The Federal Aid to Highway Act of 1956 Case Study

The Federal Aid to Highway Act of 1956 - Case Study Example The Act was an amendment of the earlier Act of 1916. It proposed a hike in the gas tax by one to two cents. With the help of this Act, interstate highway system was expanded from 1,600 km to 66,000 km. The conference committee of House Senate included several features of Fallon and Gore bill into the Act. The main idea behind this Act was to reduce the ever-increasing pressure of interstate traffics in surface transportation. This regulation provided the provisions of uniformity in the interstate highway design standards (Code of Federal Regulations, 2009, pp. 23-25). The regulation law was enacted for the larger interests of the US people and defense services. According to the Law, on the interstate highway speed limit of the vehicles is 80.5kmph in the mountain terrain. In case of flat terrain speed limit is 112.7 km per hour. During his tenure as an army person President Dwight D. Eisenhower realized that interstate highways of USA should be improved for providing better transport ation services to the citizens and the defense forces of the country. Impacts of the Federal Aid to Highway Act of 1956 were obvious. In the last 40 years population percentage of America increased by 70% and employment rate increased by 100%. Primary requirement of the increased population is superior transportation. Over the years the interstate high way system has become the work horse for the nation. The above data is clearly indicating that the law has impacted the transportation system of the country in a positive fashion. According to the data, highway system takes care of almost one fourth of total roadway traffic. The Act has made the lives easier for the American people. The highway system carries almost one trillion person miles  per year. The Act was revolutionary and the importance of the Act is increasing day by day. In case of intercity and rural logistic facilities the system is undoubtedly the best. According to a survey, 45% of country’s large trucks