click to sign up for email alerts

Today in Interstate History

Aerial view of the AASHO Road Test in Ottawa, Illinois. Photo courtesy of the Federal Highway Administration.

November 30, 1960

The American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) Road Test, inaugurated just a little over two years earlier, came to an end in Ottawa, Illinois. The program was administered by the Highway Research Board, and received financial backing from such entities as AASHO's member departments, the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads, and the U.S. Department of Defense. The AASHO Road Test proved to be a milestone in the refinement of U.S. highway design. The subsequent plans for the Interstate System's pavements and bridges, as a matter of fact, were based in large part on the results of the AASHO Road Test.