Image courtesy of flickr.com/dmbelo

As a vanpooler, you’ve likely got more time to appreciate the scenery, rather than worry about merging and dodging potholes. And while trees, mountains and the late-afternoon sun are certainly worthy of contemplation, you might also consider the paved pathways that lead between work and home. Here are 10 things you might not have known about America’s network of roads, highways and freeways:

1. Although concrete and asphalt paving had been around for several decades, the first paved road intended for automobiles was constructed in Detroit in 1908.

2. The first coast-to-coast route was mapped in 1913 and dubbed the Lincoln Highway by a private entrepreneur who intended to promote travel along the road for commercial gain. It stretched between New York and San Francisco.  Most of the route is still drivable today.

3. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is considered an early model of the freeway and its first section opened in 1940.

4. The Interstate system of freeways didn’t exist until President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. Kansas claims a stretch of I-70 is the first section of the system.

5. There are about 45,000 miles of Interstate highways in the 48 contiguous states. Alaska and Hawaii have Interstate routes, but of course, none connect with other U.S. Interstate routes, so rather than “I” names, the routes have “A” names: “A1,” “A2,” etc., in Alaska and “H” names in Hawaii.