Y Bridge, Ohio

This unusual bridge, at the confluence of two rivers, has three spans that meet in the middle, enabling travelers to chose among the two shores as their destination. The first version of the bridge was built in 1814, and it thus became part of the National Road, the first federally-sponsored "highway" commissioned in 1803 (connecting Maryland to Illinois). Portions of the National Road became the Lincoln Highway, the first continuous coast to coast road in America, which was replaced by the paved Highway 40, both of which also traveled over this bridge. It was only with the opening of Interstate 70 in the late 1960's, which paralleled much of Highway 40, that this bridge ceased to be a landmark on the great American road.