![Two cars stuck on a mud road circa 1910s. [State Historical Society of Missouri, Leonard D. and Marie H. Rehkop Collection of Algert T. Peterson Photographs, C3888-G0043]](https://theloopcomo.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/1.-good-roads-movement-1024x721.jpg "America needed Highway 40. 1")
Before Highway 40, traveling across country was, to put it mildly, difficult. Many roads were dirt and weren’t connected to a larger system, leading to a lot of dead ends and doubling back. Often referred to as “trails” they were maintained (with various degrees of success) by local booster organizations known as “trail associations.”
On November 11, 1926 the United States Numbered Highway System was signed into law and created an integrated network of roads that could be used to transport goods, livestock, travelers, and more. Highway 40 stitched together a number of trails including the National Road, the Victory Highway and the Old Trails Route, also known as the Boone’s Lick Road. Route 40 originally ran from Atlantic City, New Jersey to San Fransisco, California—right through Columbia, Missouri.
Read all about the history of the highway, including how bicyclists were the first champions of better roads for Missourians.
