How Public and Private Enterprise Have Built American Infrastructure

By

William R. Childs

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A 1955 map of proposed highways prepared by the Secretary of Commerce for the House Committee on Public Works.

Needs of the Highway System, 1955-1985

A 1955 map of proposed highways prepared by the Secretary of Commerce for the House Committee on Public Works.

A publicity poster for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s tenth anniversary.

Power to Win

A publicity poster for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s tenth anniversary made by the Office for Emergency Management during World War II.

An 1831 cartoon ridiculing Henry Clay for his program of tariffs and internal improvements.

The Monkey System

An 1831 cartoon ridiculing Henry Clay for his program of tariffs and internal improvements.

Workers repairing streetcar tracks in Washington, D.C. in 1941.

Street Car Tracks Repair

Workers repairing streetcar tracks in Washington, D.C. in 1941.

U.S. Natural Gas Production from 1900 to 2012.

U.S. Natural Gas Production

U.S. Natural Gas Production from 1900 to 2012.

A portion of the Hollywood Freeway opened in 1951 with much fanfare.

Hollywood Freeway Opening

As part of a national spending spree on highways, a portion of the Hollywood Freeway opened in 1951 with much fanfare.

Workers survey the damage after a commuter train crashed into a passenger car near Valhalla, NY in 2015.

Valhalla Train Crash

Workers survey the damage after a commuter train crashed into a passenger car near Valhalla, NY in 2015.

Minneapolis I-35 Bridge collapse.

I-35 Bridge Collapse

In 2007, the Minneapolis I-35 Bridge collapsed during rush hour, killing 13 and injuring 145. In 1990, the federal government rated the bridge—and 75,000 others—as “structurally deficient.”

First Bank of the United States.

First Bank of the United States

Chartered in 1791, Alexander Hamilton designed the First Bank of the United States to stabilize and improve the nation’s credit.

The 1993 unveiling of the road sign for the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways.

Eisenhower Interstate System

The 1993 unveiling of the road sign for the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways.

An 1846 map of the United States with roads, rails, and canals.

A New Map for Travelers

An 1846 map of the United States with roads, rails, and canals from John Calvin Smith’s The Illustrated Hand-book for Travelers through the United States.

A 2010 map depicting the availability of Broadband Networks in the United States by county.

Availability of Broadband Networks

A 2010 map depicting the availability of Broadband Networks in the United States by county.

An 1848 cartoon depicting a split within the Whig Party.

Whig Harmony

An 1848 cartoon depicting a split within the Whig Party as the party’s traditional issues of tariffs, banks, and internal improvements fill a wagon being pulled in opposite directions with Henry Clay and Horace Greeley on one side and Zachary Taylor and an Uncle Sam-figure on the other.

An 1855 lithograph of the Erie Canal at Lockport, NY.

Erie Canal

An 1855 lithograph of the Erie Canal at Lockport, NY.

A ceremony in Promontory Summit, UT in 1869 for the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

First Transcontinental Railroad

A ceremony in Promontory Summit, UT in 1869 for the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

This 1917 photograph shows one of the last horse drawn carriages in New York as it moves alongside a 'Modern Electric Car.'

Last of the Horse Drawn Carriages

New technologies replaced older ones. This 1917 photograph shows one of the last horse drawn carriages in New York as it moves alongside a “Modern Electric Car.”

Sears, Roebuck & Co. offered free delivery through the Post Office's Rural Free Delivery service for its thousands of mail-order goods.

Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Akin to Amazon Prime’s free delivery, Sears, Roebuck & Co. offered free delivery through the Post Office's Rural Free Delivery service for its thousands of mail-order goods.

The Post Office encouraged its Rural Free Delivery carriers to adopt automobiles.

Rural Free Delivery

The Post Office encouraged its Rural Free Delivery (RFD) carriers to adopt automobiles instead of horses and wagons as this driver did in 1910.

The 1903-1904 Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalogue.

Montgomery Ward & Co.

The 1903-1904 Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalogue had over 1,000 pages of merchandise.

A photograph of a road construction crew in the 1920s building the Yolo Causeway.

Surfacing the Yolo Causeway

A photograph of a road construction crew in the 1920s building the Yolo Causeway in the San Joaquin Valley of California as part of the state highway system.

The Norris Dam under construction in 1936.

Norris Dam

The Norris Dam under construction in 1936 through the Tennessee Valley Authority.

A 1940s advertisement for the Rural Electrification Administration.

Electricity for Him

A 1940s advertisement for the Rural Electrification Administration, a federal loan program for installation of electrical systems in rural areas through cooperative electric power companies.

Farmers gathered at a foreclosure auction in Iowa during the 1930s.

Aftermath of Inflation

Farmers gathered at a foreclosure auction in Iowa during the 1930s. Military police attended to ensure that the farmers would not prevent the auction from occurring.

An Office of Emergency Management poster.

Veterans—Prepare For Your Future

An Office of Emergency Management poster promoting the educational benefits available to veterans through the GI Bill.

An advertisement for home loans available to veterans.

Remodel for Veterans

An advertisement for home loans available to veterans through the Federal Housing Administration.

A graph depicting U.S. births by year with the 'Baby Boom' generation in red.

U.S. Births: 1940-1980

A graph depicting U.S. births by year with the “Baby Boom” generation in red.

In 1962, NASA began construction on the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Vehicle Assembly Building

In 1962, NASA began construction on the Vehicle Assembly Building, one of the largest buildings in the world by volume.

A 1957 map depicting the routes to be added to the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways.

Routes To Be Added

A 1957 map depicting the routes to be added to the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower discussing plans for the interstate highway in 1955.

Eisenhower and Interstate Highway

President Dwight D. Eisenhower discussing plans for the interstate highway in 1955.

The Pulaski Skyway in Newark, NJ.

Pulaski Skyway

The Pulaski Skyway in Newark, NJ, with the Lincoln Highway’s two black bridges that cross the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers and the Manhattan skyline in the horizon.

The High Five Interchange in Dallas, Texas.

High Five Interchange

The High Five Interchange in Dallas, Texas uses a complicated five-level stack interchange to accommodate the traffic volume.

An aerial view of the highway system in Seattle.

Seattle Highway System

An aerial view of the highway system in Seattle.

A graph depicting U.S. petroleum production and imports from 1920 to 2005.

U.S. Oil Production and Imports

A graph depicting U.S. petroleum production and imports from 1920 to 2005.

A gas station in Portland, OR during the oil shortage in 1973 with long lines of cars waiting for gas.

Oil Shortage

A gas station in Portland, OR during the oil shortage in 1973 with long lines of cars waiting for gas.

Students at the University of Michigan listen to a speaker at the first Earth Day in 1970.

Earth Day Teach-In

Students at the University of Michigan listen to a speaker at the first Earth Day in 1970.

Senator Edmund Muskie delivering the keynote address.

Senator Edmund Muskie

Senator Edmund Muskie, a Democrat from Maine and author of the 1970 Clean Air Act, delivering the keynote address at the first Earth Day in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia in 1970.

A graph depicting the U.S. federal debt as a percentage of gross domestic product from 1940 to 2015.

U.S. Federal Debt as a Percent of GDP

A graph depicting the U.S. federal debt as a percentage of gross domestic product from 1940 to 2015.

AT&T Logo

The logo for the American Telephone and Telegraph Corporation from 1983-1996.

Apple’s Macintosh computer released in 1984.

The Macintosh

Apple’s Macintosh computer, released in 1984, was the first mass-market personal computer with a mouse and integral graphical user interface.

$A fracking operation in the Bakken Formation, ND run by Halliburton.$

Fracking

A fracking operation in the Bakken Formation, ND run by Halliburton.

The Smoky Hills Wind Farm in Kansas.

Wind Farm

The Smoky Hills Wind Farm in Kansas.

A 2009 protest against the coal fired Capitol Power Plant in Washington, D.C.

Coal is Dirty!

A 2009 protest against the coal fired Capitol Power Plant in Washington, D.C.

A graph based on data from 1989 showing the relationship between overall urban density and transportation energy use.

Petroleum Use and Urban Density

A graph based on data from 1989 showing the relationship between overall urban density and transportation energy use.

A graph depicting U.S. energy production by type in 2014.

U.S. Electricity Generation

A graph depicting U.S. energy production by type in 2014.

Solar Panels on the roof of a house near Boston, MA.

Home Solar Panels

Solar Panels on the roof of a house near Boston, MA.

A protestor at the Occupy Wall Street Protests in 2011 with a sign calling for the re-regulation of banks.

Occupy Wall Street Protestor

A protestor at the Occupy Wall Street Protests in 2011 with a sign calling for the re-regulation of banks.

A vault at the former Poughkeepsie Savings Bank in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Too Big To Fail

A vault at the former Poughkeepsie Savings Bank in Poughkeepsie, NY decorated with a quote from Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in 2016.

The BBN Interface Message Processor.

ARPANET Transmission

The BBN Interface Message Processor sent the first ARPANET transmission between the University of California, Los Angeles and the Stanford Research Institute in 1969.

A map depicting the places connected to the Internet in 1972.

ARPANET Map

A map depicting the places connected to the Internet in 1972.

A 2014 map showing global Web Index scores.

Web Index Scores

A 2014 map showing global Web Index scores—a composite statistic assessing various measures such as universal access to the World Wide Web.

The first web server with a note still attached reading: 'this machine is a server, do not power it down.'

First Server

The first web server with a note still attached reading: “this machine is a server, do not power it down.”

Servers for the Wikimedia Foundation.

Wikimedia Servers

Servers for the Wikimedia Foundation.

Amazon Logo

The logo for Amazon.com, the largest internet-based retailer in the world.

A drawing of the Internet of Things.

Internet of Things

A drawing of the Internet of Things, web-connected devices like a drone, a plant, a home, music, and clothing.

Orchard Pond Parkway in Tallahassee, FL.

Orchard Pond Parkway

Built in 2015, the Orchard Pond Parkway in Tallahassee, FL is the state’s first privately built toll road.

The toll plaza of the Dulles Greenway.

Dulles Greenway

The toll plaza of the Dulles Greenway—connecting Washington Dulles International Airport with Leesburg, VA—opened in 1995 and was Virginia’s first private toll road since 1816.

The city of Chicago leased out the Chicago Skyway for 99 years in 2006 for $1.8 billion.

Chicago Skyway

The city of Chicago leased out the Chicago Skyway for 99 years in 2006 for $1.8 billion.

The remodeled Pope Field Air Traffic Control Tower in Pope Field, NC.

Pope Field Control Tower

The remodeled Pope Field Air Traffic Control Tower in Pope Field, NC opened in 2013 to replace the tower built in the 1970s for the U.S. Air Force.

The air traffic control tower at the John F. Kennedy International Airport.

John F. Kennedy International Airport Air Traffic Control Tower

Built in 1957, the air traffic control tower at the John F. Kennedy International Airport handles over 1,000 flights a day.

President Barack Obama announced a $28 billion infrastructure plan in 2009 at the start of the Great Recession.

President Barack Obama

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, President Barack Obama announced a $28 billion infrastructure plan in 2009 at the start of the Great Recession.

Soldiers with the Texas Army National Guard move through flooded Houston roads during Hurricane Harvey.

Hurricane Harvey

Soldiers with the Texas Army National Guard move through flooded Houston roads as floodwaters rise in August 2017 from Hurricane Harvey.

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