99 Years of Federal Highways

 The United States Numbered Highway System, or Federal Highway System, was formed on this day in 1926. Route 66 thus began on this day as well.. The system laid out national highways on a grid, with U.S. 1 on the east coast, U.S. 101 on the west coast, and 1-ending highways in between. A similar west-east system with U.S. 10 in the north and U.S. 90 in the south; and then many other highways more or less following the pattern. Some highways were diagonal, like U.S. 42, 52, 62, and 66. Older, named highways like the Lincoln Highway, the National Old Trails Highway, the Dixie Highway, and others became numbered. The development and numbering of the highways continued over time. The Interstate Highway System, passed in 1956, introduced larger highways and also replaced some older ones, like Route 66 and U.S. 99, most of U.S. 91, and others. This picture is the former U.S. 40 just west of my hometown, previously part of the National Old Trails Highway.