As the U.S. celebrates its 250th anniversary, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) unveiled a list of 250 transportation improvements that have fueled the country’s economic growth and enhanced quality of life during the past two and a half centuries.
From colonial roads and canals to railroads, bridges, ports and waterways, airports, rail and transit systems, and interstate highways, the featured projects transformed a nascent nation of 13 colonies into a world superpower, ARTBA said.
The list, Connecting a Nation: 250 Transportation Projects That Helped Build America, covers all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The multi-modal compilation includes 79 bridges and tunnels, 68 highways and streets, 35 ports and waterways, 36 rail and public transit systems, 24 airports, four trails, three pedestrian bridges, and one energy pipeline.
Highlights include:
- The 47,000-mile U.S. Interstate Highway System
- Transcontinental Railroad
- National Road
- Erie Canal in New York
- California’s Golden Gate Bridge
- Georgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- New York’s Brooklyn Bridge
- Mississippi River Navigation System
- Port of Los Angeles, California
- Chicago L System in Illinois
“America’s success story in its first 250 years is inextricably tied to how we move,” said ARTBA President Dave Bauer. “While thousands of transportation projects from coast to coast have contributed to the tapestry of the American experience, the projects we are highlighting teach a timeless lesson that strategic infrastructure investment pays dividends for many decades.”
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The list was developed based on responses to a national survey sent to transportation design and construction firms, state transportation departments, state construction associations, university professors, and construction industry journalists. The projects, systems, and facilities were selected based on their significant impacts on overall quality of life, including mobility, safety, and economic growth.
"The roads, bridges, ports and waterways, airports, and rail systems that Americans depend on today exist because previous generations had the vision and commitment to invest in the future," Bauer said. “At the dawn of the next 250 years, we must continue investing in the infrastructure systems that will connect communities, strengthen our competitiveness, and improve quality of life for the next chapter of the American story."
View the full list at artba.org/250projects.
