80 MPH Speed Limits in Texas


"With gasoline prices approaching an average of $3 a gallon and Middle East strife escalating, it might seem like a bad time to encourage drivers to burn even more fuel. But speed limits on stretches of freeways around the country are rising -- just in time for summer road trips. States around the country, including Texas and Michigan, have recently increased speed limits on hundreds of miles of interstate highways and freeways. "

So begins an eye-opening article article I came across in last week's Wall Street Journal

I've been meaning to write a story about the 50th Anniversary of the Interstate Highway system, which started in 1956 under President Eisenhower, but I keep getting distracted by the scale of the topic. It is simply overwhelming, trying to capture even a small portion of the significance these roads have to our nation's psyche, economy, and way of life. I did do a brief little piece on npr's "Talk of The Nation" earlier this summer, and really really intended to do some thoughtful blogging on the subject (is that an oxymoron, or what?), but still... we'll have to wait.

In the meantime, I can recommend a book I've learned a lot from, and though a lot about: Asphalt Nation, by Jane Holtz Kay