President Eisenhower's dream of an Interstate Highway system was bold and shaped America's future in the second half of the 20th century. These days the magnitude of his project is largely forgotten, and the vast system of roads is taken for granted as part of American life. But was it always so easy to see Ike's vision for the country?

In recent years a little noticed shift has been transforming suburbia: the home of the middle class has become the home of the working poor. As a result, roadways that were built for the car are now used by a growing population that can't afford to drive. The consequences can be deadly. Blueprint America on Need to Know from suburban Atlanta where getting to the other side of the road is nothing to take for granted.

What do you call a highway program that just keeps going long after its original goals were achieved? A zombie highway. Blueprint America -- with The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer -- goes to Birmingham, Alabama, to look into the Northern Beltline, a road that will cost more than $3 billion, most of which will be paid for by taxpayers nationwide.

An exchange with Phillip Wiedmeyer, a leading advocate for Birmingham's Northern Beltline, about the argument for more highway building in Alabama -- it's a how to on Zombie Higways.

Blueprint America correspondent Rick Karr in a web report from Alabama on the environmental impact of building highways, and the growth they can create.

President Barack Obama's stimulus money is about to be distributed, but will it be spent in the way it is intended? One alarming example: Mass transit. Cities and states, strapped for money, are cutting back on mass transit even as it becomes more popular with Americans. At the same time, President Obama is calling for increased mass transit as a necessary step toward energy independence. Blueprint America -- with NOW on PBS -- reports from North Carolina to see what the future holds for the country's mass transit systems in these financial times.