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What has had the biggest impact on lifestyles in the Attleboro area -- and perhaps all of America -- in the last century?

My money is on the introduction of the interstate highway.

Think about it. The interstates have spawned such basic elements of American life as the suburb, the motel, the chain store, the recreational vehicle, the seat belt, the spring-break trek to Florida, the 30-mile commute and the two-mile traffic jam.

Well, say happy birthday to the interstates.

It was 50 years ago this summer -- on June 29, 1956, to be exact -- when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the law launching a massive new federal project that had been his dream for decades: the Interstate Highway System. To mark the 50th birthday of one of the most ambitious and consequential engineering projects in American history, a caravan of highway figures led by Eisenhower's great-grandson traveled across the country by interstate for two weeks and arrived in Washington last week. The interstates made their debut in the Attleboro area on July 24, 1963, when Exit 1, connecting Interstate 95 to Route 1 at the South Attleboro-Pawtucket line, opened to the public. It was a momentous day in the history of the Attleboro area. In the past, I've said the opening of I-95 was like having the Mississippi River fall into our backyards. Suddenly, the East Coast's biggest transportation route, as well as tributaries such as I-495 and I-295, was available for trips to Providence, Boston, the Cape, New York, heck, even Florida.

I remember my grandparents telling me they went to Lowell on their honeymoon; it took them a day to get there. My son now attends college in Lowell; it's an hour ride.

To celebrate the interstates' golden anniversary, here's a little highway trivia.

E Like numbers? Try these: the interstate system consists of 47,000 miles of highway, 55,500 bridges, 104 tunnels, 14,750 interchanges and zero traffic lights.

E The interstate system reaches every state -- plus 13 miles in the District of Columbia -- except Alaska; in Hawaii the superhighways are designated by an `` H'' rather than an `` I.''

E The interstates are America's safest roads. There is roughly one fatality for every 100 million vehicle miles on the interstates, the Federal Highway Administration reports, about half the death rate of other American roads.

E Before the interstates, about two-thirds of adults Americans had driver's licenses. Today, it's nearly 9 out of 10.

E Why did Eisenhower want an interstate highway system? Think back to the times. The interstate system was born when the word `` Communism'' had the same emotional impact that `` terrorism'' has today. Eisenhower argued that the nation needed a road system that could `` meet the demands of catastrophe or defense, should an atomic war come.''

Even without an atomic war, the interstates have done their job. More than 2 million Gulf Coast residents were evacuated in the hours before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck last summer. In the scary days after Sept. 11, 2001, notes highway historian Dan McNichol, `` when every airplane was grounded, we were able to move goods and people on the interstate system and keep the economy moving.''

Thanks, Ike.