Playground Daily News, Jan. 8, 1969

Before Interstate 10 was built, U.S. 90 was the primary east-west route across the state of Florida. The first section of I-10 was completed in 1961 between Jacksonville and Sanderson. As noted in the article, portions of I-10 were completed from the Alabama state line through Pensacola to Milton. The portion between Milton and Holt opened in 1969. Construction continued through the 1970s until the entire portion across northern Florida was complete in 1978.

Florida has 362 miles of Interstate 10. It’s also the eastern end of what’s known as the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway. It’s one of three coast-to-coast U.S. highways, the others being  I-90 (the longest of the three) and I-80, which traces the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway in the United Staes.

I-10 is also known as State Road 8 in Florida.

Editor’s Note:  If you have a photo of an old Holt memory, send it to Holt Enterprise News for Throwback Thursday at holt.enterprise.news@gmail.com. Don’t forget to include the date and what the photo is about.