UNIT II - Construction

STUDENT SHEET

Background:

In 1811, people began to build the National Road. Building a road was hard work. There were no trucks or bulldozers back then. People with hand tools, oxen, and mules did the work of these machines. People working on the National Road were paid as little as $6.00 per month.

When the Road was first being built, workers would dig a long strip where the road would go. They would fill this strip with layers of crushed rock. The rocks that could pass through a 7-inch measuring ring were laid first. Then a layer of rocks that could pass through a 3-inch ring was put on top.

But this road was damaged easily. So the National Road in Ohio was built a different way. A man named John Louden McAdam realized that if a road was built on raised ground instead of in a dug strip, rain water could run off the road. Then the road would last longer. So the workers put down layers of crushed rock and let wagons and people travel on each layer to pack the rocks tightly together. This macadam system made a much sturdier road.

The National Road took a long time to build and did not reach Wheeling, Virginia, until 1818. The road cost the U.S. government almost 7 million dollars. Areas of the road going through the mountains cost the most to build, $13,000 per mile.  

Thought Questions:

  1. Why would the road cost more to build in the mountainous areas than in other areas?
  2. Why would building a road today be easier than it was in 1811?

Research:

John Louden McAdam