The Lincoln Highway

As America’s first coast to coast highway, the Lincoln Highway (LH) starts in Times Square, New York City and exits the Big Apple under the Hudson River through the Lincoln Tunnel.  It passes southwest through New Jersey from Newark to Trenton, then continues its southwest course to the center of Philadelphia.  

Taking advantage of pre-existing routes that date back hundreds of years (thousands if you count the footsteps of American Natives) the LH follows US30 across Pennsylvania.  The highway exits the modern US30 as it passes through early colonial towns of Lancaster and York, then Civil War relevant towns of Gettysburg and Chambersburg.  The highway continues westward, winding its way through the Appalachian Mountains, following the course led by General John Forbes in the French and Indian War, through Bedford, Ligonier, and Greensburg before reaching Pittsburgh.  From the Point of three rivers, the original course followed Native trails along the Ohio River to Beaver Falls and into Ohio.

The Highway hits the towns of Canton, Mansfield, Lima, and Van Wert in Ohio; then continues through Indiana stopping in Fort Wayne, Elkhart, South Bend and Valparaiso.

In Illinois, the LH continues along US30 to Joliet, where it crosses paths with the Mother Road, Route 66.  It breaks away from US30 as it passes through Geneva, DeKalb, Rochelle, and Dixon; then rejoins US30 in Sterling, Morrison, and finally Fulton before it crosses the Mississippi River into Iowa.

US30 and the LH follow the same path across most of Iowa, except at Cedar Rapids where US30 cuts straight across the south of the city and LH wraps around the north.   Clinton and DeWitt greet the LH east of Cedar Rapids.  Tama, Marshalltown, Ames, and Jefferson guide the highway across the state after its second largest city.   Denison leads the original route’s southward descent toward Council Bluffs before crossing the Missouri River into Omaha, Nebraska.   The 1930 realignment, instead, follows US30 into Blair, Nebraska.

The original LH route starts its trek through Nebraska in Omaha where it joins briefly with US6 before zig-zagging its way towards Fremont and US30.   LH and US30 course together through Columbus and Grand Island before paralleling westward with Interstate 80.   The three routes (LH, US30, and i80) weave through Kearney, Lexington, Gothenburg, North Platte, and Ogallala.

Heavy pressure from the governor of Colorado convinced LH leaders to include a dogleg to Denver, but this “Colorado Loop” was dropped from the map in 1915.   The LH completes its Nebraska course with US30 and Interstate 80 through Chappell, Sydney, and Kimball then into Wyoming.

Pine Bluffs is the first town in Wyoming to welcome the LH, and is followed by Cheyanne, Laramie, and Medicine Bow.   LH shares the same roadway with US30 and Interstate 80 through Rawlins, Rock Springs, and Green River.  US30 departs northward at Granger, while LH and Interstate 80 crisscross each other from this point, and through Fort Bridger and Evanston. The original LH exits Wyoming closely paralleling Interstate 80, being a dirt road at the state line with Utah. 

Interstate 80 and LH overlap or closely parallel each other from Wyoming to Echo, with LH being mostly a dirt road when separate from the interstate.  From Echo, LH takes two routes, one continuing to shadow Interstate 80 to Salt  Lake City, and the other shadows Interstate 84 towards Ogden then goes south, paralleling Interstate 15 to Salt Lake City.  Continuing westward, the LH diverges again, with the original first going south along UT196 to Fish Springs then west along the Pony Express Trail to Ibapah.  The 1930 realignment follows Interstate 80 to Wendover.

Crossing into Nevada, the former follows a more primitive NV2 then NV893 to rejoin with the latter which departs Interstate 80 in West Wendover NV and follows US93 south.  The two routes meet about 40 miles north of Ely and continue south along US93 to the birthplace of First Lady Patricia Nixon (Ely).  LH continues westward along US50 through Eureka, Austin, Fallon, and Wadsworth.  US50 departs and Interstate 80 reenters the journey, the latter weaving with the LH westward to Reno.  LH goes south from Reno, crisscrossing Interstate 580 to Carson City.   US50 rejoins the LH route toward Lake Tahoe then to the state line with California.

LH and US50 parallel each other from Lake Tahoe to Placerville then Sacramento.  Stockton is next on the journey with LH and CA99 competing with each other during the southward course.  LH briefly follows along Interstate 5 as it continues south from Stockton toward Tracy, and then it follows along Interstate 580  westward to Oakland.  Automobile traffic was ferried across San Francisco Bay initially, but now the LH crosses the  Bay Bridge with Interstate 80 that once again emerges from the north.  The LH navigates the streets of San Francisco and ends its more than 3000 miles at the Presidio.