Who started the freeway and when did they built it?

Question

Who started the freeway and when did they built it?

Answer 1

Planning for some kind of major road network began in 1921.  The official "Interstate Highway System" started construction in 1956 under Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Answer 2

There is some disagreement about who started/designed the first "freeway" because of the nomenclature used to describe limited-access automobile highways. Terms such as parkway, expressway and freeway are often used interchangeably.

With the completion of the Bronx River Parkway (1907-1923), the world's first limited-access highway that led out of New York along the Bronx River, a new breed of roadway had emerged.  Not only could it transport many motorists to their destination in a small amount of time, but also they could enjoy the natural balance of roadway and scenery that was a parkway.  However, you have asked about the freeway: A toll-free, limited-access highway designed for urban commuting.

It is the latter that was and is a "freeway," and the first of those "high speed" routes was proposed in the 1930s by the City of Pasadena, California, as a connection between Pasadena and Los Angeles.  

The Arroyo Seco or Pasadena "freeway" was designed by  Spencer V. Cortelyou.  The groundbreaking ceremony took place in March of 1938, and the first "freeway" was opened on December 30, 1940.  It was not until 1956 that the federal governnment, under the Federal Aid Highway Act, began to construct 42,500+ miles of roads to join metropolitan areas across the country.