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[CtrlAltDel]

You may or may not have seen this GIF that shows Walmart's growth over the years:



I recently came across it, and it made me wonder if there was a similar GIF showing how the Interstate highways opened from the '50s to the present. I think that that would be pretty cool to see, that familiar map (at least to us roadgeeks), slowly appearing before our eyes.

So, has anyone made something like this?
Or failing that, would anyone be interested in doing it themselves? 
Or failing that, help me make one?

[Zeffy]

This seems like it could be pretty cool to make. I have a simple idea on how it could work, if someone wanted to provide the data that I don't currently know. Failing that, I could help make one.

[roadman65]

After Florida is seemed that it expanded quite rapidly in South Carolina before it made it into the other SE corner states,  ie Georgia, North Carolina.

[SteveG1988]

I would break it down by region, otherwise the map would get crowded fast

[bandit957]

After Florida is seemed that it expanded quite rapidly in South Carolina before it made it into the other SE corner states,  ie Georgia, North Carolina.

The antiunion laws are probably even worse in South Carolina than in other states. There was a worker strike at a hospital in 1969 where they actually put workers in JAIL for trying to form a union.

[SteveG1988]

I would start with a nation wide map, starting in 1940. No roads on it, then over 1940-1951 you start filling in the toll roads, extending the PA turnpike. 1956: Interstate Highway act enacted. You start to go region by region at that point.

Alternative idea, Flash programming can be used to add layers, you use flash on a map of the country, allow zooming, go in 5 year incraments on the map.

[Highway63]

I have a series of maps for four-lane roads in Iowa, but the growth isn't animated:

http://iowahighwayends.net/maps/fourlanes.html

[vtk]

If anyone is going to do this, please don't do it in Mercator projection.

Actually, if we got a few people who are comfortable working in JOSM and have access to opening-year data, I know how to produce an animation from that…

[NE2]

have access to opening-year data

That's the big sticking point. It'd take a lot of newspaper research.

[Zeffy]

If anyone is going to do this, please don't do it in Mercator projection.

Actually, if we got a few people who are comfortable working in JOSM and have access to opening-year data, I know how to produce an animation from that…

Minus the opening year data part, I know how to use JOSM decently well enough.

[vtk]

have access to opening-year data

That's the big sticking point. It'd take a lot of newspaper research.

Kurumi's already done all the legwork with the 3dIs…

[SP Cook]

While getting down to the exact day would require some newspaper work, reference to the general highway maps, particularly the official state issued ones, would be good enough for a year by year work. 

Also, at least in my state, every time a route opens there is a "Commissioner's Order" that declares it a public road, describes its end points, and assigns it its number.  An example for an interstate might be: "The Commissioner (legalese) declares a new route, to be designated as Interstate 64, to be a public road and to run from a junction with I-64 previously designated at MM 15 at Ona in Cabell County to MM 39 and junction with State Route 34 at Teays in Putnam County.

These are recorded in a vault at the Capitol just like a county deed record room.  While not computerized, they are indexed and fairly easily searchable.

I would love to see such a set of maps.

[vdeane]

Wikipedia might have some of that info as well.  Some of the highway articles are quite extensive.

[SteveG1988]

I would do it end of year.

[rschen7754]

Wikipedia might have some of that info as well.  Some of the highway articles are quite extensive.

It depends on the state; Michigan and Delaware should have everything, for example, but other states (think Rockies and South) don't have as many active editors. You would want to make sure that there is a citation for the date, so you know that some random IP editor didn't just make it up.

AARoads also has some data for a few states like California; I found some discrepancies when researching I-805 and I-8 for Wikipedia, but it should be accurate at least to the year.

[Alps]

have access to opening-year data

That's the big sticking point. It'd take a lot of newspaper research.

How bad was it when you did NJ's Interstates?

[CtrlAltDel]

Well, I haven't found anything out there that directly answers my question, but I did find this gif that shows when the bridges for the interstates were built, which is interesting. I always thought that the system developed more linearly than this, which shows things happening more or less everywhere all at once.

[Rothman]

Individual states were in charge of building, so it's not too surprising.  That said, it makes you wonder if a map that plotted out the pavement would mirror this.

In other words, it'd be head-scratching if the data showed that bridges were built and just sat around for pavement to join up to them (i.e., a long time gap between bridge building and pavement building).

[Big John]

In other words, it'd be head-scratching if the data showed that bridges were built and just sat around for pavement to join up to them (i.e., a long time gap between bridge building and pavement building).

There was Pittsburgh's "Bridge to nowhere" and Milwaukee's Hoan bridge which were built before they connected on both sides.  Otherwise the pavement was usually built with the bridges.

[Rothman]

In other words, it'd be head-scratching if the data showed that bridges were built and just sat around for pavement to join up to them (i.e., a long time gap between bridge building and pavement building).

There was Pittsburgh's "Bridge to nowhere" and Milwaukee's Hoan bridge which were built before they connected on both sides.  Otherwise the pavement was usually built with the bridges.

Heh.  There was also the bridges to nowhere along I-84 west of Hartford as well that sat for quite a while before eventually being used for CT 9, I believe.   It was pointed out as a boondoggle for years by local media (and my father as we drove under it quite frequently on our trips to my grandparents' house).

[Jim]

Well, I haven't found anything out there that directly answers my question, but I did find this gif that shows when the bridges for the interstates were built

Is this showing when a bridge was first built or most recently?  It looks like some of the Northway is showing post-1985 when the route was fully open well before.  So I'm guessing it's last replacement/reconstruction.  The map is also not complete unless I-95 in manages to get from southern Maine to New Brunswick on nothing but dry land.

[froggie]

If a bridge was completely replaced, the NBI would show the replacement year.

[paulthemapguy]

Does the bridge map include box culverts and other large culverts?  Some of those may have been converted to all-out bridges or vice versa, creating some idiosyncrasies.  It also may explain some points on the map that don't correlate with the construction of the pavement itself.

[CtrlAltDel]

Eureka!

This web site has pretty much exactly what I was looking for, to the year. At the beginning, there's a little spiel showing some of the key dates and other information about the Interstate system, but at the end is a map with a slider that will show you which segments were open at that time.

[1]

There are some inaccuracies in that map; it doesn't distinguish between different segments of the same route in the same state, e.g. I-69 in Indiana.