Welcome to the National Road

Welcome to the National Road. The Historic National Road in Ohio. , The National Road crosses six states from Baltimore, Maryland, to East St. Louis, Illinois. The road fulfilled the dreams of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to build an all-weather route across the Allegheny Mountains to connect the Eastern Seaboard with the Midwest. The Road was conceived by Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury under Thomas Jefferson, and was authorized by Congress in 1806. The Road was the nation's first federally funded interstate highway and opened the West for movement of people and goods. Construction began in 1811 in Cumberland, Maryland, extending an earlier route from Baltimore. By 1818 the Road reached the Ohio River, by 1833 it was completed to Columbus, Ohio, and in 1850 it extended west to Vandalia, Illinois., The National Road is an engineering marvel. Graceful stone arch bridges cross streams and rivers. Inns and taverns were built to meet the needs of travelers. Many of the bridges and buildings that characterized the early days of the road can still be found in towns along the Road today., Much of the historic National Road is still part of U.S. Route 40. Several segments of the original Road are no longer used as highways but can still be explored. The longest section of the National Road is still found in Ohio, covering 237 miles from Bridgeport on the east to the Indiana state line on the west.