1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Summertime, which for a 4 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:23,279 Speaker 1: lot of people means travel time. I historically summer is 5 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: when I travel the least, except this year, apparently because 6 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: I figure I travel since you know, we are not 7 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: burdened by having to pay attention to like school year 8 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 1: calendars and whatnot, Bray, we try to travel when the 9 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:40,239 Speaker 1: big travel season isn't happening, so we can have it 10 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,559 Speaker 1: a little more relaxed. But this year, I don't know why, 11 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: just ended up with lots of travel. But a lot 12 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 1: of people plan road trips for summer getaways. I love 13 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: a good road trip. I like to drive, So this, 14 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: of course has me thinking about roads and highways today. 15 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: I thought it would be fun for a lighter note 16 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: to talk about a few such roadways from around the 17 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: Western world that are historically significant in one way or another. 18 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: All of these also still exist in one way or another. 19 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: One is quite ancient, and it is still accessible, although 20 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: not by car. One is an important part of the 21 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: development of the US. It is not route sixty six, 22 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: I'll tell you now. And the third is a little 23 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: more modern, it still exists pretty much in its entirety. 24 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 1: It's actually a road that Tracy and I have traveled 25 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,680 Speaker 1: on during one of our podcast trips, and we're going 26 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: to start by talking about what is one of the 27 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 1: oldest roads in the world, and then we'll progress through 28 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: those three chronologically. The first road we will talk about 29 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: is the Ridgeway that's in England, and it's a thoroughfare 30 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: that's been in use for an estimated five thousand years, 31 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: making it the oldest road in Britain. That means really 32 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: no documentation on its creation. We do know that over 33 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: time though, this path became established as a route for farmers, 34 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: travelers and military troops. It runs on a chalk ridge 35 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 1: through Oxfordshire and southern central England, from Overton Hill in 36 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: Wiltshire to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. If you're like me 37 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: and you're like, how long is that? Eighty seven miles long? 38 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: Calling it a single road or a path is actually 39 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,640 Speaker 1: a little bit misleading. This wasn't a single road for 40 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: most of its history. It was a lot of slightly 41 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:28,399 Speaker 1: different roads that converged and diverged with one another. One 42 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:30,920 Speaker 1: of those is a lower path that would have offered 43 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: people easier access to water in the springtime. People walking 44 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: the ridgeway today might marvel at the incredible views that 45 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 1: it offers, but it's probable that this wasn't just about 46 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: taking in lovely vistas. Also it was about spotting dangers. 47 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: And it also offers a relatively dry walking surface even 48 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: in inclement weather, so precipitation really drains away from it 49 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:01,359 Speaker 1: really well. Because it is so old, the ridgeway has 50 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:03,640 Speaker 1: been used by a lot of different groups of people 51 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:07,360 Speaker 1: at various points in history, and as a consequence, traveling 52 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: on it today offers access to a look at various 53 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: moments in history. There is a prehistoric burial mound there 54 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:17,920 Speaker 1: called Wayland Smithy, and it's near the town of Ashbury. 55 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: Wayland Smithy, which is on the list of National Heritage 56 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: Sites of England, was named it's believed by Saxons for 57 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:28,119 Speaker 1: the Norse mythology figure known as Wayland the Smith. That's 58 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: a blacksmith who, in his mythological story escapes enslavement in 59 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: this whole scheme involving ingenuity and a lot of violent revenge, 60 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: but the burial mound is older than the Saxon culture, 61 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: was built in the Early Neolithic era in two phases. 62 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: The first is a burial structure that's believed to have 63 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 1: been created between thirty five ninety and thirty five point 64 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: fifty BCE. The second phase, which is built on top 65 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: of the first, came an estimated one hundred years later, 66 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: sometime between thirty four sixty and thirty four hundred BCE. 67 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: The exploration and examination of this site are fairly recent, 68 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: happening since nineteen nineteen. That's when the first reportedly pretty 69 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: clumsy excavation was mounted. A seconds and more careful excavation 70 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:22,279 Speaker 1: took place in the early nineteen sixties. After that the 71 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: site was reconstructed to its original form and you can 72 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,640 Speaker 1: visit it today. A thirty five minute walk from Wayland 73 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: Smithy along the ridgeway takes you to the Uffington White Horse, 74 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: which is a massive pictogram. It's the size of a 75 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: football field, so when we say massive, we mean it. 76 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 1: That is believed to have been created between fourteen hundred 77 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: and six hundred BCE, right on the cusp between the 78 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. What this horse 79 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:53,159 Speaker 1: represents is unknown. There are loads of theories connecting it 80 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: to various mythical horse figures or gods, but those are 81 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: only theories, and it too is an English heritage site. 82 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: About eighteen miles southwest on the ridgeway from the area 83 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: where Whyland's Smithy and the White Horse are located is 84 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 1: the Avebury Hinge and stone circles on the timeline. The 85 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,599 Speaker 1: hinge and its circles are right between the two sites 86 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: that we have talked about already. This hinge was erected 87 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: and estimated forty six hundred years ago, and the entirety 88 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: of the site's structures are believed to have been created 89 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:30,279 Speaker 1: between twenty eight fifty and twenty two hundred BCE. The 90 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: hinge as it exists today is a bank and ditch 91 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,720 Speaker 1: that forms a circle. The ditch sits inside the circle 92 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,160 Speaker 1: that the raised bank creates, and within the hinge there 93 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: is also a very large circle of stones at one 94 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,479 Speaker 1: mile in circumference. It is the largest stone circle in Britain, 95 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: and there are two more smaller stone circles within that 96 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:56,360 Speaker 1: largest one. Avebury is a really interesting situation where there 97 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 1: is a village that sits partially within this arrangement of 98 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: hinge and stone circles, with people living modern lives in 99 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: that village immediately adjacent to the elements that make it 100 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:12,119 Speaker 1: a World Heritage Site. There are more interesting stops along 101 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: the ridgeway where you can see other historical sites, but 102 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: we're going back to the ridgeway itself. We mentioned earlier 103 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: that it was originally a lot of paths that largely 104 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 1: ran parallel and often converged with each other. But that 105 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,839 Speaker 1: loose group of paths eventually became one clear path, and 106 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,719 Speaker 1: that was due to England's enclosure acts sometimes that spelled 107 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: enclosure with an I rather than an E. At the beginning, 108 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: going back to the times when the historical structures we've 109 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: been talking about were created, the countryside of England was 110 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 1: largely open. People worked on farms, but the property lines 111 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:51,479 Speaker 1: just weren't as rigid as we might think of them 112 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,160 Speaker 1: today in most cases. Over time, of course, there were 113 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:58,719 Speaker 1: plenty of people who wanted to mark where their property began, 114 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 1: and the solution was to enclose that property with hedges 115 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:06,080 Speaker 1: or fences. Initially, this started as a practice to keep 116 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 1: peasants away from the land that was intended for the nobility. 117 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: That's something that started with the tutors, but over time, 118 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: the idea of private property was adopted through the various 119 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: socioeconomic levels of the population. Additionally, as agriculture became a 120 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: more refined science and focused techniques for developing crops became 121 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 1: more widespread, people started to recognize that in some cases 122 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: it would be really beneficial to cordon off different crops 123 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:39,600 Speaker 1: from one another. Farmers wanted to carefully plan and rotate 124 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: their crops, and having open fields made it kind of 125 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: hard to fulfill those plans. If you've ever had your 126 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 1: own garden, sometimes you know, plants will just kind of 127 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: get each other's business. And they didn't want to do 128 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: that anymore. And so, starting in seventeen fifty, the enclosure 129 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: acts started to carve out the lines of ownership of 130 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: what had been open fields in the countryside also helped 131 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: carve out different crops. Common property like roads started to 132 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 1: be delineated because that common property, often abudded areas that 133 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 1: were getting enclosed, is privately owned. And so, starting with 134 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: the enclosure acts in seventeen fifty and through eighteen thirty, 135 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: when the last of those enclosure acts were passed, all 136 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:23,120 Speaker 1: of those varying little tributaries of the richway were slowly 137 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:29,400 Speaker 1: and artificially eliminated through this legal establishment of property boundaries. Also, 138 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: just as an aside, the enclosure Acts also caused a 139 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 1: lot of problems. They were very controversial in many ways. 140 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: They could be their own episode. One day today is 141 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: not that day. Yeah, I feel like that's also something 142 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 1: that we at least got a basic overview of in 143 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:51,000 Speaker 1: British history class in school. I remember that coming up. 144 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:53,319 Speaker 1: I don't remember it, but that doesn't mean anything I 145 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: made have been busy doodling dresses. As this path became 146 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: more by these hedges, it became more worn in as 147 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 1: a roadway. It had been traversed for centuries, but the 148 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:12,559 Speaker 1: consolidation made it really a clear path. In nineteen seventy 149 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:15,320 Speaker 1: three the ridgeway became a national trail and you could 150 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 1: walk or bike on it today, or you can even 151 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: follow it on horseback. You cannot buy car though carriages 152 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,520 Speaker 1: are allowed on some sections, and mobility devices are allowed 153 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:29,960 Speaker 1: for disabled people who wish to visit. It's a little 154 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: bit early, but we're gonna pause here for a sponsor 155 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: break so that we can keep each section together in 156 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 1: its entirety. And the next one is kind of chunky. 157 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 1: So coming up, we will talk about the first federally 158 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:49,559 Speaker 1: funded road in the United States. Next up we have 159 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 1: the National Road. This US road is also called the 160 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,280 Speaker 1: Cumberland Road. You'll see why in a second, sometimes the 161 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,199 Speaker 1: National Turnpike. It also has an assortment of other names, 162 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:03,319 Speaker 1: but it runs fro from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois, 163 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:07,319 Speaker 1: with many tributaries branching off of it. But that route 164 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,320 Speaker 1: and many other things about it were matters of great debate, 165 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 1: and that's because this was the first road in the 166 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:17,680 Speaker 1: US that was funded by the federal government. Right from 167 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:22,080 Speaker 1: the beginning of the United States as a nation, people 168 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:27,200 Speaker 1: recognized that this was a big place, even in the 169 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:29,960 Speaker 1: early stages of the US when it was much smaller 170 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:32,440 Speaker 1: than it is today. So people understood they were going 171 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 1: to need some travel infrastructure. President George Washington talked about 172 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: this issue as early as seventeen ninety. Anybody along the 173 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 1: east coast of North America was automatically connected by seaports, 174 00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:49,000 Speaker 1: but as people started to move farther inland from the coast, 175 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: particularly into the area known as the Northwest Territory, it 176 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:56,120 Speaker 1: became apparent that there needed to be a way to 177 00:10:56,160 --> 00:11:00,600 Speaker 1: connect these places, both for travel and for transport. And 178 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 1: when we say transport there we mean transporting of goods. 179 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,360 Speaker 1: Initially people counted on river transport to get around, but 180 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: that didn't obviously connect to everyone. There were also mountains 181 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: that made traveling overland difficult at best and treacherous at worst. 182 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,560 Speaker 1: There were trails that had been blazed by indigenous peoples, 183 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:22,680 Speaker 1: and in some areas there were military roads that were 184 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:25,319 Speaker 1: a little more than trails that had been established during 185 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:27,719 Speaker 1: the French and Indian War, which of course was part 186 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,960 Speaker 1: of the Seven Years' War. But many of the military 187 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: trails in particular were not made for long term use, 188 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:36,320 Speaker 1: and once they were no longer needed as part of 189 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: troop movement during a conflict, they were kind of just 190 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 1: left to grow over. There absolutely were roads that had 191 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:49,560 Speaker 1: been built or blazed already or expanded from existing pathways 192 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:54,560 Speaker 1: built by indigenous people or migration routes of animals. The 193 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:58,200 Speaker 1: most famous of those is probably the Wilderness Road, which 194 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,239 Speaker 1: was initially cut to open up a trail into Kentucky. 195 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:05,560 Speaker 1: The Wilderness Road is credited to Daniel Boone and his 196 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:08,800 Speaker 1: company of men. They were commissioned to do this and 197 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:14,160 Speaker 1: expanded some already discovered and cut roots. Boone's group was 198 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: tasked by entrepreneur Richard Henderson with cutting away through the 199 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:22,000 Speaker 1: passage through the Allegheny Mountains known as the Cumberland Gap, 200 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,160 Speaker 1: for the benefit of his land speculation company. And that 201 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 1: last part is the important bit there. This was the 202 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 1: road that was privately funded. It opened up a passage 203 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 1: for expansion into the West and was important in growing 204 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,200 Speaker 1: the footprint of the United States. But this had not 205 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 1: been a government effort. So when Ohio became the seventeenth 206 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:46,400 Speaker 1: state admitted to the Union in eighteen oh three, and 207 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,080 Speaker 1: even when it just looked like it might be, it 208 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 1: precipitated a look at the future of the land of 209 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:55,640 Speaker 1: the Northwest Territory, and it sharply focused the already known 210 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: problem that the United States was a country in which 211 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,200 Speaker 1: some parts of it were real difficult to get to. 212 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:05,959 Speaker 1: This isn't something that was an issue of unity. Of course, 213 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,319 Speaker 1: that was, you know, part of the ideological stuff that 214 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:11,479 Speaker 1: was talked about, but really the big driver was commerce. 215 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:14,760 Speaker 1: The US wanted the economic benefit of being able to 216 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:17,720 Speaker 1: take advantage of the resources that would be accessible through 217 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:20,640 Speaker 1: Ohio and the states that would come after it like 218 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 1: fur trading, and it was not as though there were 219 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:26,680 Speaker 1: a bunch of Richard Henderson's just throwing money at massive 220 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:30,680 Speaker 1: public works projects to get Rhades built. In an effort 221 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:33,720 Speaker 1: to solve the issue and make it easier to travel 222 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: within the United States, Congress took steps starting in eighteen 223 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 1: oh two to try to make it happen. Money made 224 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: from the sale of federal land was earmarked for the 225 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 1: development of a road from Cumberland, Maryland, to reach the 226 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,079 Speaker 1: new state of Ohio and then eventually connect to new 227 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:55,920 Speaker 1: states farther west as those were established. Cumberland was chosen 228 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 1: as the starting point because that was where the Potomac River, 229 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,040 Speaker 1: which starts on the Atlantic Coast south of Washington d 230 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: c ends, but getting to both the financial and geographic 231 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,720 Speaker 1: decisions naturally came with some give and take and a 232 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:13,319 Speaker 1: lot of debate. Also just for clarity and not anything 233 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,679 Speaker 1: Tracy did. But I did we know Ohio not a 234 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 1: state in eighteen oh two, because it was even before 235 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 1: that statehood, but knowing that it was likely. In February 236 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: of eighteen oh two, Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin 237 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 1: wrote a letter to William B. Giles, who was a 238 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: representative from Virginia who was chairman of the Select Committee 239 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: on the Northwest Territory, and in that letter Gallatin suggested 240 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,680 Speaker 1: a way that a portage road, a road to connect 241 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 1: the Northwest Territory to the Eastern Seaboard could be funded, 242 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 1: writing quote that one tenth part of the net proceeds 243 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 1: of the lands hereafter sold by Congress, shall, after deducting 244 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 1: all expenses incident to the same, be applied towards laying 245 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,240 Speaker 1: out and making turnpike or other roads, first from the 246 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:04,280 Speaker 1: navigable waters emptying into the Atlantic to the Ohio, and 247 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: afterwards continued through the New State. Such roads to be 248 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,280 Speaker 1: laid out under the authority of Congress, with the consent 249 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,160 Speaker 1: of the several states through which the same shall pass. 250 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:16,960 Speaker 1: The roads will be as beneficial to the parts of 251 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 1: the Atlantic States through which they are to pass, and 252 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 1: nearly as much so to a considerable portion of the Union, 253 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 1: as to the Northwest Territory itself. But a due attention 254 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: to that particular geographical situation of that territory and of 255 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:35,320 Speaker 1: the adjacent western districts of the Atlantic States, will not 256 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 1: fail to impress you strongly with the importance of that 257 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:42,000 Speaker 1: provision in a political point of view, so far as 258 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: it will contribute towards cementing the bonds of the Union 259 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,600 Speaker 1: between those parts of the United States whose local interests 260 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: have been considered as most dissimilar. The following month, which 261 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:55,960 Speaker 1: was March of eighteen oh two, Giles gave a report 262 00:15:56,000 --> 00:16:00,120 Speaker 1: to the House of Representatives. It incorporated Gallison's ideas and 263 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 1: cemented the idea that the nation had to be proactive 264 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:08,240 Speaker 1: in thinking not just about one thoroughfare, but the future 265 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:12,280 Speaker 1: needs for roadways that would be encountered as the nation expanded. 266 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,280 Speaker 1: In April thirtieth of eighteen oh two, the Enabling Act 267 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 1: was signed by President Thomas Jefferson, with some changes including 268 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:24,960 Speaker 1: a reduction from one tenth of the land sales proceeds 269 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:29,600 Speaker 1: to one twentieth that's five percent as road funding. Things 270 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: were further reduced in an amendment the following year, which 271 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 1: set aside three percent of that five percent for creating 272 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 1: roads within the state, and then just two percent for 273 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:43,520 Speaker 1: the portage road that would connect the Atlantic States to Ohio. 274 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: When it came time to decide on specifically where the 275 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: road would begin, one of the first factors introduced was 276 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:55,440 Speaker 1: trade in particular what city had the highest volume of 277 00:16:55,480 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: commerce moving goods to and from Ohio. Philadeli and Richmond 278 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: were both considered, and also those were kind of laid 279 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,479 Speaker 1: out as the boundaries of how far north and south 280 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:10,879 Speaker 1: the starting point should be considered, so Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Richmond 281 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:15,040 Speaker 1: in Virginia. A congressional committee noted that Philadelphia and Baltimore 282 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:18,719 Speaker 1: were the chief trade cities and that sites along to Potomac, 283 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: specifically Georgetown and Alexandria were just below that. But even 284 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:26,360 Speaker 1: further down the list in terms of volume was Richmond, Virginia. 285 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:29,480 Speaker 1: But the committee's report also noted that they were dealing 286 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:33,159 Speaker 1: with quote scanty sources of facts, and that it was 287 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:37,240 Speaker 1: entirely likely that those kinds of statistics would change anyway 288 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 1: as the country grew and evolved. It kind of subs 289 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:42,800 Speaker 1: up to, well, we think these are the busiest centers 290 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:44,920 Speaker 1: of trade right now, but that can all change soon, 291 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: so I don't know who knows. So in the end 292 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: they kind of turned their focus off of just that 293 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: and further report the committee quote endeavored to fix on 294 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,040 Speaker 1: that which for the present will be most accommodating to 295 00:17:57,080 --> 00:18:00,119 Speaker 1: the citizens of the state of Ohio. Leaving to the 296 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:03,760 Speaker 1: future benevolence and policy of Congress, an extension of their 297 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: operations on this or other routes, and an increase of 298 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:11,480 Speaker 1: the requisite fund. As the discoveries of experience may point 299 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:16,120 Speaker 1: out their expediency and necessity. They looked at expanding an 300 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:19,800 Speaker 1: existing road that ran from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to a 301 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:24,040 Speaker 1: river point, and then continuing that road into Ohio from there. 302 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:27,440 Speaker 1: Then they looked at a similar plan to expand a 303 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:31,119 Speaker 1: road from Baltimore to the manonga Hala River which I 304 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:34,440 Speaker 1: have also heard people say Manongahela, so don't yell at us, 305 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:39,719 Speaker 1: and then from Richmond to the Ohio River. In each case, 306 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 1: distance was considered to calculate how much each of these 307 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,760 Speaker 1: options would cost, but the final recommendation for the starting 308 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:51,800 Speaker 1: point was Cumberland, Maryland, with the logic that quote, this 309 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 1: route will meet and accommodate roads leading from Baltimore and 310 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 1: the District of Columbia. It will cross the Monongahela River 311 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:04,120 Speaker 1: at or near Brownsville, sometimes called Redstone, where the advantage 312 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:07,080 Speaker 1: of boating could be taken, and from the point where 313 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 1: it will probably intersect the river Ohio. There are now 314 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:14,800 Speaker 1: roads or they can easily be made over feasible and 315 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:18,679 Speaker 1: proper grounds to and through the principal population of the 316 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:22,919 Speaker 1: state of Ohio. When the bill that outlined all of 317 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 1: this was read on the Senate floor, a second and 318 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: third reading were requested, and then the committee's bill passed 319 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:33,600 Speaker 1: apparently without much fuss, on December twenty seventh, eighteen oh five. 320 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:37,119 Speaker 1: It had a harder time in the House of Representatives 321 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,679 Speaker 1: because representatives from southern states felt like their states had 322 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 1: been completely ignored in what was important legislation aimed at 323 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 1: growing the country's infrastructure. There was concern that the Senate 324 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: had passed the bill without consent at the state level. 325 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 1: After efforts to postpone the bill indefinitely failed and a 326 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,280 Speaker 1: lot of back and forth, the final bill, which was 327 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:01,000 Speaker 1: titled an Act to Regulate the lanfe Paying Out and 328 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:03,680 Speaker 1: making a Road from Cumberland in the state of Maryland 329 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: to the State of Ohio, was finally passed. This act 330 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:12,000 Speaker 1: set up some of the earliest standards for US roadways, 331 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: including a standardized width of four rods, which is sixty 332 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: six feet. This required road markers every quarter mile plus 333 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:26,640 Speaker 1: quote at every point where an angle occurs in its course. Today, 334 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 1: road standards in the US are by lane width, with 335 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:34,000 Speaker 1: freeways requiring twelve feet or three point six meters per lane. 336 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: This also established that the center of the road had 337 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:41,960 Speaker 1: to be slightly raised for proper runoff of precipitation. In 338 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 1: September of eighteen oh five, twelve thousand, six hundred and 339 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 1: fifty two dollars had been earmarked for the National Road, 340 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:51,679 Speaker 1: with the expectation that these funds would continue to grow 341 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 1: with additional land sales. When the bill was moved forward 342 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 1: in eighteen oh six, the budget was laid out at 343 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 1: thirty thousand dollars. The bill became law on March twenty ninth, 344 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,159 Speaker 1: eighteen oh six, although it had not actually been a 345 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:08,439 Speaker 1: sure thing that President Thomas Jefferson would sign it. He 346 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:11,960 Speaker 1: had previously stated that he was not confident that road 347 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,959 Speaker 1: building was within the authority of the federal government as 348 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,199 Speaker 1: lead out in the Constitution, but he did see that 349 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:21,960 Speaker 1: the various centers of trade needed to be connected. Further, 350 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,600 Speaker 1: he noted that the plan would eventually have to be 351 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 1: expanded beyond its initial scope. From eighteen oh six to 352 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:32,639 Speaker 1: eighteen eleven, surveying and planning was done for this road, 353 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:36,960 Speaker 1: noting where it could take advantage of older existing trails 354 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:39,520 Speaker 1: and roads and how they would need to be altered 355 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,440 Speaker 1: to meet the requirements of the law. Also where entirely 356 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:46,560 Speaker 1: new cuts of road would have to be made. Some 357 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:49,440 Speaker 1: of the military trails from the French and Indian War 358 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:53,400 Speaker 1: were determined to be usable for this. Yeah, by usable, 359 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,359 Speaker 1: we mean like usable to reset. They forget to do 360 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:59,840 Speaker 1: it over. They couldn't just like connect to them. There 361 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:02,200 Speaker 1: was a lot of overgrowth, according to most of the 362 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 1: stuff I read. Once the surveying and the route planning 363 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:09,680 Speaker 1: was completed, construction began and this involved a new approach 364 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:13,240 Speaker 1: to laying roads. Because this project was important, the National 365 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:16,160 Speaker 1: Road needed to be more resilient than the standard dirt 366 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:19,240 Speaker 1: road finish that was normally used. Right Like, one of 367 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:21,679 Speaker 1: the things I read in several different accounts was that 368 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:25,639 Speaker 1: wagon wheels would kind of dig these grooves into roads, 369 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:29,399 Speaker 1: and then you didn't have a lot of options. You 370 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:33,119 Speaker 1: had to go where previous wagons went. During an improvement 371 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:36,359 Speaker 1: project to the road, which actually took place before it 372 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: was completed, this included the use of what's called a 373 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,280 Speaker 1: McCadam road. That's a form of pavement that uses broken 374 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:47,520 Speaker 1: granite or greenstone with another layer of lightstone on top. 375 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,480 Speaker 1: You're named after the man who inventded them, whose name 376 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:54,439 Speaker 1: was McCadam. McAdam roads are still paved today, but now 377 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 1: hot tar or another binder is poured over the compressed 378 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 1: broken stone, and today a Cattam road is laid, of 379 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:04,720 Speaker 1: course using heavy machinery, but in the early eighteen hundreds 380 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 1: the version required crews of men to break the stone 381 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:12,879 Speaker 1: apart with sledgehammers to prepare it for placement. The Cumberland 382 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:16,360 Speaker 1: Road also required a number of bridges, and like the roadway, 383 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,920 Speaker 1: they needed to be built in the sturdiest possible way 384 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: for longevity and reliability, and that actually resulted in a 385 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:26,000 Speaker 1: lot of stone bridges being laid along the route in 386 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,560 Speaker 1: areas where the Cumberland or National Road passed through small towns. 387 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:32,119 Speaker 1: In a lot of places it became the main street 388 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:36,119 Speaker 1: that served as the community center, with businesses clustering along it, 389 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:38,440 Speaker 1: kind of forming what people would call the main drag 390 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: or main strip. But all of that work took years 391 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 1: and years, and the first year of construction a mere 392 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,600 Speaker 1: ten miles of road was laid. It took more than 393 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:53,960 Speaker 1: six years for the road to reach the Ohio River 394 00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: at Wheeling, Virginia, which of course is now part of 395 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:01,879 Speaker 1: West Virginia. Congress funded extension of the road in subsequent years, 396 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:05,760 Speaker 1: eventually lengthening it to six hundred miles, reaching it then 397 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:10,159 Speaker 1: to Vandalia, Illinois. Although an additional expansion to Saint Louis, 398 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,679 Speaker 1: Missouri was considered, this was not funded because it was 399 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 1: believed that railroad access to Missouri would make it obsolete. 400 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,480 Speaker 1: The National Roads funding remained controversial over the years the 401 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:25,840 Speaker 1: entire time it was being built. In eighteen thirty three, 402 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:28,439 Speaker 1: the burden of cost for the road shifted from the 403 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,639 Speaker 1: federal government to the states that it passed through, and 404 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:33,760 Speaker 1: then there was like a clause that the federal government 405 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:37,400 Speaker 1: would handle upkeep of the parts that had been constructed 406 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,560 Speaker 1: while it was under their auspices. While it was initially 407 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,720 Speaker 1: intended as a free road to anyone in the US, 408 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:47,399 Speaker 1: once it shifted to being state funded, tolls were levied 409 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 1: in various places to meet the expense. But the National 410 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:54,240 Speaker 1: Road was an important and reliable way for people to travel, 411 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,800 Speaker 1: and it did help foster westward expansion. There was a 412 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:01,000 Speaker 1: period where railroads caused the use of popularity of this 413 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:05,200 Speaker 1: road to drop. But once automobile travel existed, the road's 414 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:08,320 Speaker 1: use was once again on the rise, and it experienced 415 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:11,680 Speaker 1: a revival both in usage and just in general interest 416 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,720 Speaker 1: because of growing interest in touring via car. The Federal 417 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:19,280 Speaker 1: Highway Act of nineteen twenty one included provisions for states 418 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:24,240 Speaker 1: to have federal aid to build and maintain highways once again. Eventually, 419 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:28,199 Speaker 1: parts of the National Road became incorporated into US Route forty. 420 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:31,639 Speaker 1: You can even plot a history road trip through the 421 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:35,480 Speaker 1: National Road Heritage Corridor, which covers about ninety miles of 422 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:39,560 Speaker 1: the road's original path through Pennsylvania. Yeah, sort of like 423 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:43,679 Speaker 1: the Enclosure Acts. The building of all these highways and 424 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:47,200 Speaker 1: the effects they had on communities a totally different story 425 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:51,399 Speaker 1: beyond this one. So our last road today is a 426 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:55,440 Speaker 1: more modern highway. It's the Sun Motorway of Italy. This 427 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:58,679 Speaker 1: is not Italy's first highway, although Italy does get credit 428 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,120 Speaker 1: for having the first true purpose built highway in the world, 429 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:05,320 Speaker 1: which is commonly called the Lake Highway, that was constructed 430 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: in the nineteen twenties to make a connection from Milan 431 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:12,160 Speaker 1: to the Lake District. That highway was designed by Piero Barricelli, 432 00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:14,800 Speaker 1: and he pulled off the construction and design of it 433 00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:19,439 Speaker 1: in just fifteen months. You can still drive it, although 434 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,240 Speaker 1: now it is part of the larger Autostrade de Lagi. 435 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:25,680 Speaker 1: But Porricelli's work on the Lake Highway set the stage 436 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:29,320 Speaker 1: for another Italian highway project that wouldn't start for another 437 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:35,000 Speaker 1: three decades. In nineteen fifty four, a huge infrastructure package 438 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:38,600 Speaker 1: called the Romita Law was drafted in Italy, and the 439 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,439 Speaker 1: years after World War Two the country had seen a 440 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,679 Speaker 1: lot of degradation of its roads and a huge problem 441 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:49,159 Speaker 1: with a lack of availability for affordable housing, particularly in 442 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:54,199 Speaker 1: densely populated areas, so this law established financial provisions to 443 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:56,400 Speaker 1: try to address some of these issues with a ten 444 00:26:56,560 --> 00:27:01,280 Speaker 1: year plan for implementation. One of the product on it 445 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:03,879 Speaker 1: was a highway to run from the north of the 446 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 1: country down about two thirds of its length, so in 447 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:10,800 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty six the first stone for the highway that 448 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,720 Speaker 1: was planned to run from Milan to Naples was laid. 449 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:17,720 Speaker 1: Its name in Italian is Arostrare des Sole, the Sun 450 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:20,720 Speaker 1: Motorway or Highway of the Sun, and it's also just 451 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:24,199 Speaker 1: known as the A one Aristrade one because of its 452 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:27,200 Speaker 1: significant length and how much of the country it connects. 453 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: It's also sometimes referred to as the backbone of the 454 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:34,439 Speaker 1: Italian highway system, and it was a huge investment. It 455 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:37,920 Speaker 1: was budgeted at one hundred billion lire and over its 456 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,679 Speaker 1: length of more than seven hundred and sixty kilometers, it's 457 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:43,640 Speaker 1: about four hundred and seventy miles. It connects not only 458 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,399 Speaker 1: its two end point cities, but also Bologna, Florence and Rome. 459 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:50,600 Speaker 1: And the whole thing includes one hundred and thirteen bridges, 460 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:55,760 Speaker 1: thirty eight tunnels and five hundred seventy two flyovers. The 461 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:58,480 Speaker 1: plans for the Highway of the Sun owed a lot 462 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,280 Speaker 1: to the Pirichelli design of the La Lake Highway, along 463 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:05,879 Speaker 1: with a good deal of additional engineering. Fidelikhova was head 464 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:10,760 Speaker 1: of the Societa Auto Strata Perrettalia, which was founded as 465 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 1: a joint stock company that was publicly owned as part 466 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:18,880 Speaker 1: of the Institute for Industrial Reconstruction. The joint stock company 467 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,679 Speaker 1: still exists today as a publicly owned company, but it 468 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:25,200 Speaker 1: went through a lot of changes over the years, including privatization. 469 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:28,520 Speaker 1: This is all contexts so you know why Fidela Kova 470 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:31,960 Speaker 1: was in charge of coordinating this project. He's credited with 471 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,640 Speaker 1: coming up with a plan to make the highway construction simplified, 472 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 1: efficient and beneficial to as many workers as possible. And 473 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 1: that plan that he had that was you know, pretty new, 474 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:47,560 Speaker 1: was to break the highway up into sections, like kind 475 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:50,960 Speaker 1: of partitioning them off, so each of those sections had 476 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: its own crew. And this meant that work could be 477 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: done along large stretches of the road simultaneously instead of 478 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:01,120 Speaker 1: going like a little at a time. And also that 479 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,680 Speaker 1: a lot of construction companies had government contracts to bolster 480 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:09,480 Speaker 1: employment numbers. And it succeeded in all of that, but unfortunately, 481 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,440 Speaker 1: as is the case with many large scale construction projects, 482 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,760 Speaker 1: there were also we should know, many fatalities in the process, 483 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:18,800 Speaker 1: and we'll talk about how those who died during this 484 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:22,240 Speaker 1: construction have been honored in just a moment. It took 485 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:26,000 Speaker 1: eight years for the Autostrata to be completed. When it 486 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:29,200 Speaker 1: was officially opened on October fourth, nineteen sixty four, it 487 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:33,040 Speaker 1: was a marvel. It shortened the travel time by car 488 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,480 Speaker 1: from Milan to Naples from a two day journey to 489 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:39,040 Speaker 1: one you could make in just seven or eight hours, 490 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:43,120 Speaker 1: but also stoked the fires of industry. Companies like Fiat 491 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:46,120 Speaker 1: saw this as a harbinger of new markets, and they 492 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:49,360 Speaker 1: ramped up the production of cars. Yeah, there were a 493 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:53,280 Speaker 1: lot of companies that backed this whole idea because they 494 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:57,000 Speaker 1: saw how quickly it could grow their profits and their business, 495 00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 1: you know, like tire companies and travel companies that were 496 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: setting up hotels and whatnot. One of the enduring legacies 497 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:09,080 Speaker 1: of the a Ones Engineering and Construction is its ongoing 498 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:14,240 Speaker 1: association with just really impressive design. As the project was 499 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:17,720 Speaker 1: nearing completion but still under construction, it had the unique 500 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:20,280 Speaker 1: honor of having several of its bridges featured at the 501 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:23,320 Speaker 1: Museum of Modern Art in New York for an exhibit 502 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:27,880 Speaker 1: on twentieth century engineering. The works of engineers who had 503 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 1: designed sections throughout the entire stretch of the highway were 504 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:35,600 Speaker 1: included in the exhibit. Also, before the highway was complete, 505 00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 1: an architect named Geovanni mcclucci designed a church to memorialize 506 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:44,760 Speaker 1: the workers who had died during its construction. The Quisa 507 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,920 Speaker 1: del Atti Strada de Sole, which is also called the 508 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 1: Church of San Jovanni Battista, is a unique and striking structure. 509 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:57,720 Speaker 1: It combines traditional and modern design and uses concrete, stone, 510 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:02,200 Speaker 1: and copper as its prominent material. This church is clearly 511 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:05,840 Speaker 1: visible from the highway as it passes through Florence, and 512 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,760 Speaker 1: in some ways it looks like a tent from the exterior, 513 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:12,880 Speaker 1: and that's by design. It's intended to beckon travelers who 514 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:16,440 Speaker 1: need a place to stop and reflect or replenish spiritually. 515 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:20,280 Speaker 1: The interior of the church is just as innovative as 516 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:24,280 Speaker 1: the exterior, and it also blends the traditional and the modern, 517 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:28,960 Speaker 1: including concrete pillars that are cast to look like trees. 518 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:32,720 Speaker 1: Even after the highway opened, it was home to innovation 519 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:36,320 Speaker 1: that continues to echo today. In nineteen fifty nine, the 520 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,360 Speaker 1: first auto grill opened along the A one. So an 521 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:41,479 Speaker 1: autogrill is kind of like a rest stop, but if 522 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:43,840 Speaker 1: you're from the US, they're not like our rest areas. 523 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:46,120 Speaker 1: They're closer to some other things that Tracy and I 524 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:49,880 Speaker 1: will talk about in behind the scenes. Autogrills have food 525 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 1: service where you could typically get things like pannini or 526 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,800 Speaker 1: hot plates, and sometimes even have a buffet. This is 527 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,520 Speaker 1: also in addition to the candy and to go snacks 528 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:01,000 Speaker 1: and bathrooms and all the things you might see in 529 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,600 Speaker 1: a convenience store. The first one was a joint venture 530 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:09,880 Speaker 1: by industrialist Mario Pavesi and designer Angelo Biancuetti. Today there 531 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:12,880 Speaker 1: is also a company called Autogrill that runs a number 532 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,640 Speaker 1: of these little rest spaces, but the word is also 533 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:19,360 Speaker 1: used as a non proper noun. Holly also read a 534 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:22,720 Speaker 1: quote on an Italian site called Domus in an article 535 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:27,280 Speaker 1: written by Alessandro Benetti that was a translation into English, 536 00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:31,200 Speaker 1: so it's sort of impressive for its poetic quality. Holly 537 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,680 Speaker 1: is not sure if this was auto translated shockingly well, 538 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:37,880 Speaker 1: or if a human being did this translation and then 539 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:40,960 Speaker 1: served it to site visitors based on their locale, but 540 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:42,320 Speaker 1: it kind of sums up the way a lot of 541 00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:45,360 Speaker 1: people feel about the a one quote. The auto strata 542 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:50,040 Speaker 1: del sole is sometimes sensible and other times a violent 543 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:55,080 Speaker 1: insertion whose transformation potential reverberates well beyond its physical boundaries. 544 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:59,400 Speaker 1: It implies a global reorganization of the road network, with 545 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:03,360 Speaker 1: several now national and provincial routes turned from major thoroughfares 546 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:09,160 Speaker 1: to panoramic paths in parallel. Settlements with similar urban histories 547 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:12,960 Speaker 1: see their destinies and their appeal being redefined on the 548 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,800 Speaker 1: basis of their distance from the closer toll. I feel 549 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:18,720 Speaker 1: like that not only is a good way to look 550 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 1: at the autostrata, but kind of all of these important roads, right, 551 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:27,400 Speaker 1: like where a road goes, so goes gross uh. And 552 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:30,520 Speaker 1: there are a lot of towns who throughout history have 553 00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:35,680 Speaker 1: been booming places and then a road, a significant thoroughfare, 554 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:39,160 Speaker 1: gets installed away from them, and they lose their prominence 555 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,080 Speaker 1: in terms of their importance in trade and whatnot, and 556 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:46,240 Speaker 1: others are suddenly brought into a more industrialized way of 557 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:49,360 Speaker 1: life than they may have had before. Yeah, but I 558 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,040 Speaker 1: can't speak to this outside of the United States, But 559 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:54,720 Speaker 1: in the United States, we also have a long standing 560 00:33:54,760 --> 00:34:00,320 Speaker 1: pattern of roads and highways just plowing through neighborhoods, particularly 561 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:06,080 Speaker 1: poor people people of color, in a way that's terrible. 562 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:10,440 Speaker 1: It's really just devastated a lot of places. It's such 563 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:17,720 Speaker 1: a problematic and difficult to reconcile duality. Right. The idea 564 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:22,040 Speaker 1: of connecting to one another, making connecting to places easier 565 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:26,440 Speaker 1: is very romanticized, certainly in the US. Right. But then 566 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,360 Speaker 1: that often means that we're ignoring the fact that somebody's 567 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:33,360 Speaker 1: got to lose to make those happen. In most cases. 568 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,960 Speaker 1: I am always fascinated by roads and roadways. I definitely 569 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:42,640 Speaker 1: grew up in a family where we drove everywhere. So 570 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:44,839 Speaker 1: I have spent a lot of time riding the roads 571 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:48,000 Speaker 1: of the US, and it is interesting to me the 572 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:53,000 Speaker 1: way you will see just you know, highway that is 573 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:57,839 Speaker 1: passing through areas that don't seem to benefit from it, 574 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:00,440 Speaker 1: maybe seem to be hurt by it, and another cases 575 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:05,680 Speaker 1: clearly have been helped by it. And all of that 576 00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:08,239 Speaker 1: also has a subjective angle of what you consider to 577 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:14,279 Speaker 1: be a good way of life and a good worthwhile 578 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:18,719 Speaker 1: benefit versus the loss. So always food for thought as 579 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:24,279 Speaker 1: you travel on your summer trips. I have a fun 580 00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:26,440 Speaker 1: piece of listener mail because it involves a place I 581 00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:30,720 Speaker 1: like to travel on our summer trips, Oh Good, which 582 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,560 Speaker 1: also in the nerdiest way will which I will explain 583 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:36,960 Speaker 1: at the end, is kind of an echo of the 584 00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:38,799 Speaker 1: things we have just been talking about. This is from 585 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:43,399 Speaker 1: our listener Miranda, who writes, Hi, Holly and Tracy. I'm 586 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:45,879 Speaker 1: a longtime listener to the podcast and first time writer. 587 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:48,719 Speaker 1: I used to drive forty five miles each way to 588 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:50,960 Speaker 1: get to my university in undergrad and I got my 589 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:53,600 Speaker 1: stuff you missed in history class doctorate. While getting my 590 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:57,160 Speaker 1: bachelor's degree, I just listened to your episode about popcorn 591 00:35:57,200 --> 00:35:59,719 Speaker 1: and the behind the scenes episode, and I laughed at 592 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:01,799 Speaker 1: the out loud at the description of Holly's R two 593 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:05,279 Speaker 1: D two air popper. I'm now a music professor at 594 00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:08,000 Speaker 1: a local college in Central Florida, and during the summers, 595 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:11,399 Speaker 1: I'm a seasonal cast member at Walt Disney World, specifically 596 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:14,600 Speaker 1: Galaxies Edge. I am a resident of Batu serving up 597 00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:17,520 Speaker 1: quick service food. I'm sure Holly is very familiar with 598 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:20,799 Speaker 1: kotsakas in the marketplace, but we have two types of 599 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:23,759 Speaker 1: popped grains, one with salt and butter, a classic with 600 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:26,520 Speaker 1: a twist as our salt is blue, and one sweet 601 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:29,439 Speaker 1: and savory with blueberry, lemon pound cake and sweet chili 602 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:32,520 Speaker 1: lime flavors. I had to laugh listening to the episode 603 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:34,719 Speaker 1: because I think Galaxy's Edge might truly be out of 604 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:38,439 Speaker 1: Holly's Star Wars dreams, including popcorn. I'm attaching my cat 605 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:41,239 Speaker 1: tax and my two little old cat ladies. Camellia is 606 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:43,720 Speaker 1: our tiny old orange cat. She is a holy terror 607 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:46,600 Speaker 1: and I love her. Serenity is our big old lady 608 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:49,720 Speaker 1: brown cat, and she's incredibly snugly. They are clearly plotting 609 00:36:49,719 --> 00:36:53,960 Speaker 1: something in this picture. Thanks for all you do Miranda, listen. 610 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:59,839 Speaker 1: I love little old cats. I have them. I love them, 611 00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:01,959 Speaker 1: and they are very cute. And I think all cats 612 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:05,080 Speaker 1: are always plotting something, even the ones that maybe aren't 613 00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:07,160 Speaker 1: the brightest ones, seem to always have some kind of 614 00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:10,279 Speaker 1: plan going on. So thank you for those. This is 615 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:14,160 Speaker 1: also interesting because you know, Batu and Black Spire Outposts, 616 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:19,800 Speaker 1: specifically per the Lore, used to be a very bustling 617 00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:25,759 Speaker 1: stop in space until the space lanes changed, and now 618 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,280 Speaker 1: it is more of an out of the way out post. 619 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:32,719 Speaker 1: Kind of echoed today's discussion a little bit, which made 620 00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:37,760 Speaker 1: me delighted. And I sure do like going to Batu 621 00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:40,200 Speaker 1: a lot. I will confess that I don't go to 622 00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,640 Speaker 1: Katsaka's Kettle as much as I might because it has 623 00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:47,760 Speaker 1: the unfortunate placement of being next to Ronto Roasters, where 624 00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:51,160 Speaker 1: I go constantly because I have an addiction to Toronto refs, 625 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:56,640 Speaker 1: thus my Ronto Roasters tattoo. But I do go to 626 00:37:56,719 --> 00:38:02,279 Speaker 1: Katsaka's for the very very yummy, very indulgent coffee drinks 627 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:05,000 Speaker 1: that they make, which they will also make an alcoholic version. 628 00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:08,319 Speaker 1: It also has cereal on top of it. It's so good, ye, 629 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:10,720 Speaker 1: and I want to keep an eye out for you, Miranda, 630 00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:13,520 Speaker 1: because I have a couple more trips down there planned 631 00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:16,960 Speaker 1: for this summer, so I'll have my eyes peeled and 632 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:19,239 Speaker 1: hopefully we'll run into you. If you would like to 633 00:38:19,239 --> 00:38:22,080 Speaker 1: write us, you can do so at History Podcast at 634 00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:25,160 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio dot com. You can also find us on social 635 00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:27,279 Speaker 1: media as Missed in History and if you have not 636 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:29,560 Speaker 1: subscribed yet and you would like to, you can do 637 00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:32,000 Speaker 1: that on the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to 638 00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:40,000 Speaker 1: your favorite shows. Stuff you Missed in History Class is 639 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:44,359 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit 640 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:47,840 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 641 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:50,720 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.