Old Red Trail: Construction Changes
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Early road construction was time-consuming and expensive. In 1959, road crews could lay out one mile of road a day at best. With today’s technology and equipment, paving and grading roads is much easier and faster. Construction of bridges required specialists who could design the river-spanning lengths. In the 1960s, road construction cost $400,000 per mile of four-lane highway, including the cost of land, equipment, workers’ pay, bridges, and materials. Today, roads cost more than four times that for two lanes in one direction, but they last 50% longer.
Producer
Geck, D., Jensen, T., Westad, L., Lee, K., & Van Tassel, D.
Source
Dambach, B., Stenehjem, K., & Deutscher, H. (Producers). Old Red Trail [Documentary]. USA: Prairie Public Broadcasting.
Grade Level
3 - 12
Subject Matter
Social Studies, Science
Standards
Evaluate the effects of technology on people and the environment (e.g., new construction, oil drilling, electric cars)
Explain how an invention may lead to other inventions
Identify ways in which science and technology have greatly improved human lives (e.g., food quality and quantity, transportation, health, sanitation, communication)
Identify details of an object’s form which determine its function (e.g., webbed feet for use in water, human feet for walking, shovel for scooping dirt, a rake for collecting leaves, tape measure and ruler to measure distance)
Explain ways humans benefit from Earth’s resources (e.g., air, water, soil, food, fuel, building materials)
Identify examples of how technologies have evolved
Explain the effects of human activities (e.g., dams, levees, farming practices, deforestation, land-use practices, land-management strategies) on the environment
Explain how scientific principles have been used to create common technologies (e.g., household appliances, automotive parts, agricultural equipment, textiles, fabrics, computers, Internet resources, CD-ROMs)
Describe ways (e.g., the development of transportation, communication, industry, and land use) geography has affected the development of the local community over time
Identify similarities and differences between past events and current events in North Dakota (e.g., in the lives of people from different cultures past and present)
Use chronological order and sequence to describe the cause-and-effect relationships of historical events and periods in North Dakota (e.g., how the railroads led to settlements in the state)
Describe the effects of changes in industry, agriculture, and technology in North Dakota (e.g., energy production, transportation, farming methods)
Identify the location and characteristics of significant features of North Dakota (e.g., landforms, river systems, climate, regions, major cities)
Describe ways geography has affected the development (e.g., the development of transportation, communication, industry, and land use) of the state over time
Explain the factors (e.g., trade routes, goods available, location) that influenced the growth of cities
Analyze the transformation of the nation (e.g., Imperialism, industrialization, immigration, political/social reformers, urbanization, mechanization of agriculture, changing business environment)
Evaluate how economic opportunities (e.g., manufacturing, agricultural, business) impact North Dakota and other regions (e.g., Midwest, Northeast)
Explain ways technology contributes to the spread of ideas, values, and behavioral patterns between societies and regions (e.g., how transportation and communication technologies contribute to the diffusion of culture)
Evaluate the impact of various factors that led to the transformation of the nation (e.g., imperialism, industrialization, immigration, political/social reformers, urbanization, mechanization of agriculture, changing business environment)
