Title: Interstate 5 is completed in Washington on May 14, 1969. - HistoryLink.org
Headings: Interstate 5 is completed in Washington on May 14, 1969.
Interstate 5 is completed in Washington on May 14, 1969.
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Content: Interstate 5 is completed in Washington on May 14, 1969. - HistoryLink.org
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Interstate 5 is completed in Washington on May 14, 1969. By Phil Dougherty
Posted 4/10/2010
HistoryLink.org Essay 9393
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On May 14, 1969, the final segment of Interstate 5 in Washington opens for traffic. The $9.8 million section of freeway runs four miles between Marysville and Everett (Snohomish County), and includes 11 bridges. With its opening, motorists can travel without stopping from the Canadian border to the northern California state line. The Final Piece
As the automobile gained traction in America during the early twentieth century, so did a network of expanding highways across the country. Individual states handled road construction, and though the federal government provided matching funds in many cases, it still was not enough to fund sufficient construction to keep up with the soaring numbers of automobiles. By the 1950s bigger and better highways were needed, and in 1956 the federal government became more actively involved in funding them when it passed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which provided 90 percent funding for a nationwide network of high-speed, limited access roads. This led to the beginning of Interstate 5 (I-5) in Washington. The first segment of I-5 formally opened in Tacoma in December 1960, and despite some protests, construction proceeded apace through the decade.