Imperial routes, national networks and regional projects in the Pan-American Highway, 1884–1977

Abstract

This article discusses the planning and construction of the Pan-American Highway by focusing on interactions among engineers, government officials, manufacturers, auto enthusiasts, and road promoters from the United States and Latin America. It considers how the Pan-American Highway was made by projects to extend U.S. influence in Latin America but also by Latin American nationalist and regionalist projects that put forward alternative ideas about social and cultural difference—and cooperation—across the Americas. The transnational negotiations that shaped the Pan-American Highway show how roads, as they bring people and places into contact with each other, mobilize diverse actors and projects that can transform the geography and meaning of these technologies.

(Un)Paved Junctions: Navigating the Progression of a Road‐Building Project in Santa Cruz la Laguna, Guatemala

“…However, throughout the 1930s, tensions between Central American and US administrations delayed the highway's construction as Central American officials changed its initial route to satisfy local political and economic needs instead of transnationally connecting the region (Ficek, 2016). While the relationship between Guatemala and the United States was strengthened under the rule of General Jorge Ubico (1931)(1932)(1933)(1934)(1935)(1936)(1937)(1938)(1939)(1940)(1941)(1942)(1943)(1944), it became apparent that Guatemala could not fully meet the requirements in due time.…”

“…Then Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Salazar visited Washington in December 1942 to discuss his worries about the equipment required for the construction of the highway, the specifics of a more elaborate (paved) road network in Guatemala, and gasoline distribution (Grieb, 1977: 389). Notwithstanding governmental disputes and lopsided power relations rooted in Cold War politics, construction progressed gradually, and the Central American segment of the Pan-American Highway was officially opened in 1962 (Ficek, 2016).…”

Feasibility study of highway project in the environment sensitive area of Western China -- Based on the magic cube model of construction necessity and ecological friendliness

“…Domestic and foreign transportation departments and relevant scholars made a lot of exploration in this field and had rich research results. In view of the whole process of road planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation, the United States [4] , Sweden [5] , Australia [5] and other countries have put forward requirements and measures for ecological environmental protection. Domestic and foreign scholars mainly study the impact of different grades of roads on the ecological environment [8] , and carry out coordinated assessment with the landscape along the highway [9] .…”

The Material Politics of Infrastructure NetworksInfrastructure Design and Territorial Transformation in Belgium, 1830–40s

“…The concepts of nation building and modernization have been the dominant entry into the history of technology, and the history of infrastructure networks more specifically. Many historical works have shown by means of political discourse and cultural representation that nation-states and empires actively deployed infrastructure networks to build and strengthen their economies and identities (e.g., Bess 2014;De Block 2011;Divall 2003;Ficek 2016;Høgselius et al 2015;Martí-Henneberg 2017;Moraglio 2017a;van der Vleuten and Kaijser 2005;Weber 1977). Yet, infrastructure design is generally depicted as the straightforward and clean translation of the abstract and grand rhetoric of national socioeconomic and political ideals.…”