National Road turns 200 years old this year

The nation's first federal highway, the National Road, has been called "the single most significant act in American transportation history," credited with opening up Western lands to trade and settlement and creating a physical, social and economic landscape along the way with its tollgates, taverns and prosperous "pike towns."

The National Road, now U.S. Route 40, turns 200 years old this year. Meandering through southwestern Pennsylvania for about 90 miles, it has been celebrated mostly for historical sites such as Fort Necessity National Battlefield, General Braddock's grave and the early stone and brick taverns that served pioneers crossing the Appalachians.