As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, WTOP presents “250 Years of America,” a multipart series examining the innovations, breakthroughs and pivotal moments that have shaped the nation since 1776.
AAR is proud to partner with WTOP to bring you this series.
Just months before the United States entered the War of 1812, the federal government began construction on a 641.6 mile, nearly $7 million road stretching from the Potomac River in Cumberland, Maryland, west to southern Illinois.
Known as the Cumberland Road and later the National Highway, the project would take nearly 30 years to complete. Comparing its scope and cost to modern projects is difficult, but adjusted for inflation, it would cost at least $250 million today.
The development of the Cumberland Road marked the nation’s first major federally financed highway and served as a precursor to the Interstate Highway System, built roughly 140 years later.
Depaul University of Chicago transportation professor Joe Schwieterman said travel in the early 1800s was slow and difficult.
“Back in the early 1800s, it was 5, 6, 7 miles,” Schwieterman said, referring to the distance travelers could cover in a day.
Construction began in 1811 and moved westward using manual labor and animals. Workers eventually extended the roadway to Illinois, crossing five states: Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.
Between 1825 and 1838, Congress approved successive appropriations to push the highway farther west. Progress was steady but slow. Construction crews reached Zanesville in 1833, Columbus in 1834, the eastern outskirts of Indianapolis in 1836, Terre Haute in 1838 and the then capital of Vandalia, Illinois.
Crews surveyed and purchased land, graded the roadway and surfaced it with stone and masonry.
For a young nation still recovering from a devastating war, the commitment to transportation infrastructure was unprecedented. The project sparked intense debate in Congress — much like today — over the role of the federal government, including how much Washington should contribute versus what responsibilities should fall to the states.
Even as lawmakers debated, workers continued building what was considered a modern roadway for its time: stone-surfaced and cambered, with masonry bridges, culverts and cast-iron mileposts that set standards for antebellum turnpikes.
“These kinds of roads really did make travel something you could conceive that was very difficult before they were made,” Schwieterman said.
Over the years, the National Road was revitalized and rebuilt in concrete and brick. During the 1910s through the 1930s, it was incorporated into U.S. Route 40.
In the 20th century, with the rise of the automobile, the National Road connected with other historic routes stretching to California.
Scholars consider it one of the most significant transportation improvements in U.S. history over the past 250 years.
“It truly is one of the most remarkable projects of the last 250 years, especially when you note that it was done all by human labor — no tractors, no backhoes, no big construction equipment,” Schwieterman said. “It was backbreaking, hard work and the project got done. As a country, we are better for it because it proved we had the courage to take on big projects.”
In 1976, the American Society of Civil Engineers designated the National Road a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
A quarter-century later, the entire road — including later extensions running east to Baltimore and west to St. Louis — was included in the designation.
Today, portions of the road remain, including historic tollhouses, stone-arch and iron bridges and intact macadam sections. The full project is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
