Law
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956
Launched the modern interstate highway system and accelerated massive federally backed road construction through cities and metropolitan regions across the United States.
Year
1956
Impact
Negative
Status
Active
Party
Republican Party
Era
Civil Rights Era
Impact Context
Expanded national mobility and suburban growth, but in many cities interstate routing destroyed or split Black neighborhoods, displaced residents and businesses, and reinforced unequal metropolitan development patterns.
What This Policy Did
Expanded national mobility and suburban growth, but in many cities interstate routing destroyed or split Black neighborhoods, displaced residents and businesses, and reinforced unequal metropolitan development patterns.
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Sources
National Archives • Government • Jun 29, 1956
National Archives milestone document explaining the act, its enactment date, and its sweeping effects on community development and neighborhood destruction.