#interstate highway

[muttball]

Just might make it to the top!

[protoslacker]

 But it was the same story every time: The community was not asked for input and held no political power. This was adding insult to injury since many of these majority-Black neighborhoods had sprung up in the first place because of redlining and Jim Crow segregation. While they often became vibrant, self-contained enclaves, the fact that they were under-invested and overcrowded was subsequently used as rationale for destroying them. One of the most devastating effects has been how these inequities have reinforced the racial wealth gap.

Jay Fernandez at ACLU. Racism by Design: The Building of Interstate 81

[johnschneiderblog]

Thumbs down

There he was on the rain-swept interstate; his right arm outstretched, his thumb pointed skyward; his left hand clutching a hand-lettered sign that said “Battle Creek” a Michigan town a couple hundred miles from where he stood.

Even if had seen him in time and even if a non-emergency stop on an interstate highway weren’t both illegal and dangerous I wouldn’t have picked him up. Too risky.

I’ve done a fair amount of hitchhiking in my time - particularly when my Navy ship was docked in Norfolk, Virginia. I thumbed my way to Virginia Beach occasionally and, once or twice, to D.C. I never felt seriously threatened but got into a couple of tight spots.

Surprisingly, hitchhiking remains legal in 44 of the 50 states, the exceptions being Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wyoming. States where it’s allowed generally have rules regarding where and how.

But I assume anyone involved in public safety would question the wisdom of climbing into a stranger’s car, or picking one up. Maybe the practice is an anachronism -something that belongs to an earlier time.

(Shutterstock photo)

[danismm]

Indiana Interstate 65, 1960

[route22ny]

The toll booth at New Rochelle on I-95.  Its days are numbered as electronic tolling becomes more widespread; tolls on the New York State Thruway system are expected to be cashless by 2020.  Top photo taken September 2012.  Another look (undated), below, comes from Connecticut Magazine.

[rsquared314]

can someone please educate me about the united states interstate highway system? i am an unfortunate young victim of gps who really never learned the systems behind the united states' roads.

i have a couple of questions.

Are these roads typically busy? How thick is the traffic, typically?

What are some of the small 'problems' with the system? Like missing highways or something that might annoy a driver who frequently goes on long haul, cross country (east-west, north-south) drives?

(I'm looking at a map right now) It seems to me that I-90, I-80, I-10, and I-95 connect the country North-south an east-west. Are these considered 'main' highways? Are there other highways that are considered 'essential' or 'primary'

[graph100]

The American quest to stay awake on the interstate highway

[thursdaynovember]

historians hundreds of years from now looking at the U.S. and scratching their heads as to why hawaii and alaska have interstate highways that dont go interstate