The Lincoln Highway Bridge Rails
The "Coast to Coast" Lincoln Highway
These are the first Lincoln Highway bridge rails ever built on the nation's first
transcontinental highway. The Abraham Lincoln Memorial Highway ran from
Times Square, New York, to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, during 1913-1927.
Towns all across the nation were anxious to have the "Main Street of America"
pass their way and went all out to advertise the route. Washoe County had been
criticized for not marking their part of the route. So in 1914, contractor
A. F. Neidt, when building a new culvert about 0.9 miles east of here took it
upon himself to mark the highway with these unique rails.
H. E. Frederickson, (pictured) Consul-at-large of the Lincoln Highway
Association was so impressed with the rails that he proposed this design for all
Lincoln Highway Bridges clear across the country. Only one other such set of
bridge rails were ever built, in Tama, Iowa, the following year in 1915.
During the early 1970's, when Interstate 80
replaced U. S. 40, the Nevada Department of
Transportation salvaged the old bridge rails from
the long abandoned Lincoln Highway and put
them on display here.
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