Great Lines Across America: Looking back at the first 100 years of the United States Numbered Highways, the country’s original inter-state route system

The United States Numbered Highway system was established 100 years ago, and this book fondly commemorates the milestone by cataloging every U.S. route that has ever existed, and by chronicling every major change that took place during the first century of the U.S. highway network. Printed in full-color, this book is interspersed with stunning photographs taken from U.S. highway roadsides. Three years in the making, the first section of this hefty volume discusses the year-by-year history of the U.S. highway system within the framework of four distinct time periods; the second section provides a historical timeline for each of the nearly 300 mainline U.S. routes. The information in this ambitious work was sourced from a review of 58,000 pages worth of material from the archive of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, as well as 1800 pages worth of AASHTO’s U.S. route logs. The author’s stated goal is to increase awareness “…of the national treasure that we have in the US route system. It is my hope that the 100th anniversary of the US highways will renew a curiosity about these venerable old routes… The US numbered highway system is now beginning its second century of service, and it would be gratifying if that milestone could spark a broader interest in — and a deeper respect for — the cultural legacy of these great lines across America.”