One the main argument, I have nothing to add just applaud. In particular the cross-subsidy arguments; I didn't realise that suburban sprawl had tax-related incentives, too.

But for passenger transport, "Interstate Highway" is a misnomer. The bulk of the passenger miles on the Interstate Highway system are local passengers, not interstate passengers.

Gives me an idea. Every time I have to explain to someone that a USA-wide (EU-wide) HSR network is not built for LA-NYC (London-Moscow) trips, but will still see most traffic on shorter distances (with the possibility of long trips as an extra feature of linking up shorter sections), I could refer to the Interstate parallel.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}