National Road - Indianapolis, Indiana
Posted by: 
gparkes
N 39° 46.043 W 086° 09.792
16S E 571671 N 4402274
The National Road was the first road constructed with Federal funds. Washington Street, throughout Indianapolis, is the former National Road, running at this point right by the Indiana Capitol.
Waymark Code: WM79CA
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 09/22/2009
Views: 11
The National Road was the first interstate highway in the United States, and the first roadway to be financed with federal money. Authorized by Congress during the administration of Thomas Jefferson in 1806, the road was built over time and in sections from Cumberland, Maryland, westward through the states of Pennsylvania, Virginia (now West Virginia), Ohio, and Indiana, before terminating at the state capital of Vidalia, Illinois.
At the height of the National Road's utility during the 1830s and 1840s, it was said to have been busy well into the early evening with traffic dominated by passenger and mail stagecoaches - which could travel 60 or 70 miles in a day - and brightly painted Conestoga wagons - made for carrying heavy loads at a speed of 15 miles a day. The coming of railroad travel in the 1850s soon eclipsed the National Road, and individual states eventually took control of the roadway. With the popularity of the autmobile in the 1920s, however, the National Road found new life as U.S. Route 40, an east-west artery crossing the United States.
--Quoted from American Society of Civil Engineers website.
Location:
Indiana State Capitol
200 W Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN
46204
Type of structure/site: Road
Date of Construction: 1811-1839
Engineering Organization Listing: American Society of Civil Engineers
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Web Site: [Web Link]
Engineer/Architect/Builder etc.: Not listed
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