Road trips on old roads

[cbalducc]

Has anyone been on road trips using roads that existed before the modern highway system?  God bless.

[agentsteel53]

Has anyone been on road trips using roads that existed before the modern highway system?  God bless.

do you mean before, say, the US Highway system of 1926?  those roads have been mostly covered up by modern roads or decay that it is next to impossible to do a lengthy trip using only them.

[NE2]

The Romans did that all the time. I'm not sure if God blessed them, however.

[agentsteel53]

I'm not sure if God blessed them, however.

he did.  part of the standard agreement.  blessings for the Romans, locusts for the Israelites.

[cbalducc]

do you mean before, say, the US Highway system of 1926?  those roads have been mostly covered up by modern roads or decay that it is next to impossible to do a lengthy trip using only them.

There are roads called "Old (insert town names) road" that are paved and were the primary roads between two or more towns.  They may even have been part of the US highway system.

[xonhulu]

I once tried to drive across Oregon from Ontario to Portland using only old or existing segments of US 30.  It's impossible in quite few places, and even where continuous parts exist it's likely parts aren't the original road alignment, but I was pleasantly surprised to find there was more of the old road left than I thought.  For example, I knew it was mostly intact between La Grande and Baker City (take OR 203 to Union, OR 237 to North Powder, then follow US 30 to Baker City), but there is also a significant segment southeast of Baker City that's now under local maintenance.  Another great, mostly intact stretch is the Old Emigrant Road east of Pendleton.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Road I live on was platted sometime between 1864 and 1876.

[empirestate]

Will Heat-Moon did it. Wrote a book about it. It became sort of the road-geek bible, in fact...

http://amzn.com/0316353299

[Alps]

I've been tracing US 66 from Los Angeles to Chicago, finishing up this April. I think that counts.

[cbalducc]

What I had in mind were roads that existed before the US highway system was established in 1926 and may have served as highways for a few years before roads purposely built as highways replaced them.

[empirestate]

I see. I've done such a trip along old portions of US 15 through Pennsylvania. Along the Susquehanna it's usually known as Old Trail Road; farther north, it's Old US 15. I doubt that many, if any, bits of the old road were ever not part of US 15, but it's a fascinating journey. Through the river towns, although you're nearly always within a block or two of the modern highway, the surroundings feel completely different.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

What I had in mind were roads that existed before the US highway system was established in 1926 and may have served as highways for a few years before roads purposely built as highways replaced them.

Something like this?
http://academic.marion.ohio-state.edu/schul/trails/national/natlist.html

[xonhulu]

What I had in mind were roads that existed before the US highway system was established in 1926 and may have served as highways for a few years before roads purposely built as highways replaced them.

They'd be all over the place, as the US Highways were designated on existing roads.  For example, my 1915 Oregon highway map shows the roads that became US 99, US 30, etc, in 1926, so the roads were around.

Now finding intact original segments of these roads is harder, but there are quite a few segments.  As I said in my old US 30 attempt, you can find quite a few pieces that still remain.  Others plain don't exist anymore or can't be accessed.  So at least here in Oregon, I doubt you could put together any lengthy trip that only uses original segments.

[relaxok]

Will Heat-Moon did it. Wrote a book about it. It became sort of the road-geek bible, in fact...

http://amzn.com/0316353299

Amazing book, I read it years ago (reading his Roads to Quoz right now).  I didn't pick up that it was on all roads that were pre highway system though.. thanks.

[empirestate]

Will Heat-Moon did it. Wrote a book about it. It became sort of the road-geek bible, in fact...

http://amzn.com/0316353299

Amazing book, I read it years ago (reading his Roads to Quoz right now).  I didn't pick up that it was on all roads that were pre highway system though.. thanks.

It isn't...he uses lots of state and US highways, and even is "forced" to hop onto the Interstate here and there. I just wasn't clear on the question at first.

Still a pivotal book, though.

[mgk920]

Also http://www.yellowstonetrail.org



I've been on its entire 'historic' route between Plymouth, IN and Norwood-Young America, MN, plus several other scattered sections farther east.

Mike

[mobilene]

Following the old roads is my favorite part of this hobby.  I am slowly exploring old roads all over my state, Indiana.  Sure, sometimes it's hard to follow the old roads because they've been abandoned or cut off or whatever, but that just adds to the fun.  I also totally dig it when I find an old road with old pavement -- concrete or brick that dates to the early 20th century.  I've even found a couple dirt and gravel roads that became a signed highway in the 1910s or 20s, but when improvements came it was along a brand new alignment, leaving the old dirt/gravel alone.

Here's an abandoned section of State Road 37 in Indiana, which was the Dixie Highway before that.


Abandoned SR 37 by mobilene, on Flickr

Here's an old alignment of US 36 that is currently a narrow dirt path.


Old US 36 by mobilene, on Flickr

I traveled the oldest alignments of US 50 across Indiana that I could find a couple years ago.  I used my 1916 and 1924 Automobile Blue Books, which are turn-by-turn guides to the old roads written in the early 20th century.  Those books turn up on eBay from time to time; it's how I got mine.  Anyway, they helped me find some alignments that I never would have found otherwise. US 50 was laid out over a few roads in Indiana's first state highway system, which itself was laid out over a series of country/farm roads in 1914.  So my 1916 ABB sent drivers down those roads, which probably had received little or no improvement by then.  Here's my trip report: http://jimgrey.net/Roads/US50Indiana/index.htm

[jwolfer]

Has anyone been on road trips using roads that existed before the modern highway system?  God bless.

Old Brick Rd in St Johns and Flager Counties in Florida is an old alignment of US-1.  It was 9' wide and paved with brick.  It is still there in its orignal form between the town of Espanola and CR 204.  When you are on 204 it seems to change to CR 13 for no reason.  You can drive it still, I have been on both ends but i chickened out because I was driving a Civic and there were some bad potholes. 

On a similar note. Old St Augustine Rd in Jacksonville ( I-95 exit 335 and I-295 exit 3) is an old alignment of US1.  However the old road is gone paved over with 5 lanes of suburban highway.  When it was getting widened around 1991 you could see the old brick pavement where the contractors had torn up the two lane blacktop

[US71]

I've driven from Joplin to St Louis on as much of old US 66 as I could find. Also St Louis to Chicago.

I'm also regularly looking for old sections of US 71.

[Tom]

I've traveled old US-27 in Michigan from Ithaca to Mackinaw City, old US-23 from Brighton to Fenton, old US-16 from northwest of Detroit to Grand Rapids, old US-131 stretch between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids and G.R. through Manton, old US-10 from Freeland to west of Farwell, and old US-31 from south of Muskegon to Ludington, Elk Rapids through Kewadin, and parts of it from southwest of Charlevoix to Mackinaw City; and old Route 66 from Joliet to Springfield, Illinois.  Been on some old state highways, such as old M-57 from Ithaca to M-91.

[MrDisco99]

What about the old Lincoln Highway?  how faithfully can that one be retrod?

[Alps]

What about the old Lincoln Highway?  how faithfully can that one be retrod?

Fairly well - it keeps its distance from I-80 until you're well west into the Rockies. From that point there are a lot of short pieces, many cut-off dead ends and dirt trails.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

What about the old Lincoln Highway?  how faithfully can that one be retrod?

Other than the section of roadway that is now part of Dugway Military Proving Grounds (west of Salt Lake City), I'd say 98%.

[hbelkins]

Fairly well - it keeps its distance from I-80 until you're well west into the Rockies. From that point there are a lot of short pieces, many cut-off dead ends and dirt trails.

Depending on which alignment(s) you want to use. When Jeff Morrison hosted the two-day Iowa meet a couple of years ago, we found several places where there were multiple alignments.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Fairly well - it keeps its distance from I-80 until you're well west into the Rockies. From that point there are a lot of short pieces, many cut-off dead ends and dirt trails.

Depending on which alignment(s) you want to use. When Jeff Morrison hosted the two-day Iowa meet a couple of years ago, we found several places where there were multiple alignments.

Theres multiple alignments of the LH in every state (it goes through)