Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), ranks as one of America’s most visionary Presidents ever. He is described as a “man given to big thoughts.”
In 1937 he summoned to the White House, a man by the name, Thomas “The Chief” MacDonald, the head of the Bureau of Public Roads.
The President picked up a crayon and on a large map of the United States in the Oval Office drew six broad lines. Three of them crossed the country from coast to coast. Three more ran up and down the country, border to border.
A while later, he drew two more north-south lines on the map, making a total of eight.
He turned to MacDonald and said these eight roads would “enable vehicles to travel for hundreds of miles at the highest of speeds, should be constructed to link America together properly, once and for all. How much will it cost?”
According to the book, THE MEN WHO UNITED THE STATES, by Simon Winchester, “This hastily drawn crayon-on-a-map plan of 1937 – lost to history, sad to say – was the exact moment of origin for the American Interstate Highway System.
Those who have driven on the American Highways can’t help but marvel and salute the stroke of genius and foresight of their creation. They are unrivalled, worldwide.
The project was supposed to take 13 years to complete, but instead it took 35 years, and would cost a total of $430 billion, becoming the greatest public works programme in world history.
“There would be 41,000 miles of highway – with the longest, the I-90, running without a single traffic light the 3,020 miles between Seattle and Boston. By comparison, Lagos to Maiduguri is about 1,532 kilometers (or about 950 miles only).
Roads would climb as high as two miles above sea level in Colorado and 50 feet below by the Mexican border in Southern California.”
“There would be 55,000 bridges and tunnels, 16,000 exit and entrance ramps, junctions where in time, new kinds of hotels, and venues for refreshment and amusement would grow up, changing in no small way the face of the nation”.
FDR collaborator, Thomas “The Chief’ MacDonald ran the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads with an iron fist from 1919 until his retirement in 1953, and wielded unprecedented influence with the seven U.S. presidents he served.
A staggering 3.5 million miles of road was built under his authority. Again, keep in mind, that Lagos to Maiduguri is about 1,532 kilometers (or about 950 miles only).
Proud, austere and scrupulous Thomas MacDonald was a very stern man. He wore a coat and a tie, even while fishing. And he demanded absolute respect always. He forbade anyone from calling him by his Christian name. He had his wife call him Mr. MacDonald, and his brothers and sisters address him as Sir. To his staff, he was simply Chief.
He once remarked that road building was “a calling of the greatest public responsibility.”
Thomas “The Chief” MacDonald was one of those whose efforts contributed a great deal to keeping America UNITED, through an interconnectivity of a super road network.
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Martin Udogie, Publisher, Trainer and Programme Host for the Radio Nigeria Network, wrote in from Lagos.
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