Skip to main content

VIDEO: Concrete paving - you’ve come a long way, baby!

It’s 1948. The grand scheme of creating an Interstate Highway system in the US is still barely a twinkle in President Dwight Eisenhower’s military eye. Highway construction improved greatly in the late 1950s and early 1960s as the American contractors became more mechanized and therefore efficient at laying roads faster and of better quality. But how did they build a road back then in 1948? Thanks to Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, we have a movie of just how a concrete highway was created. The constr
July 14, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
It’s 1948. The grand scheme of creating an Interstate Highway system in the US is still barely a twinkle in President Dwight Eisenhower’s military eye. Highway construction improved greatly in the late 1950s and early 1960s as the American contractors became more mechanized and therefore efficient at laying roads faster and of better quality.

But how did they build a road back then in 1948?

Thanks to Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, we have a movie of just how a concrete highway was created. The construction site looked more like a chain gang from a nearby prison that a professionally done infrastructure project.

Viewers just might be able to feel the sun’s heat as workers toil into the long day.

If this video piqued your curiosity about road building projects back then, %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal click here Visit youtube Page false https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neaoGclvips false false%> to see a 1951 film from the Bethlehem Steel Company. Things have apparently moved on since 1948 and steel is making inroads. At least this film is in colour.

Related Content

  • VIDEO: Brazilian cyclists caught on camera drafting a truck
    January 18, 2016
    Just how dangerous is it for a cyclist to draft a fast moving vehicle? Probably very dangerous but that means only some cyclists will attempt it, as these videos shows. At the start of this video from Brazil, the cyclist on the right appears to attach his Go Pro camera to the rear of the truck that they are drafting. It is not until about 3:55 seconds into the video that the speed picks up and reaches reportedly 124kph. Near the end of the video, the one cyclist left appears to take back the camera off t
  • VIDEO: Brazilian cyclists caught on camera drafting a truck
    January 18, 2016
    Just how dangerous is it for a cyclist to draft a fast moving vehicle? Probably very dangerous but that means only some cyclists will attempt it, as these videos shows. At the start of this video from Brazil, the cyclist on the right appears to attach his Go Pro camera to the rear of the truck that they are drafting. It is not until about 3:55 seconds into the video that the speed picks up and reaches reportedly 124kph. Near the end of the video, the one cyclist left appears to take back the camera off t
  • VIDEO: Good car winter maintenance is snow joke
    January 27, 2016
    Even conscientious professional people can get caught out by severe winter weather, as this video from Canada shows. We at World Highways hope that all our valued readers in the globe’s chillier regions have taken the time this season to ensure their safety by winterising their vehicles. It’s important to get it right. So the staff at World Highways would like to recommend that readers click here to take a quick look at some of the best - and worst - tips for winterising their personal vehicle. Fo
  • VIDEO: Never give a queen a lift
    May 27, 2016
    A driver in Wales drove around for a day with an estimated 20,000 unwelcome passengers until the problem got to be too evident. The video shows the car of the 65-year-old grandmother, finally parked in the small town of Haverfordwest, literally buzzing with bees. Apparently, a queen bee got stuck on the vehicle and her community decided to follow the car and stick to it as well. It took two members of the Pembrokeshire Beekeepers' Association, a park ranger and some local people to coax the travelers