The American Trucking Associations goes on the road this week as part of a cross-country convoy commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Interstate Highway System.

As a Premier Sponsor of the 50th anniversary, ATA will host two tractor-trailers in the re-enactment of the 1919 military convoy that inspired President Dwight Eisenhower to propose the creation of America’s Interstate Highway System.
The present-day convoy, which begins Friday in San Francisco and ends June 29 in Washington, D.C., will include a “Good Stuff. Trucks Bring It!” rig, pulled by truckload carrier Werner Enterprises of Omaha, Neb., which is also celebrating its 50th anniversary, and a Highway Watch truck in partnership with DaimlerChrysler.
Captains of ATA’s America’s Road Team, a group of professional truck drivers with superior driving skills, outstanding safety records and a desire to spread the word about safety, will drive the Highway Watch tractor trailer.
ATA’s convoy participation marks just one event in a year-long series of proceedings designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Interstate Highway. ATA President and CEO Bill Graves also will represent trucking in a June industry policy forum scheduled to examine the current state of the Interstate system, its value to America and future needs. ATA will sponsor lunch when the convoy arrives at Washington’s Ellipse on the final day of its 14-state tour.
“Our participation reflects our commitment to ensuring that the next chapter of the American Interstate Highway system continues the economic and social progress of its first 50 years,” Graves said. “We are proud to be on the road for this 50th anniversary Celebration.”
The nearly 50,000 miles of the Interstate Highway System have enabled the trucking industry to become the economic success it is today – the industry that moves the U.S. economy. When President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act and Congress established the Highway Trust Fund back in 1956, only 120,000 tractor trailers operated on U.S. Highways, compared with the 2 million that ply the interstates today. Today, trucking hauls nearly 70 percent of all freight moved across the United States. More than 80 percent of the nation’s communities depend solely on trucking for delivery of their goods and products because of the Interstate Highway system.