The impetus for the creation of a wide-ranging transportation network began in the early days of the new nation. The turnpike system, a combined effort of private investors with state support, began in the 1780s. The first turnpike was constructed in Virginia in 1785, and the Philadelphia to Lancaster, Pennsylvania turnpike was completed a decade later.10 During Thomas Jefferson’s second administration, serious discussions took place about linking the nation together north-south and east-west through the construction of roads and canals. The proposal ran into partisan and sectional bickering and did not move forward beyond the national government’s building of one major overland turnpike, the National Road or Cumberland Road. The construction for this road took place from 1811 to 1839. Originating in Cumberland, Maryland, the road ran initially through what is now Wheeling, West Virginia on the Ohio River and eventually through Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana to its termination at Van-dalia, Illinois, the original capital of the state of Illinois. Until the 20th century and the appearance of a federal highway program, the National Road was the only endeavor of this type constructed under the auspices of the national government. Congress mandated that the road have proper grading and be sixty-six feet wide with its surface of stone covered by gravel. All bridges were also constructed of stone. The original portion of the road opened in 1818, and soon a steady stream of wagons, people, and animals poured westward. By the time the final phase of construction reached Vandalia, much of the earlier portions had fallen into disrepair. The last segments of the road also presented problems because of improper leveling and the failure to remove even tree stumps from the road.11
Besides the National Road, private and state interests became involved in road construction. Between 1800 and 1810 the number of state governments and private enterprises seeking to make a profit in turnpike construction swelled from 72 into the thousands. New York had almost 400 toll roads, although many were difficult to traverse. The significant consideration in road construction was its cost, not the benefits offered by more rapid or efficient transit, as evidenced by the fact that the roads built took a direct route between points rather than the longer but less obstructed passage over flat terrain and through valleys. The utility of the early roads also suffered from the ravages of the weather, which often left them as streams of mud, or legal provisions that permitted stumps or obstacles to remain on the thoroughfares. By 1840 substantial private investment had been made in turnpike construction: more than $6 million in New England and a similar amount of combined public and private money in Pennsylvania alone. This impressive investment must be tempered by consideration that nearly half of the turnpikes had failed either partially or wholly by this time because of lack of proper planning or poor supervision and construction. Nonetheless, the steady carving out of routes for travel helped the economic growth in America and set the stage for the next developments in transportation.12
World History
