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The National Road - Ohio - Fairview to Cambridge

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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)
 
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