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A modern Interstate highway, I-77 in West Virginia.

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Eisenhower and the Transcontinental Motor Convoy
Dwight Eisenhower never forgot the terrible roads he had traveled during the Transcontinental Motor Convoy, especially when contrasted with the modern highways he had seen in Germany during World War II. As President, Eisenhower urged Congress in 1956 to create the Interstate highway system as a national priority, with 90 percent of the funding coming from the federal government. Over the next 40 years nearly 43,000 miles of modern road were built and the nation was tied together as never before. In honor of Eisenhower's vision, President George Bush signed legislation in 1990 officially renaming the Interstate system as the "Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways."
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