The First Highway Trust Fund Bailout

September 9 marked the 60th anniversary of a defining moment in U.S. transportation history.

1 minute read

September 11, 2019, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Highway Interchange

Tim Roberts Photography / Shutterstock

Jeff Davis and the Eno Center for Transportation commemorated a inauspicious moment in U.S. infrastructure history on September 9: the 60th anniversary of the first bailout of the Highway Trust Fund.

On September 9, 1959, "the White House announced that President Eisenhower was requesting a bailout of the Highway Trust Fund – a $359 million “repayable advance” appropriation from the general fund of the Treasury," explains Davis. "Without it, the Trust Fund would run out of money and be unable to pay its bills in October 1959."

To fully explore the context and consequences of that moment in history, Davis has published a three-part series of essays, titled "The First Time the Highway Trust Fund Went Broke."

Monday, September 9, 2019 in Eno Center for Transportation

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