Final Piece of Eisenhower's Interstate System Complete

For eight years, Kabir Chibber writes, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has been working to close the last remaining gap in Interstate 95, bringing to completion what was once dubbed "the greatest public works program in the history of the world."

The Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project, slated to open by Sept. 24, closes a gap that traces its origins "to local opposition—it was to cut through Hopewell Valley, an affluent area near Princeton—and the energy crisis of the 1970s." The project's total cost amounts to $400 million, funding the construction of six overhead bridges, toll plazas, and flyover ramps.

The project brings to a close a more hopeful era for American public infrastructure that now seems very far away as the Highway Trust Fund experiences long-term insolvency and plans to maintain "crumbling" highways remain murky.