Even in the late 1960s the traffic was light on the interstate highways. We used to drive to South Carolina to visit my aunt and cousin and there were not a lot of cars in the road with us.
Where I grew up, there were lots of roads connecting the outlying towns/cities that were still gravel in the 50s. They started paving them in the 60s as the population growth in the suburban areas grew rapidly. I still reflect fondly on the sound of tires rolling over a gravel road when I hear that nowâŠ
Iâm assuming that you took I-95, from Maryland to SC. Do you recall that it was only completed in âsectionsâ during the '60s, and even into the early '70s?
My father drove us to Miami Beach in 1966, and we only were able to take I-95 for fairly-short stretches (maybe 25 miles or so?), and then we would be dumped back onto the older highways until we were able to access the next stretch of I-95. Lather, rinse, repeatâŠ
When I drove to Daytona Beach in 1970, there were more sections that had been completed, but I-95 still had some small gaps.
My memory only goes back to the 70âs-80âs, and even then it is a bit fuzzy⊠(wasnât always a good little boy lol)⊠Heck even some of the 90âs are questionable⊠
I think we took I-95 to Petersburg VA and then took I-85 as far as we could. I know I-95 quite well and it isnât crowned as high as the road we were in. Since we were going to Greenville SC, we always cut west off I-95 (or US1) around Petersburg to head towards Charlotte.
I donât recall th3 exact years but it was quite common for sections of interstate to remain unfinished well into the 70 s and 80s. 90 through Minnesota to South Dakota was not finished until late. 35 going south had sections still under construction in the late 60s. It didnt seem to be a high priority outside of major metro areas and after nuclear attack seemed unlikely.
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Yup!
I-287 North, in Central NJ, terminated in Bridgewater for many years, until it was finally pushed further North. With I-78 in Northern NJ, there was a gap of several miles in Union County because its planned path took it through the countyâs wildlife reservation. The compromise was to build two animals-only overpasses so that the critters could cross the road safely.
In both cases, it was sometime in the '70s before those highways were completed.
A little trivia. Somewhere west of I 35, on I 90, somewhere around blue earth, there is a yellow strip of concrete running across the road. This was to signify completion of I 90, like the golden spike for the cross country railroad. Personally I think it is kind of dumb and would prefer highway folks just stick to building roads. I guess it was a big deal after years of trips to Sioux Falls without the interstate all the way, so the locals celebrated.
When you consider that 1962 VW Beetle âfront crash protectionâ largely consisted of a gas tank above your knees and your knees on the VW Van, stopping distance was a higher priority. 
âBack in the dayâ, when almost all Imports were rubbish, their only virtue being cheap, it was a struggle for the Madison Ave. to come up with anything positive to advertise.
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The TV ads for the Opel Kadett, in the '60s, boasted that they had âtwo coat hooksâ. IIRC, it was actually a decent little car, but for some reason the only virtue that GMâs advertising agency could come up with was the presence of two coat hooks.
Yeah, some of those Opals were nice little cars that were miles ahead during the 1960âs to 1970âs when they were owned by GM Europe. Likewise some of the Ford Europe cars.
Iâm particularly thinking the of the 1968 Buick/Opel GT (Baby Vet) and the 1972 Mercury Capri V6.
Instead of continuing to import these well designed and well made cars both GM & Ford sold off both operations and instead gave us the Vega and Pinto.
A good VW ad I remember: Ever wonder how the guy that drives the snowplow gets to the snowplow, showing a bug driving through eight inches of snow.
Actually, GM sold-off their Opel Division in 2017, many years after their foisted their inferior Vega on US consumers. And, Ford Motor Company still owns their European operations, but instead of importing superior Ford of Germany vehicles, they gave us the Pinto.
I unfondly recall the old elevated stretch of I-93 in downtown Boston for that very reason.
I had a 1973 Capri GT. Nice car, except that it shuddered when braking at about 40 mph. It was barely noticeable after an alignment, but still there. I was talking to friends back at the fraternity house, and two of them and Capri GTs too. They said that Ford was too cheap to put good struts on the car, and the result was the shudder. Their solution was new struts and that did the trick. One was a Motörhead working for Ford, and I bought his explanation.