One side of the trailer features President Eisenhower, who signed the bill that created the modern interstate system in 1956. The other side showcases Harvey S. Firestone and his 1918 dream to “Ship by Truck,” which encouraged American businesses to move products by truck. The artwork is reversed on the second trailer.
In addition, Firestone’s “Ship by Truck” logo is on the back doors of both trailers, and the AASHTO logo is on the tractors’ sleeper cabs.
AASHTO is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Interstate System with a truck convoy traveling from San Francisco to Washington. The route retraces, in reverse, the first Transcontinental Motor Train that tested the army’s ability to move troops and supplies cross country in 1919.
When the motor train traveled through northeastern Ohio, Harvey S. Firestone, founder of Firestone Tire & Rubber, invited Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower and his men to stop for dinner. The next morning, Firestone added two trucks with pneumatic tires to the convoy.
The caravan will be stopping in Akron, Ohio on June 26 at the Bridgestone/Firestone Technical Center. Great-grandsons Andrew Firestone and Merrill Eisenhower Atwater will speak at the event.
