Making transportation safer has long been a focus in Maryland and across the country. Research into a photo with some familiar faces shows our focus on safety goes back decades.
President John F. Kennedy at a ribbon cutting celebrating the I-95 connection from Maryland to Delaware. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Federal-Aid Highway Act – the law that launched the construction of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways.
The picture is from November 1963. In it, President John F. Kennedy is walking next to Maryland Governor Millard Tawes and Delaware Governor Elbert Carvel. The photo was taken at the ribbon cutting of the Northeast Expressway. Officials held the ceremony at the Mason Dixon Line, separating the two states. Now, you know the road as Interstate 95.
President Kennedy spoke at the event. “This administration has proposed a new, comprehensive, national transportation policy, calling for an examination of the relationship between highways, rails, air routes, and water routes, and our goal is the development of the most efficient, economic, and the safest transportation system for all of our people,” said President Kennedy. In his speech, he said the nation’s interstate highway system was expected to save 8,000 lives per year when completed.
Safety expectations were high in Maryland. Before the Northeast Expressway opened, Route 40 was the main road out of Maryland. About 20 people were dying along Route 40 every year and 1,000 more were injured, according to news at the time. Route 40 had 21 traffic signals, 87 intersections and about 1,000 driveways over its length. The Northeast Expressway did not have these safety concerns.
One unique safety feature considered by designers would have let drivers call for help from their cars. Officials were thinking about loaning drivers a pocket-sized radio that could call for help from any point on the Expressway. The plan was apparently never used.
The ceremony opening the Expressway happened just days before President Kennedy was assassinated. After his death, lawmakers moved quickly to rename it as the “John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway.” The section honoring Kennedy stretches from the Baltimore City line to Delaware.
Today, the highway has expanded. There are now eight lanes, stretching 50 miles with 63 bridges. The highway carries more than 31 million vehicles in both directions every year, making it a key section of highway in the northeastern United States.
Chris Berinato is the Digital Media Strategy Manager with the Maryland Department of Transportation.