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Today in Interstate History

July 11, 1916

President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Federal Aid Road Act, which provided funds for roads to those states with highway agencies in place. In addition, those states' legislatures had to formally agree to the provisions of the law. The federal share of the funds – encompassing 50 percent of the actual cost or a maximum of $10,000 per mile – would be apportioned based on area, population, and post road mileage. The landmark law turned out to be the forerunner of other key federal highway assistance measures, including the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 that gave us the Interstate System as we know it today.