Historic Interstates Motor Convoy Gets Rolling in San Francisco

In a two-hour event highlighted by speeches, music, a color guard and early-morning views of San Francisco Bay, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) sent a 25-vehicle motor convoy

on its way in the first leg of a two-week cross-country caravan.
Among the speakers at Friday's send-off were U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta; Sunne Wright McPeak, secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing Agency for California; John Horsley, executive director of AASHTO; Merrill Eisenhower Atwater, great-grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower; and Andrew Firestone, great-grandson of Harvey Firestone, founder of Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.
Firestone served as the Official Launch Master, sending off the caravan that is recreating – in reverse – the historic Transcontinental Motor Train of 1919. The convoy is on a coast-to-coast journey to Washington, D.C., from Lincoln Park in downtown San Francisco, where the 1919 trek ended.
The Transcontinental Motor Train was a test to see if troops and supplies could travel across the country. They could – but it was slow going. Leaving Washington, D.C., on July 7, 1919, the army followed the original Lincoln Highway, taking 62 days to drive 3,250 miles to San Francisco.
AASHTO is organizing the event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Interstate System.
Firestone is the great-grandson of Harvey S. Firestone, founder of the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., who was an enthusiastic supporter of paved, connected roads. In June 1919, Harvey Firestone invited the original participants – including the young Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower – to stop at his farm in Columbiana, Ohio for a fried chicken picnic. The next morning, Firestone added two of his own trucks, both equipped with his innovative pneumatic tires.
Andrew Firestone will fly to Akron, Ohio so he can greet the caravan – which includes two Firestone-branded tractor-trailers – as it arrives at the Bridgestone Firestone Technical Center on June 26. Merrill Eisenhower Atwater, great-grandson of President Eisenhower, will also participate in the cross-country convoy.
The convoy is scheduled to reach Washington, D.C. on June 29. For a complete route and schedule of celebrations planned along the way, visit www.interstate50th.org .