The Zero Milestone Marker and a journey across country: Eisenhower’s interstate inspiration

 Today is President’s Day. Thanks to Kansas native President Dwight D. Eisenhower, we have a lot to be proud of when it comes to our state’s interstate systems.

34th U.S. President, Dwight D. Eisenhower

In June 1956, Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act and on Nov. 14 of that same year, Kansas opened the first section of interstate in the U.S., just west of Topeka. 

All great ideas need inspiration. Eisenhower’s came when, as a young Lieutenant Colonel, he joined a 1919 military cross-country convoy. The journey began after a dedication of a temporary monument in Washington, D.C.: The Zero Milestone Marker, a designated point where the U.S. road system begins.

The Zero Milestone Marker soon after its dedication in 1923.

Photo source: FHWA.dot.gov

The U.S. Army dispatched a military convoy of 60 trucks and more than 200 men to cross the country. Accounts from the time show the convoy had to deal with vehicles stuck in mud and experiencing failing infrastructure across the route.

After two months and 3,200 miles, the convoy pulled into San Francisco. In a formal report of the trip, Eisenhower said the trip had been difficult: “Extended trips by trucks through the middle western part of the United States are impracticable until roads are improved and then only a light truck should be used on long hauls.”

 

During the 1919 transcontinental convoy, west of Grand Island, Nebraska, soldiers use a winch to pull a Class B truck out of a ditch. Lt. Col. P. V. Kieffer surveys the scene. Source: Eisenhower Library

While it would be another 37 years before Eisenhower could become the founder of the interstate system, he cited this journey – and seeing in person the German Autobahn – as inspiration for improving the nation’s roads.

“…after seeing the autobahns of modern Germany and knowing the asset those highways were to the Germans, I decided, as President, to put an emphasis on this kind of road building,” Eisenhower said. “When we finally secured the necessary congressional approval, we started the 41,000 miles of super highways that are already proving their worth. This was one of the things that I felt deeply about, and I made a personal and absolute decision to see that the nation would benefit by it. The old convoy had started me thinking about good, two-lane highways, but Germany had made me see the wisdom of broader ribbons across the land.” (Reprinted from Federal Highway Administration publication.)

Officially dedicated in 1923, the Zero Milestone Marker now stands on the South Lawn of the White House. While roads don’t all begin and end in Washington, D.C., as the small monument suggests, the reason behind its creation rings true today: America’s road systems connect us and we all depend on quality infrastructure to thrive. Kansas’ own Dwight D. Eisenhower helped make it happen. 

The Zero Milestone Marker stands on the South Lawn of the White House.

Eisenhower National Memorial project begins with groundbreaking ceremony

Members of the Eisenhower family, government officials and memorial committee members broke ground for the memorial at an event on Thursday in Washington, D.C.

America likes Ike and soon everyone who visits the Eisenhower National Memorial in Washington, D.C., will have a chance to learn about the accomplishments of Kansas’ favorite son, President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

Members of the Eisenhower family, government officials and memorial committee members broke ground for the memorial at an event on Thursday in Washington, D.C. The new monument, designed by Frank Gehry, will celebrate Eisenhower’s success as Supreme Allied Commander during World War II and his time as the 34^th President of the United States. Sculptures by Sergey Eylanbekov will also be featured.

The memorial depicts Eisenhower at two points in his life. In the first sculpture, he is communicating with troops on D-Day just before the beach-landing in Normandy. The second celebrates his time as president. Tapestries made of steel cables will depict a peaceful Normandy beach, and several Eisenhower quotes will be featured as well.

Memorial visitors will also have the opportunity interact with the Eisenhower National Memorial through phone apps and a wireless technology guide.

Eisenhower’s great-grandson and KDOT’s Aviation Director Merrill Atwater said that the groundbreaking ceremony was an amazing event.

“Kansas will be represented in Washington, D.C.,” Atwater said. “And that’s pretty exceptional. The memorial is a whole square on the Mall.”

There are only five monuments in Washington D.C. that are named after presidents. Now, Eisenhower’s memorial will join them.

Senior Senator Pat Roberts is the chairman of the memorial board and was one of the speakers at Thursday’s event. He said he had the opportunity to meet President Eisenhower at his inauguration. When he shook Eisenhower’s hand, he never dreamed that he would lead the efforts for his memorial at the National Mall decades later.

“After all these years, why do we still ‘Like Ike?’” Roberts said.  “If he had done nothing else in life—his service as Supreme Allied Commander and savior of Western democracy should earn him the respect and admiration of every human being whose life, peace and prosperity that victory made possible.”

Roberts said that Eisenhower shouldn’t be revered because of his service alone, but honored because he served with quiet humility and strength.

 “The man was so humble that upon the surrender of the German Army his message back to Washington was simply, ‘Mission accomplished’,” Roberts said.

Roberts said that over the course of President Eisenhower’s career, America matured politically and culturally. By the time he retired, America was the leader of the free world.

“It has taken a long time for the historians to discover and figure out his greatness,” Roberts said. “Eisenhower anticipated the problems and averted them before they ever became a crisis. His steady hand and his quiet strategy didn’t draw attention like the administrations that followed him. Now six decades later, for that kind of leadership, he is remembered as one of America’s great presidents. Like Lincoln, he came from very humble origins. He never forgot his home-town and said, ‘The proudest thing I can claim is that I’m from Abilene.’”

Roberts said that Ike’s values - strength, humility, discipline and integrity - were also America’s.

“We couldn’t be where we are today without those values,” Roberts said. “We are here today to ensure Ike’s place in American and world history, for his achievements both as Supreme Allied Commander and the 34^th president of the United States.”

Gretta Van Susteren, a former news commentator, was the emcee at the event. She said that those who were present came to remember a remarkable man who left a legacy for our great country. She said that Eisenhower embodied the values Midwesterners prize: determination and tenacity.

“When faced with a challenge he stayed focused,” Van Susteren said. “When faced with adversity he didn’t stop. He never gave in.”

Roberts also said that this memorial is being built not only to honor a single person, but to create a symbol for all generations.

“Lest anyone forget what we can achieve in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, let them come here and understand what Eisenhower and America have done, and what they in turn can do for themselves and our nation’s future,” Roberts said.

The Eisenhower National Memorial is expected to open on May 8, 2020. The cost of the project is approximately $150 million and will be primarily federally funded with some private donations. 

You can learn more about the memorial by checking out the website. 

The Zero Milestone Marker and a journey across country: Eisenhower’s interstate inspiration

Today is President’s Day and it was thanks to Kansas native, President Dwight D. Eisenhower that we have a lot to be proud of when it comes to our state’s interstate systems. So much history is told along these multi-lane highways. In June 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Act of 1956 and on November 14 of that same year, Kansas opened the first section of interstate in the U.S., just west of Topeka. 

34th U.S. President, Dwight D. Eisenhower 

All great ideas need inspiration and President Eisenhower’s came from a military convoy cross-country journey that he joined in 1919. The journey began after a dedication of a temporary small monument in Washington, D.C.: The Zero Milestone Marker.

According to an article by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), The Zero Milestone Marker was conceived by good roads advocate Dr. S.M. Johnson to designate a point at which the U.S. road system begins and he cited the ancient city of Rome as his inspiration. The article quotes Johnson as saying:

“Rome marked the beginning of her system of highways which bound her widely scattered people together by a golden milestone in the Forum. The system of highways radiating from Washington to all the boundaries of the national domain and all parts of the Western hemisphere will do vastly more for national unity and for human unity than even the roads of the Roman Empire . . . .”

After a temporary marker was dedicated, the U.S. Army attempted to send a military convoy of 60 trucks and more than 200 men.

In 1919, a young officer, brevet Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower made the journey famous because of the conditions of the cross-country trip was the stuff of nightmares.

The FHWA said in their article that not only did the convoy face typical mechanical problems but there were also infrastructure issues to deal with as well.

“ …The convoy had to deal with vehicles stuck in mud or crashing through wooden bridges, roads as slippery as ice (25 trucks skidded into a roadside ditch west of North Platte, Nebraska), roads with the consistency of "gumbo" or built on shifting sand, and extremes of weather from desert heat to Rocky Mountain freezing,” the FHWA article said.

After two months and 3,200 miles, the convoy pulled into San Francisco. In a formal report of the trip, Eisenhower said that the trip had been difficult and tiring but also fun. He discussed the challenges he saw while on the journey.

“Extended trips by trucks through the middle western part of the United States are impracticable until roads are improved, and then only a light truck should be used on long hauls,” Eisenhower said.

The FHWA’s article mentions that the participants of that day were convinced that the United States’ roads needed improvements. While it would be another 37 years before Eisenhower could begin the interstate system, he cites this journey, and the Autobahn in Germany as his inspiration for having good roads.

The Zero Milestone Marker soon after it's dedication in 1923.
Photo source: FHWA.dot.gov

“A third of a century later, after seeing the autobahns of modern Germany and knowing the asset those highways were to the Germans, I decided, as President, to put an emphasis on this kind of road building,” Eisenhower said. “When we finally secured the necessary congressional approval, we started the 41,000 miles of super highways [now 42,800 miles] that are already proving their worth. This was one of the things that I felt deeply about, and I made a personal and absolute decision to see that the nation would benefit by it. The old convoy had started me thinking about good, two-lane highways, but Germany had made me see the wisdom of broader ribbons across the land.”

The Zero Milestone Marker stands on the South Lawn of the White House.

The Zero Milestone Marker, a small pylon that stands in the South Lawn of the White House, was officially dedicated in 1923. While this little monument’s purpose was never fully realized, as roads don’t all begin and end in Washington D.C., the reason behind its creation still rings true today: America’s road systems connect all of us and we all depend on quality infrastructure to thrive.