"A highway revolution took place in the United States between 1895 and 1925. At the end of the nineteenth century, the nation lacked the means to create the network of paved highways that exists today. This revolution didn't really end in 1925, as the development of new and improved machinery continued, and greater knowledge of materials and how to work them led to greater efficiency, but the revolution that got the nation's vehicles out of the mud had by then achieved the momentum that would carry it forward for generations. This book explores critical factors that propelled the revolution forward, including federal and state funding, better educated engineers and contractors with the practical experience needed to apply this learning, skilled laborers to operate the increasingly complex construction equipment, and a base of tax-paying citizens who were persuaded that the high cost of paved highways was fully justified by the economic advantages that accompanied them."--BOOK JACKET.