A plank and corduroy road was ... hazard after it failed a year ago. This road is made of layers of wood built up over the years to bridge the river and connect Edinburgh to Nineveh.

By the end of the 1840s, Burlington’s road west was becoming a scandal as thousands of covered wagons now crossed the river ... the Burlington-Mount Pleasant Plank Road Company was formed.

Officials said no, opting instead to back the Southwestern Plank Road — literally a road built ... to connect Chicago to the Mississippi River — came knocking with a plan to run its line ...