Originally Posted by
pdlamb
A squirrel went up the hill that a way once.
Then a fox followed the squirrel.
A few years later a deer went up the hill.
And a bear.
An Indian followed the game trail to climb the mountain.
Years after that, a pioneer went over the mountain using the same trail.
He came back and led the settlers over that trail. After they settled, they pulled a few of the bigger rocks out of the way.
When the area was settled, the county came in, pulled out a few more rocks, and paved the road.
Eastern roads are historical, you see.
Why'd they do it like that? Well, a counter example is U.S. 321 between Maryville and Townsend. If I've got the story straight, the state of Tennessee had firm fixed price contracts with four contractors to blast and build a nicely graded road. The first three went bankrupt, which is why it took four contractors. Takes a lot of money to build straightened roads that are stable.
I think you story is wrong. From my experiences in the eastern US, I think it’s more a case of someone sees a big rock at the bottom of the hill and thinks “that’s a good way of getting to the bottom” so they just follow the fall line.
I did a ride in the Dog River valley in Vermont about 20 years ago. I don’t recall which road I used out of the valley but I swear it was steeper than the pitch on roofs of houses along the road. I returned on a road called Winch Road. I was thinking “wench” as in barmaid until I realized that they meant the device for hauling something up a steep slope.
I’m glad I’ve bagged all the states in the east (except Florida) so that I don’t have to go back there anytime soon.