Interstate Highways

Interstate Highways An interstate highway is any highway built under the auspices of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 and funded by the federal government. The idea for interstate highways came from Dwight D. Eisenhower after he saw the benefits of the Autobahn during wartime Germany. There are now over 42,000 miles of interstate highways in the United States. Eisenhowers Idea On July 7, 1919, a young army captain named Dwight David Eisenhower joined 294 other members of the army and departed from Washington D.C. in the militarys first automobile caravan across the country. Due to poor roads and highways, the caravan averaged five miles per hour and took 62 days to reach Union Square in San Francisco. At the end of World War II, General Dwight David Eisenhower surveyed the war damage to Germany and was impressed by the durability of the Autobahn. While a single bomb could make a train route useless, Germanys wide and modern highways could often be used immediately after being bombed because it was difficult to destroy such a wide swath of concrete or asphalt. These two experiences helped show President Eisenhower the importance of efficient highways. In the 1950s, America was frightened of nuclear attack by the Soviet Union (people were even building bomb shelters at home). It was thought that a modern interstate highway system could provide citizens with evacuation routes from the cities and would also allow the rapid movement of military equipment across the country. The Plan for Interstate Highways Within a year after Eisenhower became President in 1953, he began to push for a system of interstate highways across the United States. Although federal highways covered many areas of the country, the interstate highway plan would create 42,000 miles of limited-access and very modern highways. Eisenhower and his staff worked for two years to get the worlds largest public works project approved by Congress. On June 29, 1956, the Federal Aid Highway Act (FAHA) of 1956 was signed and the Interstates, as they would be known, began to spread across the landscape. Requirements for Each Interstate Highway The FAHA provided for federal funding of 90% of the cost of the Interstates, with the state contributing the remaining 10%. The standards for the Interstate Highways were highly regulated- lanes were required to be twelve feet wide, shoulders were ten feet wide, a minimum of fourteen feet of clearance under each bridge was required, grades had to be less than 3%, and the highway had to be designed for travel at 70 miles per hour. However, one of the most important aspects of the Interstate Highways was their limited access. Although prior federal or state highways allowed, for the most part, any road to be connected to the highway, the Interstate Highways only allowed access from a limited number of controlled interchanges. With over 42,000 miles of Interstate Highways, there were to be only 16,000 interchanges- less than one for every two miles of road. That was just an average; in some rural areas, there are dozens of miles between interchanges. The First and Last Stretches of Interstate Highway Completed Less than five months after the FAHA of 1956 was signed, the first stretch of Interstate opened in Topeka, Kansas. The eight-mile piece of highway opened on November 14, 1956. The plan for the Interstate Highway system was to complete all 42,000 miles within 16 years (by 1972.) Actually, it took 27 years to complete the system. The last link, Interstate 105 in Los Angeles, was not completed until 1993. Signs Along the Highway In 1957, the red, white, and blue shield symbol for the Interstates numbering system was developed. Two-digit Interstate Highways are numbered according to direction and location. Highways running north-south are odd numbered while highways running east-west are even numbered. The lowest numbers are in the west and in the south. Three-digit Interstate Highway numbers represent beltways or loops, attached to a primary Interstate Highway (represented by the last two numbers of the beltways number). Washington D.C.s beltway is numbered 495 because its parent highway is I-95. In the late 1950s, the signs displaying white lettering on a green background were made official. Specific motorist-testers drove along a special stretch of highway and voted on which color was their favorite- 15% liked white on black, 27% liked white on blue, but 58% liked white on green best. Why Does Hawaii Have Interstate Highways? Although Alaska has no Interstate Highways, Hawaii does. Since any highway built under the auspices of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 and funded by the federal government is called an interstate highway, a highway does not have to cross state lines to count as one. In fact, there are many local routes that lie entirely within a single state funded by the Act. For example, on the island of Oahu are the Interstates H1, H2, and H3, which connect important military facilities on the island. Interstate Highway Urban Legend Some people believe that one mile out of every five on interstate highways is straight to serve as emergency airplane landing strips. According to Richard F. Weingroff, who works in the Federal Highway Administrations Office of Infrastructure, No law, regulation, policy, or sliver of red tape requires that one out of five miles of the Interstate Highway System must be straight. Weingroff says that its a complete hoax and urban legend that the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System requires that one mile in every five must be straight to be usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies. Besides, there are more overpasses and interchanges than there are miles in the system, so even if there were straight miles, planes attempting to land would quickly encounter an overpass on their runway. Side Effects of Interstate Highways The Interstate Highways that were created to help protect and defend the United States of America were also to be used for commerce and travel. Though no one could have predicted it, the Interstate Highway was a major impetus for in the development of suburbanization and sprawl of U.S. cities. While Eisenhower never desired the Interstates to pass through or reach into the major cities of the U.S., it happened, and along with the Interstates came the problems of congestion, smog, automobile dependency, drop in densities of urban areas, the decline of mass transit, and others. Can the damage produced by the Interstates be reversed? A great deal of change would be needed to bring it about.

Paragraph Construction - ESL Writing Lesson

Paragraph Construction - ESL Writing Lesson There are two structures to learn in English that are important in writing: the sentence and the paragraph. Paragraphs can be described as a collection of sentences. These sentences combine to express a specific idea, main point, topic and so on. A number of paragraphs are then combined to write a report, an essay, or even a book. This guide to writing paragraphs describe the basic structure of each paragraph you will write. In general, the purpose of a paragraph is to express one  main  point, idea or opinion. Of course, writers may provide multiple examples to support their point. However, any supporting details should support the main idea of a paragraph. This main idea is expressed through three sections of a paragraph: Beginning - Introduce your idea with a topic sentenceMiddle - Explain your idea through supporting sentencesEnd - Make your point again with a concluding sentence, and, if necessary transition to the next paragraph. Example Paragraph Here is a paragraph taken from an essay on various strategies required for an overall improvement of student performance. The components of this paragraph are analyzed below: Have you ever wondered why some students cant seem to concentrate in class? Students require more recreational time in order to better focus on lessons in class. In fact, studies have shown that students who enjoy a recess of more than 45 minutes consistently score better on tests immediately following the recess period. Clinical analysis further suggests that physical exercise greatly improves the ability to focus on academic materials. Longer periods of recess are clearly required to allow students the best possible chances of success in their studies. Clearly, physical exercise is just one of the necessary ingredients for improving student scores on standardized tests. There are four sentence types used to construct a paragraph: Hook and Topic sentence A paragraph begins with an optional hook and a topic sentence. The hook is used to draw readers into the paragraph. A hook might be an interesting fact or statistic, or a question to get the reader thinking. While not absolutely necessary, a hook can help your readers begin thinking about your main idea. The topic sentence which states your idea, point, or opinion. This sentence should use a strong verb and make a bold statement. (hook) Have you ever wondered why some students cant seem to concentrate in class? (topic sentence) Students require more recreational time in order to better focus on lessons in class. Notice the strong verb require which is a call to action. A weaker form of this sentence might be: I think students probably need more recreational time ... This weaker form is inappropriate for a topic sentence. Supporting sentences Supporting sentences (notice the plural) provide explanations and support for the topic sentence (main idea) of your paragraph. In fact, studies have shown that students who enjoy a recess of more than 45 minutes consistently score better on tests immediately following the recess period. Clinical analysis further suggests that physical exercise greatly improves the ability to focus on academic materials. Supporting sentences provide the evidence for your topic sentence. Supporting sentences that include facts, statistics and logical reasoning are much more convincing that simple statements of opinion. Concluding sentence The concluding sentence restates the main idea (found in your topic sentence) and reinforces the point or opinion. Longer periods of recess are clearly required to allow students the best possible chances of success in their studies. Concluding sentences repeat the main idea of your paragraph in different words. OptionalTransitional sentencefor Essays and Longer Writing The transitional sentence prepares the reader for the following paragraph. Clearly, physical exercise is just one of the necessary ingredients for improving student scores on standardized tests. Transitional sentences should help readers logically understand the connection between your current main idea, point or opinion and the main idea of your next paragraph. In this instance, the phrase just one of the necessary ingredients ... prepares the reader for the next paragraph which will discuss another necessary ingredient for success. Quiz Identify each sentence according to the role it plays in a paragraph. Is it a hook, topic sentence, supporting sentence, or concluding sentence? To sum up, educators must try to ensure that students practice writing rather than just taking multiple choice tests.However, due to the pressures of large classrooms, many teachers try to cut corners by giving multiple choice quizzes.Nowadays, teachers realize that students need to actively practice their writing skills though review of basic concepts is also required.  Have you ever done well on a multiple choice quiz, only to realize that you dont really understand the topic?Real learning requires practice not just style exercises that focus on checking their understanding.   Answers Concluding sentence - Phrases such as To sum up, In conclusion, and Finally introduce a concluding sentence.Supporting sentence - This sentence provides a reason for multiple choices and supports the main idea of the paragraph.Supporting sentence - This sentence provides information about current teaching practices as a means of supporting the main idea.Hook - This sentence helps the reader imagine the issue in terms of their own life. This helps the reader become personally engaged in the topic.Thesis - The bold statement gives the overall point of the paragraph.   Exercise   Write a cause and effect paragraph to explain one of the following: The difficulties in finding a jobThe effects of technology on learningCauses of political unrestThe importance of English