1955. US Congress approves the Federal Highway Act which when signed by President Eisenhower will provide thirty billion dollars for construction of 41,000 miles of interstate highways. This will be the largest public construction program in US history. The federal government will pay 90% of the cost of construction funded, in part, from a hike in the federal gasoline tax of 2 to 3 cents a gallon. The act is regarded as Ike’s greatest domestic achievement by many historians.
