The Lincoln Highway, I learned today, was the first transcontinental road, stretching between New York City and San Francisco. It was built in 1913 and passed through Sylvan Corners at Auburn Blvd. in Citrus Heights. It became part of Highway 40, the Nation’s second transcontinental road, in 1926. Highway 40 was decommissioned in 1964 when I-80 became part of the federal highway system.
I discovered this bit of trivia when I took a walk down Auburn Blvd. while I waited for my car to be serviced this morning. The roadway marker is preserved along with an informational plaque (the reason I can spew the trivia) at a busy intersection. It sports a bronze medallion of Abraham Lincoln’s head dedicating the highway to Lincoln. The crackled and faded red, white, and blue paint identifies the marker as part of the Lincoln Highway.
