Check out this review in the New Republic about a new book that looks at the history of roads, “The Road Taken: The History and Future of America’s Infrastructure” by Henry Petroski (2016).
From the publisher’s website: “In The Road Taken, acclaimed historian Henry Petroski explores our core infrastructure from historical and contemporary perspectives and explains how essential their maintenance is to America’s economic health. Recounting the long history behind America’s highway system, Petroski reveals the genesis of our interstate numbering system (even roads go east-west, odd go north-south), the inspiration behind the center line that has divided roads for decades, and the creation of such taken-for-granted objects as guardrails, stop signs, and traffic lights–all crucial parts of our national and local infrastructure. His history of the rebuilding of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge reveals the complex and challenging interplay between government and industry inherent in the conception, funding, design, and building of major infrastructure projects, while his forensic analysis of the street he lives on–its potholes, gutters, and curbs–will engage homeowners everywhere.”
~Thanks to Asha W Agrawal for this post
Moving History 