
Modern travelers also follow the same general path as they whiz along Interstate 80.

It was then improved over time with brick, concrete, and asphalt.įor a few decades, the Lincoln Highway was one of the best-known roads in America. However, when the federal government developed its system of numbered highways, it simply became known as U.S. Eventually, the federal government kicked in millions more to complete the east-west route. To pay for it, he solicited $10 million from the public as well as corporations. His ambitious idea called for a continuous gravel road from one end of the United States to the other. There were few good roads in the country, but most of them were dirt. Besides being a real estate developer, he was a tireless promoter of automobile use. The transcontinental route was the brainchild of a visionary entrepreneur from Indiana named Carl Fisher. When it was officially dedicated in 1922, the Lincoln Highway extended more than 3,000 miles to San Francisco. by nine years.Ĭonstruction of the cross-country highway in the United States started in 1913. In fact, it predated the Lincoln Memorial monument in Washington D.C. Actually, it was the first national memorial to the fallen president and has statues of its namesake along the way. The Lincoln Highway was named after the nation’s 16 th president, Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated in 1865. Let’s explore a bit more! Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, Lincoln Highway, Interstate 80, Kearney, Nebraska History of the Lincoln Highway It gave many Americans an almost unbelievable opportunity to travel freely and experience the vast, unknown countryside for themselves. The groundbreaking roadway linked 13 different states at a time when automobiles were just becoming firmly established in our society. Back in the day, if you wanted to drive out to California from New York City, there was only one way to go – the Lincoln Highway.
