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Proposed in 1944 and begun in 1956, the interstate highway system's 42,500 miles of limited access highway reach 42 state capitals, 90 per cent of the country's urban population and 45 per cent of its rural population. This system changed the American economy and affected American life. It altered the balance between urban and surburban environments; opened up large rural areas to population growth; changed the nature of how and where goods were manufactured and moved; and affected class and race relations throughout the country. Arguably, the creation of the interstate highway system influenced national development in the second half of the 20th century much in the same way the creation of railroads did in the 19th century. In this history, the author looks at the creation of the interstate highway system during the peak of Cold War hysteria, and brings the story up to the present day to show the way in which this vast system has contributed to change in the way Americans live.