Fact #436: August 7, 2006
Interstate Travel

This year the Federal Highway Administration is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Interstate System, which was begun in 1956. The Interstate system is currently used for about one quarter of all vehicle miles of travel. The Interstate system's share of travel rose rapidly in the 1960's and 1970's as the completed Interstates provided links of connectivity across the nation for goods and for people.

Other Interstate Facts:

Number of Interstate miles	46,726 miles of interstate
Longest Interstate Route	I-90 from Seattle, WA to Boston, MA 3,020.54 miles
Shortest Interstate Route	I-97 from Annapolis to Baltimore, MD 17.62 miles
State with the most interstate mileage	Texas 3,233.45 miles
State with the most interstate routes	New York 29 routes
Interstate which traverses the most States	I-95 which goes through 16 States from Florida to Maine
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration

Supporting Information

Share of Interstate Travel, 1957-2004

Year	Interstate Miles of Travel (million miles)	All Miles of Travel (million miles)	Share of Interstate Travel	Year	Interstate Miles of Travel (million miles)	All Miles of Travel (million miles)	Share of Interstate Travel
1957	6,806	645,004	1.1%	1981	305,783	1,555,308	19.7%
1958	12,922	664,653	1.9%	1982	318,425	1,595,010	20.0%
1959	19,997	700,480	2.9%	1983	337,720	1,652,788	20.4%
1960	26,778	718,762	3.7%	1984	353,443	1,720,269	20.5%
1961	34,233	737,421	4.6%	1985	370,545	1,774,826	20.9%
1962	44,181	766,734	5.8%	1986	391,515	1,834,872	21.3%
1963	55,210	805,249	6.9%	1987	415,329	1,921,204	21.6%
1964	67,428	846,298	8.0%	1988	440,010	2,025,962	21.7%
1965	80,690	887,812	9.1%	1989	461,820	2,096,487	22.0%
1966	99,314	925,899	10.7%	1990	479,074	2,144,362	22.3%
1967	111,164	964,005	11.5%	1991	490,336	2,172,050	22.6%
1968	126,273	1,015,869	12.4%	1992	508,822	2,247,151	22.6%
1969	45,016	1,061,791	13.7%	1993	525,707	2,296,378	22.9%
1970	161,048	1,109,724	14.5%	1994	546,145	2,357,588	23.2%
1971	179,659	1,178,811	15.2%	1995	565,319	2,422,696	23.3%
1972	199,580	1,259,786	15.8%	1996	584,144	2,485,848	23.5%
1973	215,547	1,313,110	16.4%	1997	601,656	2,561,695	23.5%
1974	213,925	1,280,544	16.7%	1998	626,142	2,631,522	23.8%
1975	230,212	1,327,664	17.3%	1999	643,425	2,691,056	23.9%
1976	250,583	1,402,380	17.9%	2000	662,070	2,746,925	24.1%
1977	267,788	1,467,027	18.3%	2001	673,602	2,797,287	24.1%
1978	292,918	1,544,704	19.0%	2002	689,817	2,855,508	24.2%
1979	293,049	1,529,133	19.2%	2003	702,581	2,890,450	24.3%
1980	296,326	1,527,295	19.4%	2004	721,381	2,962,513	24.4%
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2004, and previous annual editions.

 

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