The rail versus highway debate is getting heated as a six-year, multi-billion-dollar transportation reauthorization bill stalls in Congress. The debate is strikingly similar to the highway debate at the turn of the last century when inter-jurisdictional squabbling over issues such as taxation and spending, suburban versus urban and environmental justice were the same ones facing highway builders. Ironically, the answer to our rail problems lies in the history of our highway system.
Once upon a time, counties controlled highways and the rich ones had good roads while the poor or indifferent counties had mud paths. It took the U.S. Armys first cross-country convoy in 1919 a grueling 56 days to travel from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco, averaging 50 miles per day. That was a wake-up call and character builder for young Lt. Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was a member of this convoy.