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General

Legacy ID
21

History of Scenic Road Programs

In July 1988, the FHWA cosponsored a conference called Scenic Byways '88: A National Conference to Map the Future of America's Scenic Roads and Highways. IN preparation for the conference, the FHWA published Scenic Byways as a guide and reference for participants. It contained...

Ask the Rambler: Why Do People Like to Drive for Pleasure?

A student contacted the Federal Highway Administration about a research project on "driving for pleasure," "driving as free time activity," and the "conception of landscape by an eye in motion." He asked:

What I'm still looking for and what I now...

Ask the Rambler: What Is The Longest Road in the United States?

Welcome, once again, to the popular feature which allows the Rambler to make up a question he already knows the answer to, pretend he had to do a lot of eye-straining research, and submit a voucher for "travel expenses." Well, he's done it again, and we're not falling for it. But here's his...

Ask the Rambler: Interstates in Hawaii: ARE WE CRAZY???

The Rambler is often asked how Hawaii can have Interstate highways when the roads clearly don't connect two States. The question is often followed by the observation that, just in case the Rambler hadn't noticed, Hawaii doesn't share a border with any other State and is, in fact, ____ miles away...

Martin Van Buren and the Railroads

Dear Rambler,

I came across the following letter and I'm wondering if it's true:

January 31, 1829

To President Jackson,
The canal system of this country is being threatened by the spread of a new form of transportation known as "...

Introducing the Rambler, Semi-Retired

After reading Blue HighwaysOut West, and other highly praised highway travel books, the Rambler was disappointed. The books were mainly about the interesting people and places along the way, not the highways. The Rambler decided to do something about it. Since...

Ted Holmes on Thomas MacDonald and Herbert Fairbank

On April 2, 1971, Associate Administrator for Planning E. H. "Ted" Holmes retired after 43 years of service with the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) and the Federal Highway Administration. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he had joined the BPR in 1928...