Ill. MAJOR THEMES:

a) The American road, then and now. Roads in America went from being the worst of any industrialized nation at the turn of the 20th century, to the world's best as we near the end of that century. What began as the nightmare of cyclists and early motorists evolved into the dream of visionaries and technocrats.

b) Highway congestion and the decision to build the Interstates. An exponential increase in automobile ownership and a movement away from cities and into suburbs choked existing highways. Legislation favoring highway expansion heralded the decline of mass transit and the commuter railroads.

c) The world's largest construction project. The era of Interstate construction-- the materials it used, the people it employed, and the monies it expended-- is unparalleled in human history. The Interstates created a 'car culture' that required new driving skills and strategies.

d) Revolt: people and the price of progress. Deciding the paths the Interstates would take often reflected racial bias and a tendency to displace neighborhoods where economic or political power was negligible. Organized opposition pitted community and environmental groups against highway planners and their powerful lobby in Washington.

e) Cultural fall-out : Expressions of Ourselves. Freedom of movement has always expressed national values and attitudes, but the Interstates standardized them. Malls and mega-malls, fast-food restaurants, motel franchises and fleets of trucks to serve them ensure a sameness to travel that is both reassuring and boring.