U.S. Route 40

U.S. Route 40 marker
U.S. Route 40
National Road
Victory Highway
Map
US 40 highlighted in red, segments concurrent with I-70 in Colorado and I-465 in Indiana not highlighted
Route information
Length2,285.74 mi[1] (3,678.54 km)
ExistedNovember 11, 1926 (November 11, 1926)[2]–present
Major junctions
West end I-80 / US 189 in Silver Summit, UT
Major intersections
East end US 322 / Atlantic Avenue / Pacific Avenue in Atlantic City, NJ
Location
CountryUnited States
StatesUtah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey
Highway system
← US 36US→ US 41
← K-39KS→ K-41
← Route 39MO→ Route 41
← I-39IL→ IL 40
← SR 39IN→ US 41
← SR 39OH→ SR 40

U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66),[3][4] is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, US 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the first U.S. Highways created in 1926 and its original termini were in San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey. US 40 currently ends at a junction with I-80 in Silver Summit, Utah, just outside Salt Lake City. West of this point US 40 was functionally replaced with I-80, and as these segments of I-80 were constructed the western portion of US 40 was truncated several times.

Starting at its western terminus in Utah, US 40 crosses a total of 12 states, including Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. US 40 passes through or by major cities including Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Baltimore, and Wilmington. Three former and four current state capitals lie along the route.[a] For much of its route, US 40 runs parallel to or concurrently with several major Interstate Highways: I-70 from Denver, Colorado, to Washington, Pennsylvania; and again from Hancock, Maryland to Baltimore; I-64 in parts of Missouri and Illinois; I-68 along the Maryland Panhandle; and I-95 from Baltimore to New Castle, Delaware.

The route was built on top of several older highways, most notably the National Road and the Victory Highway. The National Road was created in 1806 by an act of Congress to serve as the first federally funded highway construction project. When completed it connected Cumberland, Maryland, with Vandalia, Illinois. The Victory Highway was designated as a memorial to World War I veterans and ran from Kansas City, Missouri to San Francisco. Other important roads that have become part of US 40 include Zane's Trace in Ohio, Braddock Road in Maryland and Pennsylvania, part of the Black Horse Pike in New Jersey, part of the Oregon Trail in Kansas, and the Lincoln Highway throughout most of California.

  1. ^ DeLorme (2007). Street Atlas USA 2007 (Map). DeLorme. Driving directions and toggle measure tool.
  2. ^ Bureau of Public Roads & American Association of State Highway Officials (November 11, 1926). United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). 1:7,000,000. Washington, DC: United States Geological Survey. OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  3. ^ Kansas Historical Society (2017). "U.S. 40. The Main Street of America". Kansas Memory.
  4. ^ U.S. 40 Highway Association, Inc. (1927). US40: The Main Street of America.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)


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