National Trail - E. Bound I-70, near Effingham, IL
Posted by: YoSam.
N 39° 03.923 W 088° 40.456
16S E 355151 N 4325366
Marker inside rest area visitors center Effingham, Illinois.
Waymark Code: WM3N9C
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 04/24/2008
Views: 17
Marker Erected by: IDoT.
County of Marker: Effingham County.
Marker Text:
National Trail
U.S. 40, which parallels I-70 across Illinois, was originally designated the "National Trail." The National Trail, or Cumberland Trail as it was first named, was laid out from Cumberland, Maryland to the left bank of the Mississippi River in St. Louis.
It was the first interstate road to be built with Federal funds. The Act of Congress establishing it as a national highway was signed by Thomas Jefferson in 1806. The highway reached Vandalia, then the Capitol of Illinois in 1830.