U.S. Highway 40
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U.S. Highway 40
United States Highway 40 is an east-west United States highway. As the "0" in its route number suggests, US 40 was once a coast-to-coast route, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. However, the entire segment west of Salt Lake City, Utah has been decommissioned in favor of Interstate 80.
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Termini
As of 2004, the highway's eastern terminus is in Atlantic City, New Jersey, near the Atlantic Ocean (and close to the end of U.S. Highway 30). Its western/ terminus is north of Park City, Utah at an intersection with Interstate 80.
Historic termini
When the original 1926 routes were commissioned, the western termini of both US 40 and US 50 were in Oakland, California. These highways' endpoints were extended to San Francisco (at US 101) with the construction of the Bay Bridge in 1936. But the rise of the Interstate highway system saw the end of the road creep eastward starting in the 1960s.
Alternate routes
As of 2004 Alternate US 40 in Maryland has an eastern terminus in Frederick. It rejoins US 40 about 20 miles (32 km) later in Hagerstown. While the main line of US 40 serves as a local access road for Interstate 70, Alternate US 40 veers to the south to serve Boonsboro.
Some maps show one or two segments labelled Alternate US 40 in the Maryland panhandle, but they appear to be local access alternatives to Interstate 68.
History
Historic Names
It is the National Road from Cumberland, Maryland to Vandalia, Illinois
Historic alternate routes
US 40 split into US 40N and US 40S from western Kansas through central Colorado until the mid-1930s.
States traversed
The highway passes through the following states:
- New Jersey
- Delaware (about 15 miles, 24 km, through Wilmington)
- Maryland
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia (about 10 miles, 16 km, through Wheeling)
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Missouri
- Kansas
- Colorado
- Utah
formerly:
Related US Routes
See Also
List of United States Highways
Sources and external links
- Endpoints of US highways (http://www.geocities.com/usend4049/End040/end040.htm) (used with permission)