1,000,000 Miles of American History

Our earliest work for the government came before we were even known as Caterpillar, when the Holt Manufacturing Company was contracted to use its Caterpillar tractors to pave a road along the river in East Peoria, Illinois. That road would become the Caterpillar Trail, and eventually Highway 116, signaling the start of a historic partnership with American public works.

In 1931, President Roosevelt’s New Deal ushered in the largest expansion of public infrastructure in U.S. history. Cat® machines were put to work, building iconic projects across the land, from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge to the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the 1600-mile-long Alaskan Highway. The New Deal also signaled the beginning of Caterpillar’s involvement in the construction of over 700,000 miles of new roads and highways, a relationship that extended beyond the Great Depression and World War II, all the way through the creation of President Eisenhower’s Interstate Highways.

With the evolution of technologies like Cat Connect, we’ll continue to forge new legacies for tomorrow. As our nation evolves, Cat and its offerings follow suit, embedding streamlined digital solutions into the machines that build the American infrastructure. The past is storied, but we’re even more excited about a safer, smarter road ahead.