The interstate highway system was not built for commercial trucking. > In the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1938, Congress asked the BPR for a report on "the fe

The interstate highway system was not built for commercial trucking. > In the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1938, Congress asked the BPR for a report on "the feasibility of building, and cost of, superhighways... including the feasibility of a toll system on such roads." The BPR based its report on data collected from extensive highway planning surveys that had been conducted around the country beginning in 1935. The origin-and-destination surveys showed that transcontinental traffic was limited, with traffic heaviest around cities and in interregional movements. Given the low income of most motorists, toll roads would have a traffic-repelling character. As a result, most routes would not carry enough traffic to generate sufficient revenue to pay off bonds needed to finance their construction. Instead, the BPR recommended construction of a network of toll-free express highways. The BPR's description of "A Master Plan for Free Highway Development" was its first description of what would become the Interstate System. Based on the survey data, the BPR explained that the primary justification for the network was passenger traffic, particularly congested city traffic, not interstate trucking. In fact, the report made little reference to trucks. [0] Commercial trucking would not start to take foothold over rail until the 1960s, primarily under President Johnson. [0]: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/freight.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/freight.cfm