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Interstate Highway System
Main article: Interstate Highway System

Remarks in Cadillac Square, Detroit
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President Eisenhower delivered remarks about the need for a new highway program at Cadillac Square in Detroit on October 29, 1954Text of speech excerpt
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Eisenhower championed and signed the bill that authorized the Interstate Highway System in 1956.[166] He justified the project through the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 as essential to American security during the Cold War. It was believed that large cities would be targets in a possible war, so the highways were designed to facilitate their evacuation and ease military maneuvers.
Eisenhower's goal to create improved highways was influenced by difficulties that he encountered during his involvement in the Army's 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy. He was assigned as an observer for the mission, which involved sending a convoy of Army vehicles coast to coast.[167][168] His subsequent experience with the German autobahn limited-access road systems during the concluding stages of World War II convinced him of the benefits of an Interstate Highway System. The system could also be used as a runway for airplanes, which would be beneficial to war efforts. 