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| Other short titles |
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|---|---|
| Long title | An act to amend and supplement the Federal Aid Road Act approved July 11, 1956, to authorize appropriations for continuing the construction of highways; to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to provide additional revenue from taxes on motor fuel, tires, and trucks and buses; and for other purposes. |
| Acronyms (colloquial) | FAHA |
| Nicknames | Highway Revenue Act of 1956 |
| Enacted by | the 84th United States Congress |
| Effective | June 29, 1956 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | 84-627 |
| Statutes at Large | 70 Stat. 374 |
| Codification | |
| Titles amended | |
| U.S.C. sections created | |
| Legislative history | |
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The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, Pub. L. 84–627 was enacted on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law. With an original authorization of $25 billion (equivalent to $215 billion in 2023)[1] for the construction of 41,000 miles (66,000 km) of the Interstate Highway System over a 10-year period, it was the largest public works project in American history through that time.[2]
The addition of the term defense in the act's title was because some of the original cost was diverted from defense funds and "because of [the Interstate Highway System']s primary importance to the national defense".
The money for the Interstate Highway and Defense Highways was handled in a Highway Trust Fund that paid for 90 percent of highway construction costs with the states required to pay the remaining 10 percent. It was expected that the money would be generated through new taxes on fuel, automobiles, trucks, and tires. As a matter of practice, the federal portion of the cost of the Interstate Highway System has been paid for by taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel.[3]
- ^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
- ^ Weingroff, Richard F. (Summer 1996). "Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, Creating the Interstate System". Public Roads. 60 (1). Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
- ^ Federal Highway Administration (September 15, 1999). "Financing Federal-Aid Highways". Federal Highway Administration. FHWA-PL-99-015. Retrieved September 10, 2008.