Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956
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The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, popularly known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, officially began on June 29, 1956, when a hospitalized Dwight D. Eisenhower signed this bill into law. Appropriating $25 billion for the construction of more than 40,000 miles of interstate highways over a ten-year period, it was the largest public works project in American history to that point. The money was handled in a highway trust fund that paid for 90% of highway construction costs with the states required to pay the remaining 10%. It was expected that the money would be generated through new taxes on fuel, automobiles, trucks, and tires.