Transportation
On This Day in 1926, America's Interstate Roadways Were Numbered for the First Time
Long before the Interstate Highway System, the country's mishmash of independent trails officially became part of a numerical system.
On November 11, 1926, the newly established United States Numbered Highway System changed the way U.S. drivers navigate the country.
Before the numbering system, long trips often meant using a variety of different roadways, each one with its own standard for road quality and signage. Typically referred to as "trails" and run by "trail associations," boosters would stitch together these routes with already existing roads (of varied quality), give it a name (like "Dixie Highway" or "Lincoln Highway"), and promote it.