So who came up with the country’s interstate highway system route marker? Some guy in Texas, as it turns out, but he had a lot of competition. Literally. That’s how the interstate marker system came about- through a contest.
Back in the early 1950s, the American Association of State Highway Officials (now AASHTO) was discussing the need for “a distinctive interstate route marker” and decided to have a competition to design one.
And there were a lot of very interesting and creative submissions. WLRN takes a look at some of the contenders and the logo that won.