I think Ike was impressed by the autobahn he saw in WW2 and justified for military reasons

Everyone I know has a story of being sent to the wrong side of town or to the wrong place completely because they didn't check their GPS to make sure it was sending them the right way.

I wish I could go to North Carolina this time of year. I love the mountains in West NC.

and rest stops.

We actually have a special fund in the state--who knows if the Repubs that took over
two years ago have raided it or shut it down--that comes from sale of vanity license plates, for landscaping the highways. They are
most beautiful in the summer when all the wildflowers are blooming.

http://www.ourstate.com/north-carolina-wildflower-program/


And if anyone is planning a trip through NC, here's a list of rest stops. http://www.ncdot.gov/travel/restareas/

As an example, I took this photo of iris blooming early last May at the rest stop at Exit 364 on Highway 40 where I stopped
on my way back from the beach.

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On June 29, 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The bill created a 41,000-mile “National System of Interstate and Defense Highways” that would, according to Eisenhower, eliminate unsafe roads, inefficient routes, traffic jams and all of the other things that got in the way of “speedy, safe transcontinental travel.” At the same time, highway advocates argued, “in case of atomic attack on our key cities, the road net [would] permit quick evacuation of target areas.” For all of these reasons, the 1956 law declared that the construction of an elaborate expressway system was “essential to the national interest.”
http://www.history.com/topics/interstate-highway-system

by taking away their traffic flow and customer base, when the Interstates opened. The older highways quickly turned into ghost towns. Just drive parts of Route 66 or Historic Highway 80 for example. So many places that are now basically abandoned. Small, unique, often locally-owned roadside businesses are now largely replaced by corporate-owned fast-food outlets, chain stores, chain hotels, restaurants and service stations, all with a homogenized, predictable feeling, which are the first things you see, and thus the most convenient, when you exit the Interstate.
In addition, I don't think you see very much of the “real America” if you only drive the Interstates. It was built for efficiency, not scenery, interest or pleasure. Charles Kuralt wrote, “Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.” To see what I consider to be the real America, you have to get off the Interstate and do some exploring to find the local flavor. It seems the further away from the interstate you get, the more interesting and “real” everything seems (for better or worse). There’s a book called “Blue Highways” (meaning the lesser-used routes marked in blue on a map) by William Least Heat Moon that is all about this concept.
Of course the Interstates are fast, safe and efficient, and I use them when I need to get somewhere quickly. No complaints there. But I do think a lot of America was lost by their construction.

Efficient, but if you want to see anything take back roads.

and swing right into Howard Johnson's on the sides. Now they're like being on Mars. God help you if you need to eat or find a bathroom.