News Advisory for Immediate Release Tuesday, June 27, 2006 DDOT Prepares to Welcome Convoy of Vehicles to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Interstate Highway System Contact (Media Only): Erik Linden (202) 671-2004; Karyn LeBlanc (202) 671-3490 (Washington, DC) On Thursday, June 29, 2006 the nation’s capital and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will welcome a convoy of more than 20 vehicles to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Interstate Highway System. The convoy, sponsored by the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) will be making its way to the District of Columbia to the White House Ellipse after 14 days of travel. The convoy departed San Francisco on June 16. Then-Lieutenant Colonel Dwight Eisenhower took a cross-country trek in 1919—and today’s convoy is retracing those steps. Eisenhower took a military convoy from Washington, DC, to San Francisco to assess road conditions and to evaluate ability to deploy troops. He then became a proponent of a limited-access interstate highway system as part of a defense structure in the United States. The District event is the final in a nationwide series of events celebrating the 50th anniversary of this major transportation feat. AASHTO will be hosting a celebration of the end of the convoy at: What Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Dwight David Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways When Thursday, June 29, 2006 12:30 - 1:30 pm Where The Reagan Center and International Trade Center 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Horizon Ballroom Pennsylvania Avenue entrance, between 13th and 14th Streets