Skip to main content

The National Road - Ohio - Fairview to Cambridge

Image
By
West of Fairview sits another old US 40 community, the village of Middlebourne.  The village sits on the old highway west of OH 513.  If you continue along the old highway past Middlebourne, you will come to a paved section of the original National Trail that includes an 'S' Bridge that until recently you were able to drive over.  The bridge was approximately built in 1828, and vehicles along Blend Road in Guernsey County were able to cross the S bridge until October 2013 when it was closed to vehicular traffic. It was the last S bridge in Ohio to allow vehicular traffic.
Looking East on Old US 40.  Old US 40 is on the right.  The old National Road and 'S' Bridge is on the left. (Mike Austing)
A wet snow cleared 'S' Bridge. Vehicles under three tons could cross the bridge until it was closed for good in October 2013. (Mike Austing)
Looking west from the 'S' Bridge. Old US 40 runs close by. (Mike Austing)
Modern US 40 leaves the Interstate and returns to the old alignment in Old Washington.  You can still follow old US 40 through Old Washington.  The old alignment disappears at the Guernsey County Fairgrounds.
Old US 40 East of Old Washington looking West. (Mike Austing)
The Old Washington Split - Main Street and the original National Road through town is on the right / A bypass of the town connecting to current day US 40 towards Cambridge runs to the the left. (Mike Austing)
View of Main St. heading West. (Mike Austing)
Main Street - Old Washington, Ohio (Mike Austing)
The Old National Road at Ohio 285. (Mike Austing)
In March of 1995, a sink hole opened up on Interstate 70 near Old Washington closing the Interstate in both directions for four months.  As a result a temporary ramp was built just east of the existing Old Washington interchange allowing Interstate 70 traffic to detour onto US 40.  Coming home from a college visit to the University of Dayton, I got caught up in the traffic that was forced to use US 40 from Old Washington to Interstate 77.  The detour did not put traffic along the old road through the village, but on the small bypass to the south. The grading for the temporary ramp can still be seen today.



As you head west from Old Washington and towards I-77, be on the lookout for Peacock Road.  Peacock Road is an old alignment of the National Road that still uses brick pavement.  Signed as Guernsey County Rte 450, this alignment is complete with a narrow roadway, twisty curves, and is an easy drive for those searching remains of the old road. US 40 then heads to Cambridge, county seat of Guernsey County, where it meets up with US 22.  Both routes share the same highway to Zanesville.  Another great old road, US 21, ran through Cambridge, but was decommissioned in the 1960s.

Peacock Road (Mike Kentner)
 
Site Navigation:
Sources & Links:
  • Mike Austing
  • Mike Kentner

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

By
Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

By
When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced...
Post a Comment
Read more