Tuesday, September 10th. The route of the nation’s first coast-to-coast paved roadway was announced on this date in 1913. Known as the Lincoln Highway, its combination of new roads linking existing metropolitan roads originally ran for nearly 3,400 miles through 13 states, connecting New York City with San Francisco.
Ironically, the instigator of this transcontinental road, Paul Fisher, was famous for building a much shorter, oval road — the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Lincoln Highway, with some route adjustments, still serves American motorists, but with the designations of five separate U.S. routes.
Today, there are about 2.7 million miles of paved public roads nationwide, employing some 85,000 highway maintenance workers.
Profile America is in its 23rd year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online.
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