My Compass: Interstate 80

Yesterday, as Dave and Clancy and I took our daily stroll, the world was quiet. The cawing of a distant crow gave the soundscape some depth, and the cheeping of a bird flying across our path reminded me that we were not alone. A slight breeze out of the south carried the rustle of dry grass and the call of a distant rooster. The wind chimes on the front porch tinkled fitfully, and the world felt benign.

Today the wind has shifted to the northwest, and the soundscape hums with the unceasing drone of civilization as cars and trucks by the thousands hurtle along Interstate 80. Jake brakes punctuate the generalized drone with their staccato hammering as semis negotiate a steep hill into a creek bed. Individual engines and tires dissolve into that subdued roar. Carried on the wind, the sound seems to ooze around the windbreak to the north, splitting between the northwest and the northeast.

When I was considering buying the land that has become Owl Acres, the one thing I didn’t like about the property was its proximity to the Interstate. Only a mile away, it overlaid much of the soundscape, forming an ever-present background. Ever-present at least when the wind has a northerly component. And that’s more often than not. It’s not overwhelming like in some cities, but it adds a definite component to the wildlife soundscape I was hoping for.

This stretch of Interstate 80 was completed in 1962 as part of President Eisenhower’s project to improve the highway system during the Cold War. Eventually stretching from New York City to San Francisco, I-80 crosses Iowa a mile north of Owl Acres. If you know where to look, you can see the barn on Owl Acres from the Interstate.

That stretch of road just north of Owl Acres is considered one of the six most hazardous stretches in Iowa. It has a history of pile-ups and fatal accidents. A cable system has been installed in the median, catching cross-over accidents before they reach the oncoming lane. Fences on the outside edges keep most of the wildlife off the road, save deer who can readily jump the fence.

The barn on Owl Acres, seen from the westbound lane of I-80.  This picture was taken at the spot where the truck appears in the feature photo. Photo by Author.

Although plans for better highways across the country were well underway before Dwight D. Eisenhower took office in 1952, he gets the credit for making the federal Interstate Highway system happen—the one we know today.

In 1919, when Eisenhower was a young officer in the U.S. Army, he went along on a transcontinental convoy of military trucks that started in Washington, D.C. and ended, 62 days and 3251 miles later, in San Francisco.  The 81 trucks in the convoy traveled at about six miles an hour, covering less than 60 miles a day. Many of the roads they traveled were simply dirt paths, and the convoy often got stuck in the mud. During World War II, Eisenhower noted the efficiency of the German autobahns, so when he went to Congress in 1956 asking for an interstate system, he had these two formative experiences to draw on. He wanted a good road system for several reasons involving safety (36,000 people killed on U.S. highways annually at the time); an efficient way to evaculate cities in case of need during the Cold War; commerce and military expediency. Privately, he also saw it as a massive public works project that didn’t feel like the Depression-era models. The enabling legislation, known as the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 authorized 90 percent of the cost to be paid with federal dollars and 10 percent paid for by the states. The last stretch of I-80 was completed 16 years later in December of 1972.  

Because of the nearby interstate, Owl Acres doesn’t have quite the serenity I was hoping for. It has everything else, though, so here we are. I-80 did bring an unanticipated benefit, though. It serves as a sound beacon, helping me stay oriented when I’m out and about in the yard and woods on Owl Acres—my compass pointing north.

Feature photo by Author.  Alt text: Interstate from the barn.  A truck on I-80 sports the familiar Amazon Smile logo, seen from the hay mow of the barn on Owl Acres.  A picture with reverse composition appears in the text.