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History Highway At The Railroad Era

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The extension of turnpikes in the United States was abruptly halted by the development of the railroads. In 1830 Peter Cooper constructed America's first steam locomotive, the Tom Thumb, which at once demonstrated its superiority over horse-drawn vehicles. Rapid growth of the railroad for transportation over long distance followed. Cross-country turnpike construction practically ceased, and many already completed fell into disuse. Rural roads served mainly as feeders for the railroads; improvements primarily led to the nearest railroad station and were made largely by local authorities and were to low standards. However, the improvement of city streets progressed at a somewhat faster pace. Also, the development of the electric trolley in 1885 launched the trend toward public transportation.

Regarding highway development before 1900, federal road officials stated that6
At the end of the century, approximately 300 years after first settlement, the United States could claim little distinction because of the character of its roads.

The first two decades of the twentieth century saw the improvement of the motor vehicle from a "rich man's toy" to a fairly dependable method for transporting persons and goods. There were strong demands not only from farmers but from bicyclists through the League of American Wheelmen for rural road improvement, largely for roads a few miles in length connecting outlying farms with towns and railroad stations. This development has been aptly described as "getting the farmer out of the mud." Great improvements also were made on city streets.
In this period it was recognized that road improvement was a matter of fed¬eral and state concern rather than of purely local interest to be dealt with by county and city governing bodies. Federal and state highway organizations were established and small amounts of money appropriated by Congress and the state governments to deal with road problems.


Title Post: History Highway At The Railroad Era
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Author: aditya