下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
Toll roads ， or turnpikes ， which charge a fee for use， have become important again in the better roads movement. This is the second time they have appeared in America. They were first introduced in Europe during the late 18th century when roads were privately owned and fees collected for using the roads. Poles armed with sharp spikes called pikes stopped the traveler at toll stations. The poles were turned aside after payment， hence the term turnpike.
Turnpikes were first introduced into America in 1785. By 1850 there were over 400 in New York State alone. They were the first improved roads in this country. For one type of surface， trunks of tree were placed across the roads and allowed to settle into the roadbed. These were called“corduroy” road.
Some turnpikes were faced with wooden planks. First used in Russia， they were introduced into North America by Sir Charles Edward， governor general of Canada. He built a few miles of plank road near Toronto in 1836. The first plank road in the United States was built in 1845-1846 from Syracuse， N.Y.， to Oneida Lake， a distance of about 14 miles.
Most of the turnpikes were between the large cities， such as the Lancaster Turnpike between Philadelphia and Lancaster， Pennsylvania. It was built between 1790 and 1794 and was the first important macadamized road in America.
A Scottish engineer， John L. MacAdam （1756-1836）， devised the road surface which bears his name. It was made of loosely packed broken stone using water as a binder. Today macadamized surfaces are generally mixed （impregnated） with hot asphalt， tar， or some similar binder. This type of road surface is called bituminous macadam.
Turnpike fell into disuse by the middle of the 19th century. The railroad had arrived and proved to be a better means of travel over long distances. Canals too took passenger and freight business from the turnpikes.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike， which was opened in 1940， was the first of the modern turnpikes.This 359 mile highway extends from the New Jersey border near Philadelphia， Pa.， to the Ohio border. World WarⅡ interrupted the turnpike movement but at the end of the war a toll road rash began. In 1956 the federal government began a 25-billion-dollar national road-building program. The actual cost of the project， scheduled for completion in 1976， was estimated at 62.5 billion dollars.
toll n. 通行税
turnpike n. 征收通行税的路
fee n. 手续费；税
spike n. 大钉，道钉
trunk n. 树干
corduroy n. 木排路，圆木路（沼泽地上用）
plank n. 板（厚 2～6 英寸，宽 9 英寸以上）
governor general 总领事
macadamize v. 铺碎石，用碎石铺路
loosely ad. 松散地
binder n. 黏结剂或胶结料
impregnate v. 使充满，浸透
asphalt n. 沥青
freight n. 货运；水上运输
border n. 边界
federal a. 联邦的
actual a. 实际的
schedule v. 预订，安排，计划
rash n. （突然产生的）一大批