How many miles of highways? Organic Gardening magazine once said that “the U.S. Interstate Highway System spans 3.9 million miles and is wearing out 50% faster than it can be fixed. Continuous road deterioration adds

$7 billion yearly in fuel costs to motorists.” The distance from the east coast to the west coast of the United States is about 3000 miles. How many separate 178 CHAPTER 9 Do the Numbers Make Sense?

highways across the continent would be needed to account for 3.9 million miles of roads? What do you conclude about the number of miles in the interstate system?