"Ash Wyllie" wrote in message

Ike sold the Interstate Highways as a national defence thing.

As was right. One thing learned VERY quickly during the mobilization for
WWII was the inefficiency of the logistical/distribution system in the US on
a national scale. Railroads alone, while they did a marvelous job, just
couldn't keep up. The country up to then was a huge group of local/regional
units. The Interstate system was conceived and built for
commercial/military trucking and transport. Any other benefit, like
personal travel, was ancillary.