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72 SELECTION OF THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM

Complying with this congressional direction, routes for inclusion in the authorized National System of Interstate Highways were selected by the several State highway departments, and a system composed of the routes selected, with minor modifications required to effect interstate continuity, was approved by the Federal Works Administrator, August 2, 1947.

The system then approved was composed of 37,681 miles. There remained at that time, within the 40,000-mile limitation fixed by the law, the authority to designate an additional 2,319 miles, which it was expected would be largely composed of desirable circumferential and distributing routes in urban areas.

Since the original approval of the system, a few changes have been made; and the system as presently designated, totaling 37,800 miles, is that shown in figure 1. The condition of the system so constituted was the subject of the study reported in the first part of this report. The balance of 2,200 miles within the 40,000-mile limitation is still reserved mainly to be comprised, after further detailed study, of essential circumferential and distributing routes in urban areas.