These are the oldest roads in the US that are still open and carrying traffic centuries later

These are the oldest roads in the US that remain open and in use, carrying traffic centuries after they were first established.

While cars are a relatively recent development in human history, roads have been used for millennia.

All across the US, there are roads that date back to the early days of the country’s history.

But there are only a few of them that are still carrying traffic along them to the present day.

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These are the oldest roads in the US that people still drive on

If there’s one thing you can count on with the US, it’s that there are a lot of roads running through it.

Some are world famous, like Route 66, whilst others are not, like the road that preceded Route 66.

Then there are the super long roads, like this highway that starts in the US but spans across 14 countries in total.

But what about the oldest roads in the US that have origins going back to the 1600s?

First up, there’s Old Mine Road, which stretches out 100 miles between Pahaquarry, New Jersey, to Kingston, New York, as noted by Jalopnik.

It’s believed that this road was carved out by Indigenous Americans and later by Dutch settlers who arrived in the 1600s.

It started out as an ore hauling trail, and still retains some sense of its old charm, thanks to some of the buildings along the road.

Then there’s the King’s Highway, spanning 1,300 miles from Charleston, South Carolina, to Boston, Massachusetts.

This was commissioned by none other than King Charles II himself, all the way back in the 1650s.

It wouldn’t see completion until 1735, and it served as the colonies’ first postal express lane.

Whilst it now looks a whole lot different thanks to technological advances, the route still embraces the landscape that early settlers worked with.

More roads that date back hundreds of years

The Albany Post Road dates back to 1669 and follows First American trails once used by the Wappinger and Wicopee tribes.

In 1703, the British turned it into a ‘Publick Highway’, rebranding it as ‘Queen’s Road’ in tribute to the ruling Queen Anne.

A whole lot of history has crossed this stretch of road, from George Washington’s troops to Benjamin Franklin’s mile markers.

While a lot of Albany Post Road has been absorbed into modern roads, there’s a six-mile dirt section that has remained true to its origins, earning it a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Then there are two roads that are based in Connecticut, famously one of the oldest states in the union.

Firstly, the Mohegan Road, laid down in 1670 between New London and Norwich.

This started life as an Indigenous American path before colonists widened it and turned it into one of the region’s first proper highways.

This route still serves as a scenic route for many travelling through New England, but it’s a far cry from what once carried ox carts.

Then there’s the Farm Highway, which began life back in 1696.

It was built to link up farms and settlements, but it wasn’t anything like it is today.

Although it got branded with the Route 108 label, it wouldn’t be until the 20th century that it would see any real extension.

An initial upgrade in 1932 extended it to 3.45 miles from Huntington village to Shelton, with no connections to other state routes.

A 1951 state senate bill was passed to amend this, extending the route to Trumbull.

At long last, the road was being seen as a legitimate thoroughfare, rather than just a track for farmers to use.

There are over six million kilometers of road in the US, making it the second-largest road network in the world after India.

With all those millions of miles of roads spanning the country, there are a lot of interesting stories out there.

These are the oldest roads in the US, but it’s not mere age alone that distinguishes them.

It’s the fact that they’re still being used to this day.

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