into law on November 9, 1921.

History

L. I. Hewes opened the Western Headquarters Office of the

Bureau of Public Roads The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

to administer federal-aid highway and direct federal highway construction programs in 11 western states, including Alaska and Hawaii. It provided federal 50–50 matching funds for state highway building up to 7 percent of roads statewide. By the end of 1921, more than $75 million in aid had been given to the states. In 1922, the Bureau of Public Roads commissioned Gen. John J. Pershing to draw up the ''

Pershing Map The Pershing Map was the first blueprint for a national highway system in the United States, with many of the proposed roads later forming a substantial portion of the Interstate Highway System. History When the United States Army realized it cou ...

'' for construction purposes and to give the government a clear understanding of which roads in the U.S. were the most important in the event of war. The "Pershing Map" was the first official topographic road map of the United States. From it, the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

from Maine to Georgia was begun in 1922. By 1923, the roads authorized by the act had been completed.

References

1921 in law 67th United States Congress Interstate Highway System United States federal transportation legislation {{US-law-stub