INCENTIVIZING INVESTMENT: ROADS THROUGH THE TURNPIKE ERA 2
Incentivizing Investment: Roads through the Turnpike Era
Summary
Turnpike roads are the ancestors of the modern day road network. The turnpikes were the
toll roads of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries in the era before the creation of the County and
County Borough Councils by the reforms of the local government giving them the responsibility
of maintenance of the primary road network. The premiere American turnpike road was the state
enterprise licensed by the Virginia act of 1785 (Turnpike, 2017). The Lancaster Turnpike built in
1792 in Pennsylvania was the first privately owned turnpike in America. After that, the
Turnpikes became private investments, and their Turnpike companies led the development of the
Turnpikes in America. The construction of the Turnpikes proceeded rapidly.
Problem
The poor state of the road systems in America presented a significant problem to the
merchants that required better connections to the markets. Moreover, in the 1790s there was no
viable steamboat and financing canal construction presented significant challenges as well. The
highways thus remained the sole means of transport. Both the local and state governments had
limited budgets and small bureaucracies that often prevented considerable response by the public
sector (Turnpike, 2017). The Turnpikes which were innovations borne out of necessity played a
significant role in meeting the demands of the merchants at that time.
Significance of the problem
The fact that the capability of the government to adequately fund the construction and
maintenance of the highways presented a significant challenge to the merchants that needed
