<P> The Bureau of Public Roads asked the Army to provide a list of roads that it considered necessary for national defense . In 1922 , General John J. Pershing , former head of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during the war , complied by submitting a detailed network of 20,000 miles ( 32,000 km ) of interconnected primary highways -- the so - called Pershing Map . </P>
<P> The Bureau of Public Roads asked the Army to provide a list of roads that it considered necessary for national defense . In 1922 , General John J. Pershing , former head of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during the war , complied by submitting a detailed network of 20,000 miles ( 32,000 km ) of interconnected primary highways -- the so - called Pershing Map . </P>
who compiled the first list of national roads
who compiled the first list of national roads
John J. Pershing
John J. Pershing