General Location of National System of Interstate Highways

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The General location of national system of interstate highways, including all additional routes at urban areas designated in September, 1955 or the Yellow Book was a book published by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads in 1955. It includes maps of each city that was to receive an Interstate Highway.

[edit] Omissions from existing System

• Interstate 24 - Initial plans called for I-24 to be a short interstate highway from Nashville to Chattanooga, but the actual Interstate starts with a junction at I-57 and continues east to Chattanooga with about 4 miles of highway in Georgia to intercept I-59 at its northern terminus.

• Interstate 29 - Initial plans called for I-29 to extend only from Kansas City to Sioux Falls. I-31 was scheduled to go from Fargo to Canada. The existing Highway is all I-29 from Kansas City to the Canadian border.

• Interstate 43 - Although it never appeared on this map, Wisconsin officials wanted, and got a highway that would serve Green Bay.

• Interstate 44 - The Yellow Book map has the Western Terminus at Oklahoma City. Officials extended the highway into Wichita Falls, Texas in order to connect it to US Highway 277.

• Interstate 59 and Interstate 81 - It is unclear which highway was to represent a north-south route starting from New Orleans and ending at the Canadian border in New York state. However, both current interstates roughly follow the Yellow Book plan though a trip from New Orleans to Toronto would include Interstates 20, 24, 75, and 40. I-59 has it's northern terminus at I-24 southwest of Chattanooga in Georgia. The interstate also follows I-20 from Meridian, Mississippi to Birmingham, Alabama. I-81 has its start roughly 50-60 miles east of Knoxville and ends at the Canadian border.

• Interstate 70 - The map puts I-70's western terminus at Denver, however the actual terminus is at I-15 in rural Utah.