A lot of folks seem to think the Interstate highway system here in Utah and across the country is about finished. Like the report of Mark Twain’s demise, that impression is somewhat exaggerated.
Yet, the massive national road project is well-advanced. As of Sept. 30, 1974, work had either been completed or was under way (or on the drawing boards) on 99 per cent, or 42,062 miles of the 42,500-mile system. Only 438 miles had not yet advanced to the point where public hearings on location have been held.
Here in Utah, 606 miles of the total 937.9 projected miles of Interstate highway are substantially complete and open to traffic.
Another 52.3 miles, although not completed, are open to traffic at partial capacity, such as two lanes of a four-lane or six-lane sector. Seventy-eight miles are currently under construction in Utah, and 201 miles are under design, say state highway officials.
Funding is on an annual basis, and the present projected target date for completion of the interstate system in Utah is 1983.
Nation-wide, according to Secretary of Transportation Claude S. Brinegar, total Interstate mileage now open to traffic is 36,021 miles, or 84.8 per cent. Of this total, 11,262 miles are complete or essentially complete. The other 24,759 miles now in use include segments that are either currently under improvement or still require additional development to meet full standards, such as work on rest areas, lighting, fencing, etc.
As for funding, Brinegar says that based on 1972 cost estimates (the most recent available), 76 per cent of the estimated total funds needed to complete the Interstate system had been obligated.
Putting it another way, 24 per cent of the estimated total cost of the Interstate system remains to be funded. But this doesn’t take into account the effects of inflation since 1972. Actually, it is expected that, based on today’s prices, approximately 36 per cent of the current estimated cost remains to be funded.
Since 1956, some $55.72 billion has been spent on the federal-aid Interstate system. As of last September, work estimated to cost an additional $13.92 billion was under way or authorized.
So, while progress is being made, the massive Interstate system is still a long way from completion or total funding. Highway departments … as well as the public… can look forward to the day of total completion – then all that will be left will be the perpetual repairs and improvements.