Eisenhower wanted a highway system like the European Autobahns. Highways were built, initially, on cheap farmland. Communities, and especially, commercial developments, grew up around exits and interchanges.
People now live many miles from where they work.
The time it takes to travel long distance has been cut dramatically. Highways have made the difference, as well as, the vast improvement in cars. Highways have enabled us to fulfill our desires. In the old days, trains brought people to Saratoga. Now it's the highways.