Harry Lee has spent 48 years working for the Virginia Department of Transportation and helped build Interstate 95 from the beginning rls View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

'It literally put the country on wheels'

Back in the day: Locals recall I-95?s earliest days 40 years ago

By EDIE GROSS
The Free Lance-Star

Date published: 12/8/2004

Harry Lee was fresh out of James Monroe High School when he took a job with the Virginia Highway Department in 1956.

It wasn’t long before Lee, slide rule in hand, was doing “grunt work” on the state’s Interstate 95 project.

The entire highway would eventually run from South Florida to northern Maine, but each state was responsible for designing and building its own section.

That left about 180 miles through Virginia to guys like Lee.

“This was a massive undertaking,” said Lee, who has spent 48 years working for what is now called the Virginia Department of Transportation. “I got most of my training on that project.”

Prior to the road’s completion, the area was a lot like Mayberry RFD, said Lee, a Fredericksburg native. It was still a small community where most everyone knew everyone else.

But the good old days weren’t all rosy. If you needed something a tad out of the ordinary, rather than a quick trip downtown, it meant an all-day journey to Richmond, Northern Virginia or D.C.

More than likely, that trip would take place along U.S. 1, a dangerous four-lane road stretching the length of the eastern seaboard.

I–95, by comparison, was a four-lane, divided highway. The opening of the road in Fredericksburg on Dec. 18, 1964, was heralded as “a new era of safety and convenience” by the state’s highway commissioner.

Lee said he doesn’t blame I–95 for the explosion of development in this area.

Fredericksburg’s proximity to Washington meant that it would one day become a population center. The arrival of residents, tourists and businesses—many of whom relied on the treacherous U.S. 1—was already underway before I–95 was completed.

“The highway is a reflection of the changing character. I don’t think we grew because of the highway. I think we needed the highway because of the growth,” Lee said.

At the time, many residents saw the interstate’s arrival as a boon for this area, he said.

Suddenly, trips to Northern Virginia and D.C. that had once taken all day were reduced to an hour. Folks could live in Fredericksburg and work in those other places, broadening their job opportunities.

And those who had never had the time or inclination to travel before could now consider it an option.

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