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There was no way to have trans-continental trucks without the long, easy grades of the Interstate system. It wasn't just the difficulty by (what were still mainly gasoline-engined trucks) traversing tortuous grades and truly difficult descents and fuel consumption, it was that the vehicle drivetrain wore out prematurely.
The story of the engineers and surveyors laying out railways in the 19th century is full of this detail. One bad choice by one railway company compared to a competitor crossing a similar yet distant "difficulty" could be the margin that broke them.
Pre-Interstate highways nearly always followed -- as possible -- rail lines for just this reason. They, in turn, often followed water courses for the same reasons, yet again.
Straight lines on a political map are deceptive. One needs to keep close at hand a geographical atlas. The historical names have resonance, too, when out West. The lines travelled are usually as old as human presence in the New World.
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