It's seven miles long, turns 50 years old next month, and changed your life in more ways than you probably realize.

       It's a stretch of interstate between Goerke's Corners and Highway SS in Waukesha County--the first section of the "I" to officially go on the map.       It happened a half-century ago next month and it signalled the beginning of Wisconsin's inclusion in President Eisenhower's dream of a transit and defense roadway system, modeled after what he'd seen in Europe during World War II.

       Hard to believe the changes it would bring.

       The creation of the Interstate system did, indeed, link major U-S cities in a national grid that overlapped what had been up to that point a rather haphazard system of federal highways.     But it also brought about societal changes none, including Eisenhower himself, couldn't have imagined.

        I've read where the President had no plan to run the I-system right through the heart of major urban areas--he only wanted the superhighways linking cities.       The result: ribbons of concrete that split neighborhoods and segregated communities.        And, a fast track out of town for those who wanted to avoid urban congestion as well as the cost of living in a major metropolitan area.    You could work downtown, and sleep in the rural splendor of a newly created suburb.

      Wisconsin's Interstate system was finished in 1970, stringing I-94 and I-90 across the state.       After a bunch of fighting with farmers along the Lake Michigan shore, work would begin a year later on I-43.       It would be completed 11 years later, linking Green Bay with Milwaukee.       The stretch from Milwaukee to Beloit would be added a few years later.       The former Highway 51 became I-39 in 1999.

         I'm old enough to remember when the only way between Sheboygan and Milwaukee was the two-lane stretch of road called Highway 141.   

The freeway didn't start until you got to the southern end of Ozaukee County.     Woe to you if you were on a tight schedule and behind a semi.         Or, if you lived along 141 in one of the many cities it cut right through--like the Mueller family which rented a home off 14th Street in Sheboygan, which also happened to be 141.        We got to see a lot of the world pass by our duplex, including what was then billed as "The World's Largest Cheese" as it made it's way to the 1964 New York World's Fair on a flat-bed, but it also meant the steady drone of highway traffic night and day.    

        The interstate took heavy traffic volume out of the heart of small towns and put it on the outskirts--to some, it meant the death of many of the businesses that relied on the motoring public for their survival.       It also hastened the advent of our drive-thru society, where you can grab a meal on the go and hop back on the "I" without leaving your car.        We lost a lot of roadside character, though, as the outskirts of every town started looking alike, dotted with fast-food franchises and homogenized hotels.       The only thing difference between some communities was whether the McDonald's was on the right, or the left.

       As the Marquette Interchange comes back to us, in dibs and dabs, ramp by ramp, in the weeks ahead, remember the birthday of the funky red, white and blue shield that you probably don't give much thought to...unless it's jammed up, dug up, or out of service.

        If you want to read more (Interstate geeks of the world, unite!), you can dive in to the Wisconsin DOT site or this one that'll tell you more than you probably wanted to know about the "I"--NPR's ongoing series on 50th anniversary of the Interstate system.