Interstate 10

Interstate 10 is one of three U.S. highways that go all the way from one coast to the other (the others being Interstate 80 and 90). The 10 begins in LA, and passes through Phoenix, San Antonio, New Orleans, Mobile and Jacksonville. It's 2,490 miles long and has many names. Near its western terminus in Santa Monica there is a sign declaring it the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway. In LA, it's more commonly called the Santa Monica Freeway. In Palm Springs, it's the Sonny Bono Memorial Highway. It's also known as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway (Arizona and Jacksonville), the Papago Freeway (Phoenix), the Katy Freeway (Katy, outside Houston) and the Stephen Ambrose Memorial Highway (parts of Louisiana and Mississippi).
Planning for an interstate system began in the 1930s and was officially authorized and funded by Congress in the 1950s. The U.S. automobile industry lobbied for it and President Eisenhower supported it. Chances are, you live by an interstate, and may use one every day. Construction on the interstate system continues, but it was officially completed in 1991. As of 2004, the system covered over 42,700 miles.