Norton Fausto Garfield

Inter-American Highway Norton Fausto Garfield

Publisher Marketing: Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Inter-American Highway (IAH) is the Central American section of the Pan-American Highway and spans 3,400 miles (5,470 km) between Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Panama City, Panama. The idea of a road being built across all of Central America became a tangible goal in 1923 as the United States began conducting aerial surveys using the U. S. Army's new photo reconnaissance and photographic aerial mapping technology. However, the aerial mapping effort was not directly tied to the upcoming Inter-American Highway project and was conducted with the cooperation of several of the Central American republics. By 1940, the U. S. had a strong presence in Central America, especially in Panama. The U. S. owned and operated both the Panama Canal and the Panama Railroad, but with the looming war in Europe, the U. S. felt it necessary to establish a more direct connection with Panama. Therefore, the U. S. and Panamanian governments agreed to begin the construction of a trans-isthmus highway located outside of the Canal Zone. Thus, the construction of the actual Inter-American Highway was instigated by the U. S. as a safety precaution at the beginning of World War II.